Okay, we all know how annoying acne can be and we all know how expensive Proactive can be. So, for those of you that don't know, Proactive has a brand called Xout(dot)com. Their intro price is 19.95 and comes with a 30 day supply and a body soap bar. Also, this product is a 1 step product. It's geared towards teens but honestly, it works very well. For me personally, the 3 step Proactive left my face feeling greasy. But Xout doesn't. Hope this help you all out!
Also, when you order Xout, they keep your debit/credit card on file. So after you receive your product, cancel and the next time you need more just reorder. If not, your card will be charged every month and you'll get more products.
Hmm...
Active ingredient for about every acne product that isn't an acid-base, is Benzyl Peroxide (including X-Out (http://www.drugs.com/otc/110221/x-out-wash-in-treatment.html)).
Well, here's the rub. Hydrogen Peroxide 3% works just the same and its around $0.99-1.20 for a big ole bottle. In fact, I'd have to say, it works better because its not compounded with anything else (nothing to impede or compete with its action).
Neither Benzyl or Hydrogen does anything for bacterium nee acne. That's all Peroxide at work (the actual active ingredient). The Benzyl and Hydrogen are both only just in part dillutants (100% Peroxide would literally burn your skin off) and stabilizers (Peroxide by itself is unstable/very poor shelf-life).
So $20+ a month commercial non-script remedies? I have to laugh. That really is one hell of a racket.
To continue for those interested in giving it a go...
To make up for the lack of Sufates (moisturizer), use a LITTLE olive oil (that's the, hands down, best non-commerical skin moisturizer you can use. No, it DOESN'T block pores. Crisco etc. WILL, but not EVOO/OO). Literally just a few drops on a cotton pad (after you've applied the H202 and let it bubble itself out - and then a wash off), rub that around and leave it on to absorb (before bed is best). That's it, you're done.
That said, the absolute one thing you NEVER want to do, is inadvertently get H202 in your eyes. Definitely DO utilize a cotton pad or ball with that and DO NOT put it over eye-level unless you have first wrung it out a bit. Just be very mindful of what you're doing when applying H202 above eye-level (in other words, do not apply it if the cotton pad or ball is sopping/dripping. Again, wring that sucker out a bit. A little H202 really goes a long way).
Just leave the H202 on to work until it's not fizzing anymore (you'll both see and feel that; tingling and/or a little stinging). THEN wash it off (it'll smell like stinky feet if you don't wash after - the other reason commercial acne products overuse the Sulfates, to neutralize the Peroxide odor).
It really does work. I use nothing but that and the EVOO and my acne is virtually nonexistent now. Its fantastic. And it costs literally pennies, not even $1/mo. Try it.
Oh yes, if you want a really good exfoliate for the pre-wash, put some Epsom Salt as-is on the damp (hot water) washrag. It's absolutely ace. You can get a bag of it for $5 anywhere.
Anyway, just my $0.02 for the budget-conscious.
Where do you get the H202?
Quote from: Magnus on December 08, 2014, 06:01:31 PM
Well, here's the rub. Hydrogen Peroxide 3% works just the same and its around $0.99-1.20 for a big ole bottle. In fact, I'd have to say, it works better because its not compounded with anything else (nothing to impede or compete with its action).
Interesting-- I think I'll try it. My biggest hesitation, though, is the bleaching effect. Benzoyl peroxide bleaches hair and cloth, but it's a cream, so it's easy to control. hydrogen peroxide is just a liquid, no denser than water-- and a drop of it on your shirt, towel, hairdo, etc, can take out the color. If you're a blonde in a white shirt, it won't matter. But peroxide blonde bangs would not be a good look for me.
And Alexthecat, you can get peroxide at any drug store, in the first aid section. In a bottle as large as you care to keep around-- it doesn't expire or go bad, though it'll have a date on it.
If you have moderate to severe acne, and could possibly see a dermatologist. I recommend clindamycin phosphate. It's an antibiotic that comes in a gel form, so no pills are necessary. That's if you have the luxury of insurance, and I know some don't. It only costs 10 dollars with insurance. Just an idea - it helped my nodule and cystic acne clear up.
Quote from: Bran on December 08, 2014, 06:29:58 PM
Interesting-- I think I'll try it. My biggest hesitation, though, is the bleaching effect. Benzoyl peroxide bleaches hair and cloth, but it's a cream, so it's easy to control. hydrogen peroxide is just a liquid, no denser than water-- and a drop of it on your shirt, towel, hairdo, etc, can take out the color. If you're a blonde in a white shirt, it won't matter. But peroxide blonde bangs would not be a good look for me.
And Alexthecat, you can get peroxide at any drug store, in the first aid section. In a bottle as large as you care to keep around-- it doesn't expire or go bad, though it'll have a date on it.
I haven't personally noticed any lightening of my facial hair from the 3%, it's as auburn-black as ever it has been. As for clothes, I usually do my grooming shirtless (straight out of the shower) so I can't really comment there. For deliberate hair bleaching, you'd really need something like food-grade 35% or higher (quite a bit more costly too). I mean, I guess if you really kept going at it, reapplying it all day you could theoretically get some lightening out of 3%, but not much.
I usually only keep this up daily when I'm more or less clean-shaven (not presently). It's a PITA to try and apply any acne remedy with facial hair. You miss a lot of spots if we're talking beyond short stubble (and that snags on the cotton lol). Don't really have to worry about acne when you're going for the beard.
As far as controlling drippage, that's what the cotton pad/ball is for. It only needs to be damp, not sopping/dripping wet. I mean just put it over the bottle top and invert it once for a second and stop. I promise you, a little goes a long way. If you have the patience and/or time, apply it twice - if you feel you need to. I wouldn't recommend applying it more than three times a day though (just as with the commercial stuff).
Bran, any Grocer's or pharmacy - even the 98, 99 or dollar stores. It'll be a brown bottle. Grocers and pharmacies tend to price it a little higher >$1.00 (obviously).
Thanks so much, Magnus!
I'm gonna toss my 2 cents in here just in case this ever applies to anyone else...
Benzyl Peroxide products used to always make me MORE red and inflamed, and seemed to make my acne worse.
For years I used various salicylic acid products which would sometimes work, sometimes wouldn't. Sometimes every single thing I put on my face made it worse :/
I started to suspect that I had sensitive skin, and I tried not using ANY products on my face, except water and sometimes a sensitive skin lotion. To date this is the best thing for my face. Since starting T I noticed I get a few more whiteheads, but no painful inflamed pimples, and I have generally clear skin.
So if anyone has noticed that every product seems to do nothing or make it worse, maybe NO product is a good way to try.
Quote from: Magnus on December 08, 2014, 06:01:31 PMThat said, the absolute one thing you NEVER want to do, is inadvertently get H202 in your eyes.
I would like to emphasise this.
TL;DR version: Hydrogen peroxide in the eye is very, very painful, and I can attest to this personally.
Long version: Picture it, Arse Belch, Georgia, 2005. I'm staying with one of my gays and I was cleaning my contact lenses. I grabbed the wrong bottle of lens cleaner. Nope, not saline solution. This was a bottle of cleaner, the contents of which were mostly hydrogen peroxide. I rinse one of my lenses in the stuff and pop it in.
SWEET MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND TRUE IN LIFE! THE PAIN! THE PAIN IS HORRENDOUS! I want to tear my eyeball and throw it across the room. It does not burn. It
BURNS. My eye is
Dante's Inferno. I have to force myself to hold my eyelid open so I can remove the lens from my cornea, tears streaming from the lachrymal gland, partly from pain, partly from confusion, and soon shame. Why? Because once the lens is out, I read the contents of the bottle. It's a special 'protein deposit' cleaner that comes with a special kit. You soak your lens in the peroxide stuff for four hours, then rinse the buhjeebus out of it before you even think of putting it on your cornea.
Pain. Shame. Remorse. Pain. Anger. More pain. My eye is a river of agony. It's redder than the GOP. My gay and I, we were vet techs. He looked at my eye. And he laughed. Because he's my friend, practically my brother, and he can do that without me punching him in the gob. Then I rinsed my eye out with saline. I stayed over at his house, partly because I was in so much pain, but mostly because my car had to be towed to a mechanic earlier that night. It took two days before the redness and swelling went away.
This is one reason why I prefer eyeglasses.
As for peroxide creams/gels and their usefulness in eradicating acne: no. Never worked for me. Clindamycin gel worked very well, as did an exfoliating acne scrub made with [supposedly] crushed apricot or whatever. And tetracycline antibiotics are your friends.
I gave XOut a shot when they first started doing TV spots for it. I previously had very mild breakouts around that time of the month and wanted to get a head start on a skin care regimen pre-T. I actually found that XOut made my skin worse. A few days after starting to use it, my skin broke out. I figured it was just the medicine working and pushing all the nasty to the surface, but it never really went away. I finished out the bottle but canceled my subscription with them. The body bar was nice, but the granulation on it actually scratched up my skin on my shoulders. I switched to a generic brand face wash from CVS (active ingredient is escaping me - I'll check what it is if anyone is interested) and I'm back to normal now.
Just my experience, but I definitely can't personally recommend it.
Ever since puberty I had acne and it has never stopped since. I am thinking it's mainly from stress. Currently I am trying Tretinoin cream.
you want something natural thats been working well for me, just use straight up apple cider vinegar.
you drink a bit as well as apply it to the problem area. i have severe like deep cyst like acne too and I've been doing this apple cider vinegar thing and it's brought inflmation down, my skin feels less oily and all that jazz.
the drink portion is pretty nasty it tastes exactly like you'd expect vinegar to taste. ( kinda like salad dressing) you do about a tablespoon or so in a cup and then double whatever that amount is with water and knock it back. then in teh same ratio of 1 part apple cider vinegar 2 parts water you get a cotton ball and rub it on your problem area.
a bottle of organic apple cider vinegar is like 3 bucks, works real well for stubborn acne and stuff.
I was in the same boat before, i was taking medicines that were stripping my skin away basically. benzyl peroxide stuff , pills, proactive. none of it could tackle the cysts on my back and neck. in fact it just made it more inflamed but this cheap remedy has been taking away the red inflamation and things are finally starting to heal up.
also try african black cream? buy it online i think, it's another natural thing I've heard good things about ( like stuffs so good it can help with eczema and psoriasis and whatnot)
Quote from: BeefxCake on December 11, 2014, 02:26:54 AM
you want something natural thats been working well for me, just use straight up apple cider vinegar.
you drink a bit as well as apply it to the problem area. i have severe like deep cyst like acne too and I've been doing this apple cider vinegar thing and it's brought inflmation down, my skin feels less oily and all that jazz.
the drink portion is pretty nasty it tastes exactly like you'd expect vinegar to taste. ( kinda like salad dressing) you do about a tablespoon or so in a cup and then double whatever that amount is with water and knock it back. then in teh same ratio of 1 part apple cider vinegar 2 parts water you get a cotton ball and rub it on your problem area.
a bottle of organic apple cider vinegar is like 3 bucks, works real well for stubborn acne and stuff.
I was in the same boat before, i was taking medicines that were stripping my skin away basically. benzyl peroxide stuff , pills, proactive. none of it could tackle the cysts on my back and neck. in fact it just made it more inflamed but this cheap remedy has been taking away the red inflamation and things are finally starting to heal up.
also try african black cream? buy it online i think, it's another natural thing I've heard good things about ( like stuffs so good it can help with eczema and psoriasis and whatnot)
I'm concerned that you are using that on your face since I use it to remove moles.
Quote from: Polo on December 08, 2014, 08:35:04 PM
I'm gonna toss my 2 cents in here just in case this ever applies to anyone else...
Benzyl Peroxide products used to always make me MORE red and inflamed, and seemed to make my acne worse.
For years I used various salicylic acid products which would sometimes work, sometimes wouldn't. Sometimes every single thing I put on my face made it worse :/
I started to suspect that I had sensitive skin, and I tried not using ANY products on my face, except water and sometimes a sensitive skin lotion. To date this is the best thing for my face. Since starting T I noticed I get a few more whiteheads, but no painful inflamed pimples, and I have generally clear skin.
So if anyone has noticed that every product seems to do nothing or make it worse, maybe NO product is a good way to try.
Yes to all of this. Benzoyl peroxide is far too harsh for my skin and just made things more aggravated and inflamed. I know a lot of people swear by it, but it's certainly not a one-size-fits-all miracle cure, so that's something to keep in mind before delving too deeply into Proactiv and similar regimens.
When it comes to skin, I've likewise found that less is more. I wash my face with Cetaphil twice a day -- which is a very basic, no-frills cleanser, I highly recommend it -- moisturize in the morning, and apply my prescribed gel at night. That's it, and my skin has arguably never been healthier.
Quote from: Bearr on December 08, 2014, 06:44:34 PM
If you have moderate to severe acne, and could possibly see a dermatologist. I recommend clindamycin phosphate. It's an antibiotic that comes in a gel form, so no pills are necessary. That's if you have the luxury of insurance, and I know some don't. It only costs 10 dollars with insurance. Just an idea - it helped my nodule and cystic acne clear up.
I'll definitely second the clindamycin phosphate suggestion. It's worked wonders for me and although it can be expensive, a little goes a very long way (I've had tubes last as long as six months). I experienced a couple bad breakouts when my levels got too high and that gel made a huge and immediate difference. I'm basically just using it for maintenance now and to help fade red marks that were left behind, and it does a decent job of that as well.
Honestly, seeing a dermatologist is just a good idea in general if you're struggling. I wasted a lot of time and money trying to find products that would clear up my skin and it just made things worse (as well as prolonged my misery). If I hadn't been as stubborn or lazy, I could've solved my issues much sooner and more cheaply. It's a pain going to see doctors, especially when you're trans, but sometimes it's a necessary evil.
alexthecat: you have to dilute it in water first, but look it up a lot of people have had great success with it on their severe acne.
Well, I am glad I read this. I have been dealing with acne since puberty and before T. I have my dad's skin, which pretty much means I'm cursed. Now that I'm in my 30s, my acne is not that bad. It only took a thousand years. I just get small pimples with an occasional biggie. But during a visit with my primary doc, she said my face is slightly red and inflamed. She prescribed epiduo, which I never filled. I went to fill it yesterday, and its 150 even with my insurance. Yikes. I also have really oily skin. I too suspect I might have sensitive skin. I think I'm going to try the basic face soap with a moisturizer thing. I think that's what my sister does, and it seems to work for her.
I'm finding that a healthy diet helps with managing acne because I ate pizza and pasta last night and I got two large zits on my face. Granted, I'm only 2 months in and got nothing other than 1-2 random occasional pimples.
Quote from: Magnus on December 08, 2014, 06:01:31 PM
To continue for those interested in giving it a go...
This post had me very curious and I've spent the last 5 days following Magnus's recommendations. I don't have below/after pics and it's a little early for that but:
- Overall inflammation in my face has gone down
- The few spots I had cleared up by day 3
- Skin feels smoother, has a more natural sheen
- No acne on chest/shoulders/back (didn't have any to begin with, but I was expecting to get some having started T almost 2 weeks ago)
I want to second Marcellow, diet can be a major factor. Two very common culprits are wheat and/or dairy. So it could be worth trying to cut them out for one or two weeks.
I'm not on hrt and don't deal with acne (yet), but most of my skin problems are food related. Again, I may be a special case because I have food sensitivities, but skin and gut are closely related.
i started off with this (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QOBTDGC-wdY/T4PKVB7eIjI/AAAAAAAAANk/trHSAK0iV6k/s320/AcneFree-Severe-Acne-Treatment-System.jpg) which i got at rite aid, and it worked for awhile, but my skin got used to it.
i use this (http://www.pickmedicaments.com/m/images_us/clearasil-ultra-rapid-action-daily-gel-w.jpg) in the shower and this (http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/hpc/detail-page/clearasil-B0012MXUEI-1-l.jpg) after i get out. i mainly have cystic acne and really irritated looking spots, but this has helped a lot. i prefer using the rapid ones because it works well and you see results pretty fast
This is going to sound drastic, but my partner and I went on a ketogenic diet last year to lose a bunch of weight. By cutting out gluten, any acne and especially our dandruff went away. It was fantastic. Even my odd dry skin condition got better. Try it out!
Quote from: ftmax on December 16, 2014, 05:34:11 AM
This post had me very curious and I've spent the last 5 days following Magnus's recommendations. I don't have below/after pics and it's a little early for that but:
- Overall inflammation in my face has gone down
- The few spots I had cleared up by day 3
- Skin feels smoother, has a more natural sheen
- No acne on chest/shoulders/back (didn't have any to begin with, but I was expecting to get some having started T almost 2 weeks ago)
Did you do the olive oil step too, or just the hydrogen peroxide?
Quote from: Brett on December 26, 2014, 10:25:36 AM
Did you do the olive oil step too, or just the hydrogen peroxide?
Whole deal - epsom salt, hydrogen peroxide, and olive oil. I'm exfoliating every other day or every three days based on skin feel. Hydrogen peroxide and olive oil every day. I'm pretty rosy cheeked in general, and I usually had breakouts around periods. With this I've noticed that my skin is less red overall, and I've only gotten 1 pimple as a result of my period starting.
Quote from: ftmax on December 26, 2014, 10:40:30 AM
Whole deal - epsom salt, hydrogen peroxide, and olive oil. I'm exfoliating every other day or every three days based on skin feel. Hydrogen peroxide and olive oil every day. I'm pretty rosy cheeked in general, and I usually had breakouts around periods. With this I've noticed that my skin is less red overall, and I've only gotten 1 pimple as a result of my period starting.
Great. Thanks.