Friday, November 13, 2009

Some helpful stuff:

Here's a good website of ingredients to look for/avoid if you're dealing with acne:

http://www.zerozits.com/Articles/acne_detective/article6.htm

Zeno didn't work for me. It's an expensive little gadget that you put on a zit 4X/day to "kill the bacteria" with heat.....not so much. My derm also thought this was a little optimistic. And NOT worth the $100!
Proactiv helped but was not enough to battle my cystic breakouts. It is THE BEST over-the-counter thing I tried. The cheaper system ("Acne-Free") is not the same, and I did not like it as much. My advice is: try Proactiv for 6 months, really following the directions. If you still break out, visit a derm and try their suggestions. Accutane is the last resort, most derms won't prescribe it until other things have failed.
Antibiotics also helped, but I broke out as soon as I stopped them. Also, antibiotics can cause side effects like yeast infections, diarrhea, etc.
Vitamins are awesome, but I still broke out; you should always look to see which can aggravate acne. For example, I believe I read that Iodine (like in shrimp) can worsen acne....so check on what you take.
Retin-A totally sucked for me. I broke out more, my face felt like it was on fire ALL the time; even laying on my pillow hurt! My new derm also said they don't think it's helpful for acne.
Metrogel was prescribed for a friend with rosacea. I tried it for a while (I know it's not good to share drugs! I was desperate!). The metrogel did nothing for my acne.
Benzoyl Peroxide does help. I like 2.5% which I put on every evening; it was one thing in Proactiv....helpful. Can be drying and can bleach linens.
Salicylic Acid was not especially helpful.
50% Lactic Acid Peel that I bought online was nice; it made my skin soft and lightened my dark marks left over from pimples....but it did not do much to stop the breakouts.

Hope some of this helps if you are having problems with acne. A friend of mine told me her dermatologist recently tried to sell her a line of "cleansers" for $150. Personally, I would find another dermatologist. Mine prescribed antibiotics, a cheap ($10) cleanser and a cheap lotion [they formulated the stuff themselves], gave me injections and facials with each appointment.
This other doctor who is selling $150 cleansers sounds like he/she is mostly after money. Just sayin'!

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