Finally got prescriptions from a derm!

I have had acne, severe redness and sensitive skin for over five years now and no regular non-prescription product or routine worked for me. I have researched and tried everything, tried not doing anything to my skin and then finally I broke down and went to meet a derm after even dietary changes etc didn't help. She prescribed me with two meds after looking at my skin for a couple of minutes 😶 I really think and hope that this is the solution after all of this struggle. And also I am a little bit irritated that it would have been this easy all along 👀

Moral of the story: go see your derm sooner if you think drugstore treatments aren't helping :D

Kara_

last year

I agree so much! I wish I went sooner. Hindsight is always 20/20. Also don't get frustrated if it takes you awhile to get your skin all clear. I started going in Dec 2019 and didn't have my skin all clear until March 2022. We tried many many different things till we got it right! It's a journey and you are learning about your skin no matter what. :)

Alecsay

last year

Yup! I'm also ready to wait for a couple of years longer if the result is to finally have clear skin. Since it has been so long since I started trying stuff that hasn't worked at all 😂

Maria from WIMJ

last year

Thank you so much for sharing @Alecsay! I am so glad you took the step - I think if acne or any skin issue affects our life (and acne often does!), we should try to use everything science and medicine has to offer to us - and a good dermatologist is the best advisor here! 🙌

[deleted]

last year

I took my daughter to a dermatologist for her acne after nothing we tried helped. Unfortunately, what was prescribed didn't help either, so it was a wasted visit for us. :(

Maria from WIMJ

last year

Oh I’m sorry :((( Does the doc know it didn’t help? They might be able to suggest an alternative treatment - acne is very complex, with many factors coming together so it can be difficult even for doctors to figure it out

Alecsay

last year

Not everything works for everyone unfortunately! There are multiple different treatments from antibiotics, retinoids and hormonal treatments etc. Some people also fond best help from drugstore products. I hope your daughter can find a solution for her acne! It can take time and effort :)

[deleted]

last year

Thanks, ladies. Yes, the doctor knows it didn't help because I told them as much when I cancelled the follow up appointment. I actually had the same problem as a teen / young adult and tried loads of products. I also went to a dermatologist myself for years and he prescribed a ridiculous amount of medication--including oral antibiotics. None of it helped me either and using so many medications actually made my skin extremely irritated and much, much worse.

Frankly, three things that finally cleared up my acne problem (which was especially severe on my forehead, like my daughter's) were...

1) Not touching and picking at it anymore--esp the forehead. My daughter will not stop messing with her skin no matter how many times I warn her that she's just spreading it and making it worse. SO frustrating!!!

2) Plain oatmeal and water. I'd grind some oats into a roughish consistency, then mix it with enough water to form a paste. Spread that all over my face, let it dry completely, then rinsed it off with water. It worked so, so well because it sucked out the excess oil (I produced enough oil to put OPEC out of business!) and also exfoliated and unclogged the pores.

3) After the oatmeal face mask, I'd saturate a cotton ball and go over my face with a mixture of 8 parts water to 1 part pure apple cider vinegar. It softened my skin and also helped take out the redness of old acne spots. My kids, unfortunately, inherited my extremely white, porcelain, sensitive skin. Unlike people with less white skin, the redness from a zit that has long gone remains visible for months and months on our skin. So the apple cider vinegar/water mixture was super helpful there.

If my skin got a little dry or needed some TLC, I'd spread plain honey all over my face and just let it soak in for an hour or more, then rinse off with warm water. It moisturized and also helped the acne because it has natural antibacterial properties in it.

Anyway, that's the combo that FINALLY resolved my acne problems. The best thing about it was it cost next to nothing compared to other skincare regimens and the loads of medications I tried. Now that we live in a drier climate, however, it's not really an option anymore because the oatmeal mask and vinegar solution overly dry out our skin here. :( I don't really have acne now that I'm older, but I just don't know how to help my daughter anymore and it is so upsetting. I can see the skin problems are severely affecting her confidence and also causing her to suffer greatly with depression and anxiety.

Maria from WIMJ

last year

Have you seen WIMJ guide for acne? Maybe it can help at least to think things through: https://whatsinmyjar.com/skin-guide/skincare-routine-acne-prone-clogged-pores/

[deleted]

last year

I did read that out, thank you. It wasn't super applicable to my daughter's particularly situation. I really think if I could just convince her to stop messing with her skin that that would help greatly. I think the picking gives her a "release" from anxiety/depression and so it's like a compulsion. She was using Differin for a while and it seemed to be helping until it badly dried out her skin. :(

Captain

last year

This is great news for you.

My Son has had acne for 5 years. He's finally in a routine and his acne is almost gone. He's uses differin daily with a very mild cleansing routine. And two drops of extra virgin olive oil to moisture through the day. It stops any redness and nourishes his skin just enough.

[deleted]

last year

I'm so glad your son is having success with his routien. Do you mind sharing exactly what he uses morning and night? I've been trying to help my oldest daughter with her acne and it's been very, very challenging. She was also using Differin and it seemed to be helping, until her skin got super dried out. She's currently using Bondi Sands "Fresh'n Up" cleanser because the Oxy and other acne-fighting cleansers we've tried also badly dried out her skin and aggravated the problem. She also has very white skin and so every pimple she gets leaves behind a red mark that just won't fade away, even after many months.