Beauty And The Blog

I know what you are thinking, acne and wrinkles, so not fair. And you are absolutely right. It isn’t. I know about that first hand. See it happened to me. I never had a break out problem as a teen and sailed right through my 20′s and 30′s with clear skin.

Then came my 40′s.  A few wrinkles, nothing to shout about. Then a very stressful move across the country. Suddenly I was dealing with Adult Onset Cystic Acne. Ewww.  And being an esthetician, need I tell you I was absolutely mortified?

So off I went to the dermatologist. We tried every topical prescription available. We tried nearly every oral medication indicated for acne. And nothing worked.

My acne was not horrible. I have seen much worse cases. But it was certainly enough to make me miserable. There was one remedy we had not tried because I really didn’t want to go there. I had heard the horror stories of Accutane.

I bit the bullet and took it. Turned out that it was too strong for my system so I took a half dose for a longer period of time. My skin became so dry and so sensitive it was nearly unbearable. And not just on my face, everywhere.

Dry skin is not the only problem with Accutane. Lot’s of health issues can crop up. So if you are even considering using Accutane, please do check out this post at Drugs.com

So if you do not want to take Accutane, and honestly even though it worked for me (being on it is hell) I don’t recommend it, what should you do?

Definitely see a dermatologist if acne skin care systems are not producing results. Facials are probably not going to help you. You may need medical care to solve this problem.

Now, here’s something I did not do, did not even think of at the time. Start a journal about your acne breakouts. Yes, write down what you eat and drink (all of it, everything), when you are stressed, your activities (such as workouts, working in the garden, cleaning the house, these all dirty up your skin and cause bacteria to get embedded in your pores), your sleep habits, your hormonal fluctuations each month (like when you get your periods and when you ovulate), what you use on your skin, when and how often. Be sure to note the daily condition of your skin as well. Do this for 30 days. It will be a great resource in helping your dermatologist determine just what may be causing those nasty breakouts.

What you eat, your stress level, what you are using on your face and how often you clean your face all figure into the cause of acne. And those ever changing hormones. Stress and hormones were how I ended up with acne. I no longer have issues with it after the Accutane but I don’t know if I would ever take it again. Rough stuff.

Maybe you want to try treating your acne with over the counter products first. Not a bad idea if your acne is not severe. Using a good BHA exfoliate is a great place to start. As I have mentioned in another post, BHA (Beta Hydroxy Acid) not only exfoliates the surface of your skin but actually gets into the pore itself and cleans it of bacteria.

Benzoyl peroxide is another ingredient that can help. Benzoyl peroxide will kill acne-causing bacteria and has a keratolytic effect. Meaning that it dissolves the keratin, which is skin cells and in this case dead skin cells, that can be plugging the skin’s pores. But be aware, acne skin care products containing this chemical can cause the skin to dry out radically. To prevent this, the concentration of benzoyl peroxide should not exceed 2.5%.

Have you tried anything that really works? Know a skin care line for acne that you’d recommend? Talk to us!

Photo by Ophelias-Overdose