MBE - From someone who suffered acne pretty badle when younger, over most of my upper body, if you are applying a topical cream I found it best to 'dab' it onto problem spots, rather than smear it over the skin.
As others have said, a lot of acne treatments dry the oils out of the skin, which is great for stopping the spots, NOT so good for the skin itself. If you apply the cream all over I found it to drying on the areas that didn't really need it.
An additional approach is to moisturise the skin, although you want to make sure you are using something non-greasy and non-oily, otherwise you are just reversing the affects of the acne cream. Aloe is a good one, but make sure it is pure - pure aloe will dry a bit sticky and may not feel comfortable, but quite a lot of 'aloe' products on teh market actually have aloe as a very small ingrediant, and some even have alcohol in them to aid 'qucik drying' - unfortunatly the alcohol will also dry your skin!
When I was taking the treatments I had a variety of pills & creams to use, all of which dried my skin horribly, to the point that even smiling would cause the sides of my mouth to split and bleed  Also a lot of the treatments will recommend that you keep OUT of the sun, as by removing the oils etc from your skin it is much more likely to burn (and slathering it in suncream doesn't help the 'non-gresy' side of things! Saying that I did find that the sun itself actually helped fight the spots!
It tends to be a case of finding your personal balance between using potions and lotions to dry your skin, and not drying it so much that it becomes uncomfortable. If you are able to get some natural sun on your skin, reduce the use of the 'drying' cream during those times to avoid burns.
Also I found swimming was a great help, presumably because of the chlorine in the water, but I know only to well that there can be a bit of an issue with confidence in this respect if your skin is bad.
Good luck with it - fingers crossed for you.
Differen can cause a brief sensation of warmth or stinging may occur immediately after applying the medication. Skin redness, dryness,itching, scaling, mild burning, or worsening of acne may occur during the first 2-4 weeks of using the medication.
oh and your acne might appear worse because the medication is working on pimples forming inside the skin. It may take up to 8-12 weeks to notice results from this medication.
If it does get unbearable I would make an emergency appointment at the gp. make sure you wash your hands and skin before you apply it. I haven't read the other comments, so I hope this helps x
I'd definitely contact the GP or just pop into a pharmacy as it might not need any kind of medical attention and may just be your body adjusting to the medicine during treatment and them side effects may go away <3
Thank you everyone. I'm starting to notice a small change in my skin so i'm gonna keep going with it for a week or so..... but if not i'll give up and cry haha!
I always thought that how acne creams worked by literally drying the skin and burning it with chemicals hence the redness. .
OUCH! Thank you ;) wrote:
Try using pure coconut oil (food grade) as a moisturiser. I have terribly dry skin due to PCOS and I suffer from rosacea and bouts of seborrhoeic dermatitis too.
I use coconut oil for oil pulling and started using it as a moisturiser and I've never looked back. It takes off dry skin, it has a mild sun screen effect and it doesn't react with my prescribed creams and gels as it's all natural.
It can be quite pricey but I got a shed load off my OH for my birthday from H&B as it's half price and also in the penny sale right now ;)
I just started oil pulling today with extra virgin olive oil. Do you feel it has benefited you? My gums are giving me jip just now, they are a little inflamed on the left hand side and the roof of my mouth a little on the same side. So thought I would try this out :) x
Honestly thank you so much going to be trying all of this!!!! This all great!
Question what is the best make up for my skin type. Cazz, Jess etc...I'm sorry this is not forum related but i'm clueless although thinking maybe clinique? I can't not wear make up when im going out because i'm so ugly. I never wear make up unless im going out and it comes off the second im home again but just as a cover for when im out the house.
Firstly, please don't ever think you're ugly. Everyone is beautiful to somebody, and we all have our own little imperfections and features that make us unique, quite simply, ugly doesn't exist!
As for make up, try to steer clear of oil based or overly creamy foundations as those wil block pores more easily. Gel based formulas or my personal preference, powders, are kinder to pores i find. Powders can also have antibacterial agents in as well as absorb excess oil, i wear a translucent powder whenever my skin is misbehaving getting oily, as it's invisible and i dislike wearing make up. It can often be how you apply makeup that causes breakouts rather than the product, as brushes and sponges absorb oil and pick up bacteria every time you use them and re spread it back on next use. washing them in a mild baby shampoo twice a week and allowing to air dry should really help, as will not dabbing concealer sticks on the skin or using the applicators that go back in the bottle which can mix bacteria into the whole product, I prefr to use cotton buds for eyeshadows and dabbing on concealer s a big packet is really cheap and they're disposable. If you do apply anything with fingers, wash your hands right before applying.
My favourite is N.Y.C mineral powder foundation, a few different brands make mineral powder foundation though if you're more trusting of certain well known brands, it sits lighter on the skin and is more breathable yet still gives good coverage.
Sarahgee wrote:
I just started oil pulling today with extra virgin olive oil. Do you feel it has benefited you? My gums are giving me jip just now, they are a little inflamed on the left hand side and the roof of my mouth a little on the same side. So thought I would try this out :) x
Yes, I really do think oil pulling has worked wonders. My teeth are quite a bit whiter and my mouth feels so much cleaner in general. My gums were a bit red and inflamed when I first started, especially around a wisdom tooth, but now it's all settled and my gums are a healthy looking pink again. My breath is fresher for longer and when I do get various niggles after abusing my mouth they seem to heal faster. I can honestly say I won't ever buy mouthwash again.
Keep going with the pulling and you should notice a difference within a few weeks :)
MissBrownEyes92 wrote:
Honestly thank you so much going to be trying all of this!!!! This all great!
Question what is the best make up for my skin type. Cazz, Jess etc...I'm sorry this is not forum related but i'm clueless although thinking maybe clinique? I can't not wear make up when im going out because i'm so ugly. I never wear make up unless im going out and it comes off the second im home again but just as a cover for when im out the house.
I've found the best make-up I've ever used is bareMinerals (and I've been plastering my face with crap for 20 odd years). The initial outlay is quite high but it'll last eons as only a tiny bit is needed. My skin is massively sensitive and I had terrible break outs no matter what I used. I can't even use Simple skincare stuff as it feels like it burns my face and I get volcanic pustules all over my cheeks and nose.
My doc sent me to a dermatologist and after she diagnosed my skin problems (which are controlled by metrosa gel, calmurid cream and the odd application of hydrocortisone cream) she suggested I try bareMinerals, so I whopped it on a xmas list and I got the starter kit from my hubby's dad so I could try it out.
You get a couple of pots of powder foundation, primer, contouring powder, setting powder and a few full size brushes with a DVD to show you how to go about getting the most out of it. It costs around £50 for the set and the full sized powder pots are about £25 I think.
It covers my rosacea to the point where my doc thought it had completely gone, it conceals my zits and doesn't make my skin flake like liquid/cream foundations do. I still love Urban Decay and Illamasqua for eye and lip stuff, but I won't ever buy another brand for base.
I just came across this thread and I'd like to say you are not alone, I'm 29 and after 10 years on the pill, I switched to a copper coil and all the acne I had when I was a teen suddenly reappeared!
I switched to natural products and found aleppo soap with 40% laurel was very good (the more laurel it contains, the better, as I heard), as well as aloe, jojoba oil and sage essential oil. With this routine, my face is quite OK at the moment. I have spots on my back, though, but it really has improved.
In the make-up department, I like Lily Lolo mineral foundation, it's natural and not tested on animals, it's the only brand that does not make me breakout even more and as it contains plenty of zinc, it's even good for this kind of skin problems. I like to check the components before I buy something, because some chemicals used in beauty products can sometimes irritate the skin.