I have the most annoying zits. They cycle just as I do , but since it takes so long for the skin on your face to heal, it never looks like I'm zit free. I've tried peroxide, Stridex, Noxema zit stuff, Melaleuca (tea tree oil) stuff and none of it takes it away. Anyone have something that works on hormone related acne? * I should note I have sensitive skin and react to anything with citrus.
Toothpaste. Really. I'm not kidding. A dab of toothpaste on a zit the night before. Wash it off in the morning. Oh, and believe it or not ProActive is really good stuff. I don't use it the way they recommend - and I use the SENSITIVE. I, too, have breakouts cyclically. This stuff REALLY controls that, and my skin feels really nice. I use the face wash every other day - admittedly I only use it in the shower, I shower every other day....I use the toner only when I'm breaking out. That being said, I very rarely wear makeup. And even when I do, I do not wear foundation or blush - only eyeliner & mascara & lip stick/gloss. When I do this I use a washcloth or a make up remover wipe (neutrogena). I do splash water on my face morning & night on the days I do not shower, and I do use the lotions then, if my face is feeling "dry". So I literally only go through 1 kit a year! LOL (they HATE ME). I'm am EXTREMELY sensitive to stuff. I have allergic reactions to even most other Sensitive products...I DO NOT react to ProActive Sensitive. AT ALL. I was prepared to have to send it back when they sent it to me. My oldest used to use the regular and it worked well for her. She switched to Velocity and is now breaking out all the time. I'm hoping to convince her to switch back to ProActive. And she, too, was using it like I do. She was using regular....I will switch her to Sensitive if I convince her to try it again. I also get compliments all the time on my skin!
I have never really had problems, but dh has always had issues. He ordered from acne.org. They have a cleanser, treatment, and moisturizer. He found great results. Our only complaint is that since the treatment is a type of peroxide (I think that is what it was), he had to be careful what shirts he wore. His collar would touch his face and several shirts were ruined from discoloration. Otherwise, he found it to be great.
I think ProActive is a kind of peroxide, too. At least it was years ago when my SIL used it. That's why I tried straight peroxide. So you don't have to order ProActive each month? My SIL had a monthly automatic order when she used it.
You do not have to order every month. If you're on an auto-ship, you get a free gift every month (that increases in value). But you can cancel at any time. I had good luck with their customer service. I ended up with two extra kits once I cancelled because they sent them to me anyway. I called and they immediately refunded me. Then it happened again. lol. They didn't want the product back.
You do not have to be on the autoship AT ALL. I am on autoship, but I stretch it out to the maximum 25 weeks. They usually send me an email before they are about to ship, and if I'm not ready for it, I call them and reschedule the shipment. It's not been an issue at all. I also modified my shipments so it's ONLY the products I use. I don't use the toner at all, so I removed it. I have so much of the lotions that I won't need it - so I pulled that off. Basically, I pay $40 every 40 weeks or so....I can handle $1/week for skincare. The Proactiv people I've dealt with are SO nice, too.
This is very good news! Thanks, ladies. My Dh just got a promotion of sorts and I might be able to justify a special skin care purchase.
Tea Tree Oil I dab straight Tea Tree Oil from The Body Shop on my face in specific zit/pimple spots and it does help quite a bit. The whole line from The Body Shop is pretty good, actually. I really like the face mask and the face wash is pretty good. I use the mask when I have a group of breakouts that needs to be tamed. (Oh and the blotting tissues are great if you have oily spots during the day.) My go-to face wash right now, though, is Paula's Choice Normalizing Cleanser. This face wash coupled with the tea tree products really keeps things mostly under control, for me. For a moisturizer, I really like the Alba Botanica Aloe and Green Tea Moisturizer I have combination / oily skin and a lot of products produce more oil and leave me feeling greasy. The Alba Moisturizer doesn't do this, yet it makes my skin feel soft and moisturized, even during the dry Illinois winter. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep using it during the summer when it's not as dry, but we'll see. I just discovered it this winter, so I'm not sure how summer will go. I have fought acne, zits, pimples, breakouts for years and years. I've used Proactive and just about every "acne" line at Target (i.e. Neutrogena, Clean and Clear, Clearasil, etc) . I've switched for various reasons. Proactive was awesome. For awhile. And then I had to switch because it just kind of stopped working. Well, that, and it was so $$$ and I always had to drive to the mall to pick it up (I never ordered by mail in time to get it before I would run out! my own fault!). I was also a little bothered by how it bleached my handtowels out. Made me consider what it was doing to my skin! yikes. I by no means have totally clear skin, now, but this is definitely one of the better regimes I've used.
The tea tree oil works somewhat for me, it just seems like my breakouts are getting worse. I ought to find out if that is normal as our hormones change. If I knew it was signalling the end of menstruation, I could definitely live with it for a few more years! :lol:
YOu need to be careful, too. Doing TOO much to get your skin clear can back fire and irritate your skin, causing more breakouts. A long time ago, I used to use scrubby gloves to wash my face, but I was always broken out. Finally asked my doctor and he told me that the scrubby gloves were irritating my face, which was causing more breakouts than what the soap was washing away. I still do it now, but not every day, maybe once a week.
I totally understand, mine is definitely hormone related. Another thing that I think has been helping is taking Iodine. You definitely need to read Dr. Brownstein's Iodine book on it though, if you consider that route. You need other supplements, in the beginning, during the detox; plus the dosage can be tricky. But, it's definitely been a component in helping with mine and the hormone side of it.
I don't have bad acne, just a zit or two around my period, but I do have very oily skin. I would use soap on it, then I would have dry skin for a few hours followed by more oily skin. I started using a very gentle glycerin soap on my face. It doesn't strip the oils, and so my face produces less oil. It's nice and creamy lather! You can find it places like Etsy. You can even get unscented and no colors. Just make sure it doesn't have any Sodium Laurel Sulfate or similar things. They are detergents that strip your skin.
I've always had bad acne and have never found a product that has worked. I think it's because most acne treatments are aimed at people with oily skin, but adult acne isn't sometimes caused by oil, so the treatments don't work. But I have found a way that gets rid of nearly all my acne, which is good enough (better than looking like a pizza all day!). It's basically this, which confirms that I'm not the only one who has these specific problems with so-called acne treatment products. Anyway, if the description is like you, then try it, it might work.
I've actually found that my acne is better if I just wash my face with water. I only use eye makeup, so I know my pores aren't clogged by any product I'm using. My zits are only on my chin and very rarely on a cheek. The more I've thought about this, the more I am aware of how often I rest my chin in my hand. I'm starting to catch myself now, so we'll see if leaving my chin alone will help them heal up.
