Acne medication...any experience here?

[AAA240SX]

According to medical studies through my bios class the only true acne/blemish treatment that works (without excessively damaging the skin) is Retinoic Acid or Retin-A.

There's a product by Johnson and Johnson called, "Retin A Cream (Tretinoin)." It's somewhat similar to the Retin-A-Micro cream that is advertised nationwide.

But, I was just wondering if any of you guys/girls have experience with this product. I don't have acne that's too bad, it's just blemishes and shit from younger years that Retin-A is claimed to relieve.

Let me know and thanks in advance!

[MakotoS13]

if you just rinse off your face with tap water throughout the day it helps a ton. a lot of people use stuff but i never really did. maybe clearasil daily face wash (which is really good) used like once a day.

using soap and a ton of chemicals screws with your skin and does more harm than good. the key is listening to your body.

[Salty_X]

I tried that shit many years ago, and the result was worse than problem I was trying to alleviate. I'm not sure if I just used too much or if it's just what it does, but all the skin on my face started peeling like a mother for a few weeks after I started using it. The skin underneath looked good, but all the flakey/peely areas looked worse than acne IMO. I would say only start using it if you have a month or so away from others or if you really don't care what other people think.

Basically what I do is just stick to washing the face sometime during the day and using some spot treatment at night. It also seems to help to keep my fingernails cut so dirt and grease can't get built up and transplanted onto my face. Five o'clock shadow seems to hide small blemishes too.. one of those instances where being lazy has some benefit.

[nightwalker]

Proactive. Really good shit.

[XxJaPxOxNeEs23xX]

proactive sucks, doesnt work at all, and it has strong bleach in it. it messed up my towels

[90RS13]

Accutane is the most powerful acne medication you can get. In most cases it permanantly stops acne after you are finished with the 6-month medication. It is for certain types though and only as a last resort. I mean, this is some powerful crap. Side effects are VERY SEVERE. It can cause mental disorders, suicide, and severe drying of the skin, and a bunch of other crap. My brother was on it like 4 years ago. During the worst phase of it, he was so dried out it was freaky. He was bleeding from his eyelids, lips, just everything cracking and stuff. It was horrible. And you can't use most moisterizers because they have stuff in them that makes it worse. I felt so sorry for him. But his fine now and with no acne. I wouldn't recomend it to most people, my brother was glad he did it cause his was really bad. He had acne all over his face, back , and chest. But the stuff is hard core. anyways, that's what i know

[smellslikecurry]

im in pharmacy school, work as a pharm tech and both my rents are pharmacists so i have tons of experience with acne meds...and honestly the best thing you can do is just wash your face with sulfur soap and rub it with cocoa butter...cocoa butter helps remove scars but it takes forver. Also you might try and use a cream called Mederma...its a little expensive but its otc and it works in removing scars. All the prescribed acne meds like retin a, accutane, proactive, benzocyclin, erythromycin....blah blah blah suck...they work for a little bit then your acne gets worse...it also wreaks havoc on your skin when your outside in the sun...this doesnt apply to most people but from what ive learned/read/experienced these meds suck asssssss!!!

[Phlip]

All natural, shea butter and nothing else... I my face hasn't broken out in years

[JtWo]

Go to your Kaiser's Pharmecy(sp?), and buy a tube of Kaiser Brand Benzoyl Peroxide 10%. That stuff works great, but it dries out your skin a little. I've tried the clearasil Benzoyl Peroxide and it took longer than the Kaiser brand. Don't put a shit load though...If you see a zit in the morning and use benzoyl, it should be gone by that night.

[Drift101]

Like 90Rs13 said, Accutane is hands down the most effective, back in high school i was on that shit and man was it horrible. You have to get your blood examined to see if you are able to go on that medication. I had acne like a mother fucker, on my face, back and chest. It was just embarassing, and I wash and clean myself all the time, took 2 showers a day and used Neutragena soap bars throughout the day. Still I couldn't get rid of it. Some people just have oily skin and acne is hereditary. If you are serious and want to get rid of serious acne prob, Accutane is the way to do it, but the sides effects are super bad, i had skin flakes all over my face and was dry as a mofo. but just hang with it for 6 months and you will be free of acne, i don't get it anymore, and I am glad I was on it. It may have had bad side effects, but it was easily worth it. Oh yeah, price on these fuckers was about 300+ bucks for 12 or so pills. taken once a day!

[AAA240SX]

so accutane works huh?
what if i use it in conjunction with a cocoa butter lotion? would it take the flakyness away?

i've heard a ton of stories about products being good and being bad, so it's like a see-saw. hard to decide what to use.

[w1ngzer0]

Originally Posted by MakotoS13

if you just rinse off your face with tap water throughout the day it helps a ton. a lot of people use stuff but i never really did. maybe clearasil daily face wash (which is really good) used like once a day.

using soap and a ton of chemicals screws with your skin and does more harm than good. the key is listening to your body.

I agree. I had a really bad one that hurt and was big. I washed my face in that stuff and messaged the hurtful part and in 3 days it was down and almost gone.

Or just simply washing your face helps too. Irish spring sucks becuase it drys your face

[khoadogg]

just washing it throughout the day with water more than once helps. I got some Neutragena that's used once in awhile.

[WhiteNissanS13]

i would say to wash your face twice daily with some kind of face wash with its active ingredient being Salycylic Acid(towel pat dry!, dont towel rub dry!) and use a cream at night with its active ingredient being Benzoyl Preoxide. and not moisturize your face with a lotion that will clog your pores.

[90RS13]

i've heard a ton of stories about products being good and being bad, so it's like a see-saw. hard to decide what to use.

I know it's expensive, but go to a dermatologist (sp?). After all they are the experts. But I know accutane is uber effective for most types of acne. Out of the couple people I know that have had to take it, it worked for all them, but only a dermatologist would know if it's right for you. Like I said, it can cause some people to be suicidal.

what if i use it in conjunction with a cocoa butter lotion? would it take the flakyness away?

Not sure, I know that there is hardly anything like lotions, that you can use while on it, cause they will burn, exacerbate the side effects. I know you can use carmex. It sounds sticky and nasty, but my brother and a friend I know, both put carmex on their lips, face, and everything to try and stop the cracking and flaking.

[SilviaDriver]

eh. i wash my face with plain ol tap water from the sink and whipe it away with a towel. and i dont get ance. once in a rare occasion i get one or two but thats like 4 months apart or even longer. i dunn if what im doing works, or i juss dont get ance period

my sister had a really bad case of ance, forgot what she took, but she was the only one with it int he house hold that was so bad

[atom]

Accutane is only for the most severe acne, if you get breakouts once in a while it's not for you. That shit has freaked me out ever since that kid from seaquest offed himself.

[AAA240SX]

it seems like just washing my face regularly with regular water and soap seems a lot safer, but it hasn't gotten rid of the blemishes. i'll try seeing how much the dermatologist costs. if it's too much, i'll have to save... we'll see... thanks again!

[BSeay]

The stuff i take is prescription its called Bactrim DS, i used to have it all over my face, back and chest...this stuff is a pill i take twice a day and it's done... (of course i wash my face and shower regularly)....but if i didnt take this i would be a horrendious mess...

[RBS14]

I took Accutane about 2 years ago, and my sister just finished a couple months ago. It is definately the end of the line as far as acne treatments go. It's interesting to me that it's so hectic, yet it is just a derivitive of vitamin E. I had to go through 10+ different creams and multiple different pills before my dermatologist finally recommended and perscribed it to me. It's a last resort for dermatologists. It virtually rid me of acne for 1.5 years after the treatment. The HORRIBLE thing about it is that it actually makes the acne worse before it makes it better for some of the people who take it. Unfortunately I was in that group of people. I've just started getting some small stuff back on my face here and there within the last few months. It's even more hectic for girls. My sister had to get a pregnancy test once a month while she was on it. It seriously messes up babies to the point where most die after birth. They are very serious about women not getting pregnant while on it. I also had to get blood tests done once a month to make sure everything was still cool. Accutane is very hard on your liver, so they watch it very closely. It's hard enough on your body that in the rare occasion that someone needs 2 6-month treatments, they wait 6 months between treatments to give your body a break. It sucked, but it was well worth the end result. I'd do it all over in a heartbeat and so would my sister. Accutane sucks, but acne bad enough to warrant the use of Accutane is WAY worse. Hope that sheds some light/helps someone.

[The ROMAN]

I was on Ammesteem (isotretinoin) for 6 months. From what you guys are saying, it seems its the same as Accutane, it's a hardcore pill that kills babies that you take for cystic acne. My side effects weren't nearly as bad though, just some dryness. I've been acne free for most part ever since.
You just better have insurance though, it's like $600 for a box of 30!

[Twinkie]

At the end of Senior year in High School, I had severe Acne. Now...Acne is not just one kind of acne. If you ask a dermatologist, there are tons of kinds of acne. the reason why some over the counter medicine works for some people and not others is because everyone has different kind os skin and acne.

Now for the people who say Proactive works and Proactive doesnt work, well, your both wrong AND right. The thing with Proactive is that it actually works, but only on people with a certain kind of acne (i forgot the name of it) which isnt so severe. Proactive has an ingredient called Benzoil Peroxide(most likely 8% - 10%), an acne treatment that is also in a lot of other over the counter stuff such as Clearasil, Nutragena ...etc. What benzoil does is it dehydrates your acne/skin and stops oiliness and stops redness. a simular ingrediant in most over the counter products is Salicylic Acid which also is nto very affective with severe acne. Benzoil is not very affective with certain acne. people with sever acne...just make a pass on this product because it wont work for you. you will have no luck. however, there is a more affective Benzoil Peroxide Base product called Benzocline which can be perscribed by your family doctor.

the most severe kind of acne is called Cystic Acne or Cyst. I had this kind back in high school. The thing with these mother fuckers is that they may come out of no where. These acnes arent just any normal ones...they are acne on steroids! they come up like boils, and may clot blood and puss inside of it until it is ready to pop like a volcano...and no matter what...these will cause serious scars. and when these things attack, they attack in groups, making your face/neck/back and chest covered with it. some people may have a bad case, some people lighter (i had a pretty light case compared to other people).

Now there are 2 products which may treat these kind of acne very affectively. those two are called Accutane and Retin-A. I took Accutane and it worked beautifully. Accutane is a pill that you have to take daily over the course of 5 month period. What it does is it shrinks your oil glands so that they dont put out as much oil and become black heads. After taking this for about 3 months, you will notice your skin changing drastically. in about 5 months, your skin will be acne free, oil free, and your scars and redness will start to blend in with your skin making your skin VERY SMOOTH! however, Accutane will only do this miracle for temperary. It will improve your skin in the future, but i cant promise yout hat it will rid of Acne forever. your skin will go back to the norm and start creating oil again after about 3 motnhs of quitting accutane. For me, i started having acne again after about a year, but very very mild.

Accutane can only be perscribed by a dermatologist because it may be a very dangerous drug. Accutane has some SERIOUS side affects. I even had to sign a paper saying that i was risking my life taking Accutane! Side affects may be ver dry skin, liver problems, loss of hearing, and depression and in some cases...Suicidal thoughts. however most of these side affects happen 1 in 100 people. For me, the only side affect i had was dry skin which was not so bad. Over all, i loved accutane. it worked for me.

Accutane is great however, it is very expensive. It is 10 dollars a pop, making a whole month of it cost nearly 400 bucks. and even worst, yah gotta take it for 5 months! I was covered by insurence tho. =)

Vitamine A is highly NOT recommended for people using Accutane, there fore, it may be dangerous using Accutane and Retin-A at the same time. What Retin-A does is it has a Vitamine A base ingrediant which totally dehydrates the affected area on your skin making the pimples "flake" off like dry skin. Instead of a pill like Accutane, Retin-A is a topical gell.

Because Accutane is known as such a dangerous drug to the 1 of 100 people, it is in the process of being banned from being a pharmasidical drug. which means, for the people who really want to take it int he future...you better get it now before it cant be perscribed any more.

well thats my knowlege about acne medication. I know more but i feel like im giving too much information. lol

[sepulchral]

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If you don't want to waste money, time, etc, and want RESULTS that are guaranteed to CURE acne

ACCUTANE.... face was clear in a month, of all blemishes, etc, u could never tell i had a zit on my face

minocycline, proactive, retin-a, differein, none of that shit has workd for me or my friends.

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[sykikchimp]

something that helped rid me of acne was to just stop touching my face. Very simple, but very effective..

[sepulchral]

Originally Posted by sykikchimp

something that helped rid me of acne was to just stop touching my face. Very simple, but very effective..

accutain cured mine and my friends

[EvaPrototype]

I used Oxy, Stridex, Retin-A, and Accutane. I'm a greasy Italian, so all throughout high school I had horrible acne. Oxy was worthless, Stridex did a decent job if I used it immediately after every instance I got hot & sweaty. Retin-A didn't work for me. Accutane did the job, I still have little breakouts from time to time when I'm sick, or I eat crappy food, however. My only complaint about Accutane was the monthly blood testing to check your liver. But it did the trick.

[Drift101]

lol, i didnt know so many people used accutane, now this theread is turning into something like an advertisement!

[scruffy63]

well whenever I get some acne I just wipe my face off with rubbing alcohol and the acne goes away in 2-3 days. then maybe a few more days for the spots to go away. it works great for me and its only $1.35 for the big bottle. cheap and effective.

[Twinkie]

rubbing alcohol!? your not supposed to do that. it ruins your skin in the long run....if you even care at all. anything with alcohol that you apply on your face fucks up your skin and may get worst. but hey, if it works for you...i guess.

[ZK]

Accutane is the brand name for isotretinoin. Ammesteem is a new generic version of isotretinoin. Pretty much the same stuff.

I used it after everything else failed. I can understand why they don't want people except those with severe acne. I was always tired, face breaking out in acne, then the skin started drying and cracking from dryness, blood pressure went up, cholesterol levels went up. I don't think the drug is what makes you suicidal like the reports say, its the side-effects makes you feel like crap.

I have to say the drug definitely works, but it is expensive and if you can get through it you're acne free afterwards.