I'm going to tell you my success story on how I won my battle with severe acne....at age 21!

21 years old

male

skinny

IBS-d

Acne hit me when I was a freshmen in high school. At first it was a little then as life went on so did my acne. By junior year I had severe acne, when I say severe I mean I had cystic, little red bumps, and tons of blackheads on my nose. My face was extremely and still is oily. With bacne galore.

At 17 (end of junior year) I've tried every kind of treatment with no results. I went to the dermatologist and he put me on antibiotics. With barely any results I went to another dermatologist with still no good results. I graduated with a face full of acne after all of my wasted attempts and money.

This is the turning point in my acne life. After getting out high school and getting more comfortable with my part time job, I decided to give the derma one more chance, I picked a dermatologist who specializes in acne a little further away from home. Here is my timeline

Started out on clindamycin-benzoyl peroxide gel for my bacne and face.

• Shower in morning with Cetaphil bar on face and Clearasil ultra acne+marks by hand for bacne and chest and shoulders.
• Moisturize with Complex-15 lotion. After shower.
• Use Clean and Clear oil absorbent pads on nose and face for oil throughout the day. (~5 sheets a day) of for a budget you can use plain tissue paper.
• Wash face before bed with Cetaphil bar, wait until dry then use clindamycin-benzoyl peroxide gel on face and back. No moisturizer, unless I need to go out in public.

This changed my life, it reduced my acne and bacne where I could feel confident about taking pictures with my friends, going on dates, or even waking up knowing my face isnt going to be a mess. Of course I still had breakouts but this limited it to once every two weeks. I still had little acne around my mouth (hormonal) and my blackheads were still persistent.

After about a year this medicine plateaus, meaning my body got used to it.

I had a glorious year and at this point I figured my acne days were over, I stopped all treatment and let my body figure it out.

Bad idea, slowly but surly my acne came back! Terrified I went to the derma again.

The final battle: antibiotics and Ziana

• Wash face in the morning with Cetaphil Bar by hand, moisturize with Complex-15 as needed only if skin is dry.
• Use salicylic acid wipes on nose for blackheads.
• Sea Salt and water spray on chest and back.
• Antibiotic once a day with meal. (make sure you don't take it with calcium)
• Witch hazel or salicylic acid during the day if possible on nose. (salicylic acid wipes, mask, or exfoliate)
• Shower at night with Head and Shoulders classic clean, on back/chest/shoulders/face by hand.
• Ziana after your face drys.

After 3 months my face had cleared up of my acne, breakouts are rare, bacne is limited and blackheads are diminishing!

I still have an oily face but time and hormones will cure that. Im 21 now and my face is as clear as its ever been since 16. Acne has changed my life and governed how I live since the minute i wake up every morning. I am glad to say that now I am in control and i'm posting this because I too searched these forums looking for a cure. The cure is persistence and science. Go to a dermatologist, and keep going until you are happy with your face!

IMPORTANT!!!! Here are a list of things I also did to cure my acne that I didn't mention above:

• Do not smoke/vape. Stay clear of smokey areas.
• Stop touching your face!
• Wash sheets and pillow cases and shower towel once a week or twice.
• Limit on sugary drinks.
• Limit your stress! My acne cleared up after high school- (very stressful).
• Get sun, sun makes your acne look better. Clears up bacne.
• Wear as least cloths as possible. If you can keep your shirt off- let your bacne air out.
• I went to a dermatologist that cleared my blackheads for me all at once. (Pore cleansing)
• Shave that stupid beard.
• Avoid hair products.
• Brush your teeth before you wash your face.
• Talk to your dermatologist, they are there to help!