# acne coming back



## the chosen one (Jan 8, 2010)

ok so here's the thing, i've been acne free for about a year now ever since i started using proactive but the past couple of weeks my face has been slowly breaking back out again. I haven't changed my diet at all and im still using the proactive exactly like i always have. Not having acne has really given me a confidence boost as far as interacting with people and if i can avoid it i really would like to keep it from coming back. If anybody has any suggestions I would really appreciate it.


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## Emptyheart (Sep 15, 2009)

the chosen one said:


> ok so here's the thing, i've been acne free for about a year now ever since i started using proactive but the past couple of weeks my face has been slowly breaking back out again. I haven't changed my diet at all and im still using the proactive exactly like i always have. Not having acne has really given me a confidence boost as far as interacting with people and if i can avoid it i really would like to keep it from coming back. If anybody has any suggestions I would really appreciate it.


I used proactive for a couple months but it started slowly not working for me anymore, so I'm on minocycline at the moment and works great! If it's really bothering you, you should see a dermatologist.


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## TyrosineKinase (Jan 20, 2010)

Don't mess around with over the counter products.

Go to the dermatologist and get a prescription and see what they recommend. They may recommend accutane, if the acne is persistent and severe. It's difficult to be on (side effects and what you have to go through to get a prescription like answering questions and stuff), but my girlfriend was on it and it cleared her acne completely.

Her dermatologist joked that she could rub lard all over her face and still not get a breakout.


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## GrimedMechanic86 (Jan 20, 2010)

Try using proactive. It worked wonders on me. But of course results may vary.


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## Kwtrader (Oct 10, 2007)

don't use proactiv the company is a little unethical and the chemicals a temporary fix. (acne i have learned)if you are not a teen is usually caused by stress, so you have to try to reduce stress level.


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## Emptyheart (Sep 15, 2009)

Yeah I wouldn't go with proactive either, it's a waste of time and money. With the money you spend on proactive you can get a dermatologist and have longer effects with the medicine he gives you. Proactive works but once you stop it's all comes back.


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## IllusionOfHappiness (Sep 6, 2007)

I use Proactiv nightly and I find it helps. It's overly expensive, so if you buy it use it sparingly. It doesn't work for everyone.

Facial acne is not my only issue and certainly not the most prominent, so for my back, neck, shoulder, and chest acne my dermatologist prescribed the birth control pill Diane-35 (I don't know of any other names it goes by). Three months was a long time to wait, but I saw clear results after the initial waiting period was up. Six months in my t-shirt-esque acne was down to MINOR. I would marry Diane-35.

Course, you're not female. But there are other meidcations. I know how pointless information like "wash your face" and "use this drug store facial wash" are. By all means wash your face, but all the bull about washing it with certain products and more frequently are pure lies. Go with a medication if it's that severe or too stubborn for a simple lotion.


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## the chosen one (Jan 8, 2010)

thanks for the advice everbody, like i said i've been on proactive for about a year and up until now its been like a miracle drug but the past couple of weeks the acne's been coming back. I think when i get a few more bills paid off i might just give in and go to a dermatologist and see what he says.


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## lingfeng (Nov 17, 2009)

I used to use Proactiv. After a year or so though I found myself breaking out more so I stopped using it. After a while my dermatologist prescribed me minocycline (Solodyn, a slow-release version that I only had to take once a day instead of twice). After about two years on that, it stopped working as well and I was breaking out more again (not to mention I was constantly getting yeast infections from the antibiotics... but if you're a guy that wouldn't be a problem, lucky you). Right now I'm on birth control pills and using a product called Murad (if you've ever seen an infomercial for it). I've been using Murad for a little over a month now and so far it's working great.


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## Emptyheart (Sep 15, 2009)

lingfeng said:


> I used to use Proactiv. After a year or so though I found myself breaking out more so I stopped using it. After a while my dermatologist prescribed me minocycline (Solodyn, a slow-release version that I only had to take once a day instead of twice). After about two years on that, it stopped working as well and I was breaking out more again (not to mention I was constantly getting yeast infections from the antibiotics... but if you're a guy that wouldn't be a problem, lucky you). Right now I'm on birth control pills and using a product called Murad (if you've ever seen an infomercial for it). I've been using Murad for a little over a month now and so far it's working great.


I'm on minocycline atm and it's working great, although I'm 
Geting kinda faint from time to time :/


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## VanDamMan (Nov 2, 2009)

polythene said:


> You could see a dermatologist, but they're not very creative with their prescriptions. I've been to a handful over the years, and they always prescribe the same thing. Chances are your derm will put you on an antibiotic and a topical medication (usually a retinoid or a topical antibiotic, like Retin-A, Differin, Duac, Epiduo, etc). I would advise you not to go an antibiotic if you can help it, unless you're supplementing that with a topical and staying on it temporarily. Antibiotics are a maintenance treatment: they will not target the underlying cause of acne, indiscriminately kill the bacteria in your body, and mess with your gut flora. What does this mean? That when you get off antibiotics your acne will return - there's a good chance it will come back worse than ever. I learned this from personal experience.
> 
> A good dermatologist will assess what kind of acne you have and prescribe a battery of products ranging from cleansers to treatments, but I've found most of them just want to throw pills at you. If you don't want to take oral meds, you might have better luck with an esthetician.
> 
> As for your current problem, stop using Proactiv. It sounds like you've grown immune to the benzoyl peroxide in it, which happens to some people. You can try using it again after taking a break, but right now you ought to start looking for a qualified (key word) skin professional. If you find a good one it will save you the grief of trying 1000 crappy products that don't work.


+1


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## Roberto (Aug 16, 2004)

Reduce the amount of time you spend in the shower, if you happen to like taking long hot steamy ones. I've noticed that that makes mine worse. Doesn't matter what medication I use.


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## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

go to a dermatologist


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## Tall Steph (Mar 18, 2009)

Try using tea tree oil, but make sure it's diluted. It clears up my brother's face almost overnight. I love the stuff. Great for cleaning up piercings and minor injuries. 

If you drink a lot of milk, the hormones in the milk can result in major acne. Also tested by my brother. He switched to soy, but when he runs out and drinks the cow stuff, he has a bad breakout.


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## rockguitarist89 (Sep 22, 2010)

See a docor. If it gets bad enough, your doctor may prescribe accutane.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

I use Clearasil daily face wash - once a day.
ProActiv was too expensive and it would dry my face out - I was also on Retin-A back in high school. It worked wonders, but I had to literally put hand lotion on my face since it dried my face out something awful. Red and scaly!

Do you see a theme here? You need a gentle cleanser with moisturizer that is safe and oil-free. Other than that, I would see a doctor.


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## PickleNose (Jul 11, 2009)

Try the inside out approach. For years I tried putting stuff on my acne.

I recently started drinking a lot more water and I have less acne than I've had my entire life.

How much water do you drink? I think my problem was drinking too much soda and eating too much junk and not drinking enough water.

And obviously - Don't pick. It's really hard, I know but I've never helped myself picking. Though I almost always slip and find myself digging at that one I just found.


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## captshiner (Sep 30, 2009)

dermatology and dermatologists for the treatment of acne is an absolute joke. antibiotics, peroxides, acids... absolutely crazy.. neither get to the route of the problem.

every study in the last ten years points to diet as the route cause of all acne, and now it seems each month theres a new one to confirm this. a simple search on 'diet acne' on pubmed. isotretinoin's method of action in near 'cures' of acne isn't from reducing oil, but skin cell growth and shedding. so instead of a lifestyle change, people (as usual) jump on a drug intended for treating CANCER.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2836431/?tool=pubmed

G Ital Dermatol Venereol. 2010 Oct;145(5):559-72.
*The role of transcription factor FoxO1 in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris and the mode of isotretinoin action.*

Melnik BC.
Department of Dermatology, Environmental Medicine and Health Theory, University of Osnabrück, Germany - [email protected].
*Abstract*

It is the purpose of this review to demonstrate that oral isotretinoin treatment restores all major pathogenetic factors of acne vulgaris by upregulation of the nuclear transcription factor FoxO1, which will be shown to be the major target of retinoid action. Nuclear FoxO1 deficiency is the result of increased growth factor signaling with activated phosphoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and Akt kinase during growth hormone signaling of puberty and increased insulin/IGF-1 signaling due to consumption of insulinotropic milk/dairy products as well as hyperglycemic carbohydrates of Western diet. Nuclear FoxO1 deficiency increases androgen receptor transactivation and modifies the activity of important nuclear receptors and key genes involved in pilosebaceous keratinocyte proliferation, sebaceous lipogenesis and expression of perifollicular inflammatory cytokines. Isotretinoin-induced upregulation of nuclear FoxO1 is proposed to be responsible for the mode of action of isotretinoin on all major pathogenetic factors in acne. Acne pathogenesis can be explained at the genomic level of transcriptional regulation. All major events in acne pathogenesis as well as all major effects of isotretinoin treatment appear to be related to modifications of the PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway, the well-known oncogenic pathway. These insights extend our understanding of FoxO1-mediated retinoid action in acne and other hyperproliferative skin diseases, cancer chemoprevention and cutaneous immune regulation. Understanding FoxO´s pivotal regulatory role in acne allows the development of novel treatment strategies and dietary interventions in acne which focus on the restoration of growth factor- and diet-induced imbalances of nuclear FoxO protein levels.


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## blc1 (Jan 8, 2009)

I recommend St. Ives Green tea scrub, effective and cheap.


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