Skin Help
 

Hello. I am sure many of you have clear beautiful skin that maybe can help me out with mine. I am currently tapering off from minocycline, taking orth tri-cycline and a nicomide supplement for my skin. It is slowly getting better but I would like it to look less drab and dry.

So my question is, does anybody know of a really good deep cleansing mask and facial scrub that helps get rid of blackheads? Also, I am interested in trying to find something to brighten up my complexion along with helping some of my fine lines. I am only 28 but I do have some lines around my mouth and eyes. I have done those glycolic acid peels (40%) but they dont seem to do very much for me but irritate my skin even more. I have very sensitive skin and basically most of the products I use seem to make it irritated or dry it out. I use cetaphil moisturizer which works fairly well but I am looking for something even better. There are just too many products out there and I cant figure out which ones are best.

Also, has anyone ever used those bare minerals products? I am currently using mac studio fix because it has great coverage but I am wondering if that could be contributing to my breakouts. I need something that covers well but that is more natural.

One more thing, has anyone had microdermabrasian or a chemical peel from a dermatologist? I was thinking about getting one but wasnt sure if it was worth it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I can't help you with all your questions, but I can speak to a few. I had microdermabrasion/chemical peel series done a few years ago and it was well worth the money to me. But I was in my early 40's not late 20's, so I don't know how it would help you.

But I really wanted to gush about Bare Minerals. I use the foundation, blush, mineral veil and several other of their products and I just love it! I have always hated liquid foundation and used to go without foundation at all most of the time if I could. Then I discovered Bare Minerals and I was immediately hooked. It takes a while to get the hang of the application, because if you put too much on at one time it looks pretty caky. You need to apply a tiny amount and then layer more on, a tiny bit at a time, for extra coverage.

Bare Minerals
 

Hey Patti,

Thank you so much for responding. I really appreciate it.

So if you had to go with either microdermabrasian or a chemical peel which one would you do? I have some cash but I dont think I can afford both right now.

Also, thanks so much for the info about Bare Minerals. I keep seeing the ads on tv and it really looks like a great system. Does the make up last a while and does it cover well?

I would not get a chemical peel. They are great, but not, IMO, for someone in their 20's. It's something best left for later in life. You can buy a microdermabrasion kit from pretty much any drugstore. Bare Minerals is an excellent product for anyone with complexion problems. It is full coverage, just be sure you get mineral veil and from what I understand it lasts as long as you want it to...the powder is set.

As for a product for blackheads, etc. Queen Helene Mint Julep mask is amazing. You can get it at Sally's. St. Ives Apricot Scrub is also good, but only use once or twice a week. Alloette also has a mask that addresses ruddy complexions and blackheads.

Jason - your local cosmetics, skincare and cosmeceutical representative

I agree about the chemical peel; you're probably too young. I do microdermabrasion at home myself now, because I can't afford to pay an aesthetician any more. It works well for me. I also peel at home, which isn't quite as effective but it's certainly more in my budget.:laugh:

The Bare Minerals lasts all day. I use a primer underneath it, so the coverage really lasts. And the mineral veil is essential to set everything. Truthfully, my foundation looks the same at 10pm as it did at 7am. I can't say enough good things about it. It's a little pricey upfront, but it lasts a long time. A container of foundation will last me close to 6 months. I buy mine on QVC.

I just got an oil free matte foundation from Clinique that is really light weight but offers full coverage. I need to do the microdermabrasion myself because my skin is not as youthful looking as I'd like. I need some laser correction too for broken capillaries which runs in my family. Stupid broken capillaries. :lol:

The Queen Helene Mint Julep mask IS awesome. If you can use a rough-ish scrub without problems, I would recommend the Mint Julep scrub instead of the St. Ives. I've had a hard time finding the scrub in Chicago, but I track it down at whatever cost. It's worked for me better than anything ever has.

this is true. just fyi, the St. Ives is very abrasive, so if you have sensitive skin you may not want to use it or dilute it (like I do)

LOTS of 2.5 benzoyl peroxide...

Thanks
 

Thank you so much everyone for all of your comments. I just bought the Neutrogena home microdermabrasian kit so I am hoping that will help my skin.
As soon as I run out of my mac foundation then I am switching to the bare minerals. I have heard so many good things about the product.

I am going to go to sally's tonight to get that mask. It sounds great.

:eek:

my favorite! don't give up on us...:lol:

The mint julep mask sounds awesome. It looks like CVS carries it and you can even get it online here http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gatewa...?prodid=236059. Amazon also has it through a cosmetics co.

a note on the mask, and this is just my experience. it leaves my skin a little dry...so, if you have dry skin, I just wanted to point that out. Some people with naturally oily skin really enjoy the effect it has though.

I have normal/combination. Thanks for the headsup! I'll just use it at night and put on night cream after, should take care of it.

I have great skin too...thanks to gentle washing and moisturizer! BUT if she wants to get rid of the black heads...the best way to go (except for the mask) is the 2.5 benzoyl peroxide..the **** works! ;)

A clay mask can help too cuz it pulls the junk out of pores. :eek:

hmmm...La Mer anyone? lol

I'm loving mine.

I went through a ton of prescriptions and they all dried my skin out and made it worse. I hate to sound like an infomercial, but I'd say give Proactiv a try. I started using it toward the end of this summer and am really happy with it. The only annoying thing is that you use the 3 bottles at different speeds (or at least I do) so you have to buy more kits or buy the one you run out of individually, which is more expensive. I was using the liquid cleanser fastest so I started alternating it with plain witch hazel (which is the main ingredient and can be bought in the skin care aisle of a normal grocery store for like $3). It still works great. And the scrub is good because the 'beads' are very fine so they don't feel like they're tearing up your skin.

The only thing I ever got by prescription that helped was sodium sulfacetamide (10%) & sulfur (5%) lotion. It smells kind of funny in the tube, but you use so little of it (like a spot treatment at night) that it's not noticeable on the skin. I've kept using it with the Proactiv and my skin cleared up a lot.

Bare Minerals is great! I remember sararhiannon raving about it a long, long time ago and I finally decided to try that this summer too. At the risk of sounding like an ad again, it goes on light & covers really well. It is a little expensive, but you use *very* little so one container lasts forever.

Jesus Christ, I've been talking about this all week. And on my myspace.

Okay, first of all, I just got a peel. However, it was the fruit acid one, not the "chemical" one. So it's not very drying, and I recommend it. Next tues I'm getting microdermabrasion and a stronger peel concurrently. Plus a bit of laser work, but you didn't ask about that. :p
I had chemical peels at my derm 11 years ago (age 20) - they were good, too. But if I were you, I would get the fruit acid one. I'm not sure why you were warned away from them because you are in your 20's - anyone can benefit from having the dead cloggy skin removed from their face. I am 31 now.

Okay - but I just found this over the counter peel thingy that worked really, really well - comparable to my fruit acid one at the doctor place. Seriously.
It's Mychelle Pumpkin peel - all ingredients are pumpkin related - the point of pumpkin is that it has a lot of vitamin A, which is what Accutane and Retin A are based on. I didn't notice it to be drying, (but I put moisturizer on afterwords) it did help my blackheads. Not sure about my fine lines yet. They seem less, but it's hard to tell. And my skin is sensitive and dry, even though it's also oily. I mean, it easily gets dried out.

Mychelleusa.com is the site, but I just tried it and it's down or something.

Seriously. Also? I got the little trial tub at Whole Foods for just $2.50. rock.
Masks never work very well for me, and they dry my face. But this? heaven.

Also? I have seen many of the people who answered you - and i think my skin may be closer to yours.

Wow, thank you so much everyone for all of your replies.

Let me try and answer everyone.

I try not to use benzoyl peroxide anymore because it really dries out my skin and makes my face red. For some reason my skin is really really sensitive.

I have used proactiv in the past and it worked for a while and then my skin went crazy again.

I have also tried retin-a, retin-a micro, duac gel, klaron lotion, cleocin-t, aknemycin, and many more others with no such luck. It seems that I find something that works fairly well for a little while and then my face goes crazy again.

I have a CVS right down the street from me so I am going to try that mask for sure.

I am really interested in that pumpkin peel too. It sounds like a great product and I have heard a ton of great things about it.

I really want to get a chemical peel. I have some scarring and my pores are just huge. My skin is strange in that it could be greasy one day and really dry the next. I try to use cetaphil lotion twice a day after I wash and tone my face.

I go back to my dermatologist on march 11th and I am thinking about begging for accutane. I have had crappy skin since I was 19 and am really sick of it. I work for a computer company where I am interviewing people and meeting with clients all the time, so I would really like to have nice skin. I just really would like to clear up my skin without all of these drugs though.

What is strange is that the only time I had perfectly clear skin is when I was doing atkins. I often wonder if something I am eating is breaking me out. Any ideas?

I used Accutane for 5 months a couple of years ago. If you'd like to talk about it privately, PM me.

That's exactly like my skin. Weird. And you should beg for accutane, that they haven't given it to you already is lamorama. You're paying them.
For a long time doctors said there was no connection b/t diet and skin. Probably bull****. I read some interesting things from Dr. Perricone, but then, he is also trying to sell products. However, he is a doctor, has been studying dermatology for a long time - so. I was reading his book in whole foods and he has an anti inflammatory diet (for no skin inflammation, but also joints - everything) - you might want to read that part. One of his things is "no sugar - sugar is highly inflammatory" - so if you were not eating sugar on Atkins (you're not supposed to, right?) maybe he has something there.
I took the accutane treatment 2.5 times - PM me if you want to know things - I can give you the secret to only having to take it one time....:laugh:
I'll tell you about my peels next week.

Accutane was rough on me, but I was older than the usual patient (in my early 30's), and my doctor thought it was easier for younger people to tolerate. It was rough, but it was SO worth it. I'd do it again in a minute. I'm very fortunate to only have to have done it once though. Amber, did you experience any of the side effects? I experienced EVERY one of the side effects, and then some.

uh...my lips were cracked on the side and I didn't really sweat - it was great, I didn't have to wash my hair for days and days if I didn't want, instead of the every day or it's greasy thing I have going otherwise.
I can't think of any more side effects. Also, the reason I took it too many times was that my derm didn't realize that my skin kept breaking out because it was clogged with dry skin from the other treatments and he hadn't given me a goddamn peel. My new derm realized that, gave me some peels, and voila.
What are the other side effects? Besides hideously deformed children I mean.

just a suggestion...why don't you post a picture (or just partial one of your problem areas) so we can see exactly what you're talking about. that way we'd be able to really tell just how radical you should get. if this is too sensitive and you don't feel comfortable doing that, I completely understand. I just thought it may help us who have been through similar experiences to help make a more informed decision.:nod:

My lips were beyond cracked. If I smiled, they bled. My face broke out worse than it EVER had. I was a walking zit for about 4 of those five months- HUGE horrible looking zits. The bottoms of my feet ached- I was told it was joint pain. Depression, fatigue, headaches- I think that's it. It was so awful.

My problem was not severe acne, but chronic acne. It started in my twenties (I had gorgeous skin in high school which in retrospect, was probably better for my mental health in the long run), and was completely resistant to any other treatment--- and I had them all.


Accutane did it for me- I don't think I've had one zit in the 5 or so years I've been off it. Now, I'm at the point where I want to try some peels to make my skin look better. I don't have extensive scarring, but I do have a little bit. I may have to try your pumpkin peel, Amber.

:eek: :eek:

I didn't even have a hint of those thing. And my skin cleared within 3-4 days of starting it. Of course, yours turned out much better in the long run. :laugh: My skin definitely still breaks out. Actually, I got the accutane largely not because of my face, but because I had horrible, terrible, cystic and regular acne on my back and chest. Everywhere. ewww, bacne!!! :laugh: My face wasn't gross.

I think it's really weird you had acne for four months. Was that really one of the side effects? I don't remember that. Freak. Out.
Oh, and my peel at the aestheticians was just ....uh... $80. It would surely be cheaper wherever you live. Ask for the fruit acid one if you get one! My lady said it's fairly new.

I've taken Accutain 3 times now. I had severe chronic acne when I was a teenager. My face was really REALLY bad. So, once I got my own insurance (I was 18) I was put on Accutain. Talk about the drug from hell. All three times my side effects were the same: I would smile and my lips would bleed. My cholesterol would go throught the roof. Depression, blurred vision, dry eyes, mouth, hair, skin. But, it really is the miracle acne drug. Keep in mind that it is terribly expensive. I was on it the first time for 6 months, and worked up from 1 to 4 pills a day. The same for the second time, when I was about 22, and I just finished my last dose in September of last year. I'm still battling my cholesterol from that time. I was on it for 9 months this last time, and only took 3 pills a day, but that was because of my cholesterol problem. (that has to do with my age and weight, too) Now that I'm almost 30, I really want lazer surgery. I have pretty extensive scarring, and I'm sick of it. I don't know what my face looks like without zits or scars, so I have to wait about a year after I've been off Accutain, then I can get a lazer peel. Pretty expensive, but the dermatologists have already told me not to waste my time with dermabrasion or chemical peels. So, probably about this time next year, when the tax check comes in, I will have my lazer surgery done.

/\
I'm suprised your derm said those were a waste of time. Did your derm give you peels after every cycle of Accutane that you took? I mean, you have to have strong exfoliation after it. Let me ask you this - is your derm the one who will be doing the laser peel? Is it the most expensive treatment?
Just Dermabrasion (not micro) is thousands of dollars and months in recovery.
I'm confused, Maria, tell me more.

People with nice skin don't realize how debilitating acne can be to someone's self esteem. Also some people think that people with acne don't clean themselves enough, or something.
I just wanted to say that. It's really affected people in my family.

playing devils advocate just remember if you try accutane it will shrink the meibomian glands in the eyelid and can cause your eyes to feel very dry--such that some people can no longer tolerate contact lenses or have to take restasis (rx drops) permanently to help the tears.

I was always afraid to take it, although surely i needed to.

Thanks again everyone for all of the responses. I think after hearing all of your input that I am going to beg the doctor for accutane. I really dont think that the minocycline is doing much for me and this is my second time taking it. I would rather just do the accutane and get over it allready.

I can post a picture of me without makeup but I wont be able to do it until tonight when I get home. I am sure many of you will think that my skin is not that bad but I think what bothers me is that my skin will be fairly clear and then I will have 2-3 big zits which hang around for weeks at a time. I notice that around my period my chin breaks out like crazy. It really drives me nuts and I figure that I should really do something about this because it is just getting too expensive for all these products that really dont even work.

I have heard that there is a generic form of accutane that can be used. My husband took it about 14 years ago and said that it was really cheap. I am just having a hard time getting a doctor to give it to me. I have been to about 3 different derms and they all say that they can get me clear without it but nothing really works.

Yeah I am thinking that sugar might be contributing to my breakouts. I try not to eat as much of it but I like a cookie every so often. When I was on atkins I was eating no sugar (well nothing with added sugar to it) and mostly protein, vegetables and fruit. I was drinking only soy milk and eating low carb bread if I ever ate it. I was also eating more fat which I think also makes a difference. I drink beer once a week and I always wonder if that does anything to my skin?

Derm said for me it would be a waste of time, because of the severity of my scars. Dermabrasion takes too long to heal, and lazer is safer and has a quicker healing time. Dermabrasion is also less effective for deep scars, from my understanding. He would not be the one doing the lazer peel. It would be a different doctor. I've been to three different derms each time I took Accutain (2 within the same office) and none of them gave me peels afterwords. I remember you and I having this conversation before... he told me to wait to have a peel done for at least 6 months so my skin sensitivity is back to normal.

You are right: people with nice skin don't realize how debilitating acne can be. You never fully recover from it. I recently saw a couple of pictures of myself when I was about 15, (there's not many) and my skin was so bad, I cried when I saw them. I think now that my skin is clear, I didn't remember how bad it really was.

Thanks, Maria. I know they said six months, but even for a light peel? fruit acid? I guess so...I guess that's what you meant. Wow.
do you have the wide scars from cystic acne? You know, they're kind of shallow but big around in circumference? I just have some really enlarged, slightly scarred pores, and deep - I don't think even the laser or dermabrasion helps that much.
That's going to be so cool when you get it.
Don't cry!!! :xoxo: I used to cry when I had it. Thank goodness my face wasn't too bad.

I don't want to come off as melodramatic, but I think it's fair to say that I made some really poor "relationship" choices because of my insecurity relating to my skin. Even though I didn't have what's considered severe acne, it felt severe to me. I tried so many different treatments, that I honestly felt that nothing would ever work.

Accutane is really serious, kak125. You have to be on two forms of birth control and I even had to sign a form that said I would terminate a pregnancy, if I became pregnant while on Accutane. Your cholesterol levels can skyrocket on Accutane, so you have to go weekly to have your blood drawn. I had really good medical insurance at the time, but I think it costs around $300/month. I would have gladly paid it out of pocket if I hadn't had the insurance, though.

Amber- back to me now. :) So, I have very minimal scarring. Do you think a fruit acid peel would do anything for that or would I have to go a bit stronger?

Yeah, I heard about how you have to be on two forms of birth control and it works out great that now I currently am. I figure that now is the best time to take care of this problem. I have hoped for years that it would go away but it hasnt and I dont know if it ever will without going on accutane. This was my last resort and I am just hoping now that I can talk my derm into giving it to me.

So as far as expense, does the insurance not cover the visits to get blood drawn because from what i heard the generic of accutane would be about $20 for me due to my copay. At this point though I really dont even care how much it cost. I have to pay $300 to get my teeth whitenened from being on the mino so I am willing to pay any amount to get clear skin and not be so consumed by it. I would like to walk around without a ton of makeup on and concealer and always being worried about how bad my skin looks. I am sure it looks worse to me than everybody else but when your face is a mess you are constantly thinking that everyone is looking at you and thinking how terrible you look.

When I saw this thread I thought it was a request to Paula....

Me too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

great minds think alike

You got that right, sistah!

My brain can't see Paula's screen name as anything but "Skin".

:xoxo: or...minds that think alike are retarded...:laugh:

I always think skin, too, but I recognized there was no C in the thread title.
:)
I love people who know me, I can tease them.

Tow - did you see my amazing astrology thing?!

Hmmm....I never got my blood drawn, and never heard about the cholesterol thing. God, I was like a fricking test subject!! :laugh:
I don't really think the fruit peels' purpose is to dramatically help scarring quickly, directly. What the peels do is they get rid of your dead skin layers, which brings out your new skin and promotes your skin to "grow" therefore replenishing itself with non scarred layers. So, if you think about how scars fade over time because of skin renewal and turnover making the scar better over time, it's kind of like that. So I think if you really, really want to heal some scars, something more dramatic that takes off lots of layers of your skin at once (like dermabrasion or laser) - with that you will have removed so much old skin, and the new healing skin is from such a deep "layer", that the result will be more dramatic from just the one treatment.
The peels are a slower less invasive process - so your skin will definitely look better, and mine definitely looks smoother and more even - but it's not like plastic surgery skin grafts or anything. It so far has made my pores look less bumpy - but the pores are still large and deep....I'll know more after my super peel and microdermabrasion.
But again, your skin will look better, I just don't know what kind of dramatic change you are expecting. I love mine - but from what I've read about my particular skin/pore problem, it will be hard to correct, so my expectations for the treatments I am getting are pretty realistic. Worth the money to me, and I'm hella, hella poor.
Does that make sense? Was that helpful? That's how the lady explained it to me, more or less. :sorry:
I also found quite a bit of info online about the differences b/t microdermabrasion, dermabrasion, and laser treatments. :)