Originally Posted by Eternal Fire

Accept your body for what it is, too many people try to be someone they're not.

Stfu , wise ass , you disgust me

You might find this kind of weird.... but try using egg yolks as a mask after you wash your face. Seriously... I've been using it on and off lately, and I usually have really tiny bumps around my forehead/jaw, but they've noticely gone down since I've been doing this... And you can't get much cheaper then doing that... It also helps to tighten the pores, which in turn reduces oil and build up of dirt. You could also add a bit of olive oil to the yolk for more of a moisturizing effect.

Something else I've been using is St. Ives green tea cleanser and Vichy products. I find they've been a life saver. Try to aviod products with parabens.

And also, take into consideration your diet. I know that's not always the cause of acne, but sometimes if your diet is not the greatest it can take a toll. Get all your vitamins and drink a ton of water!! Oh, and if you're a stressed individual, do yoga. Acne flares up with stress.

I would avoid doing any kind of laser surgery though, especially on your face. My family knew a girl who had it done, and she actually ended up with worse scars and swelling because of it. You just never know how your body is going to react to something like that, so it's best not to risk it. Especially for that price.

Hope that helps and good luck!

stop eating so much crap, fix your diet.

Originally Posted by jeboi7

I have suffered from Acne since my teenage years and have scars around my cheek. I just came back from the consultion today and I was told that laser resurfacing treatment might be the only option. The thing is they cost $500 per treatment and I would need at least 5 treatments to see the difference. This depresses me so much. Does anyone have experience with laser treatment? I really don't want to spend this amount of money and not see any results! Any personal/non-personal feedbacks would be greatly appreciated!

Your best alternative if you don't wana do the laser treatment is to try Retin-A (might have other names depends on the brand but that should be the main ingredient). It exfoliates the crap out of your skin and can minimize scars or even clear them completely if they're not horribly bad.

I have acne scars too (and currently still getting rid of the acne actually) and when I refused accutane I was given Retin-A for the scarring. I'll be starting the Retin-A in Sep but I've heard good things about it. In truth, it's related to accutane but it's not internal, you just put it on your face so you won't have to suffer through any long-term effects.
If you choose Retin-A, keep in mind you should be using it at night and wearing sunscreen during the day as it makes you photosensitive for the time you're using it.

EDIT: Also I should note that I don't actually have any experience with laser treatment or know anyone who's done it. But from what I've read, it doesn't seem like it's particularly effective and it just plain doesn't sound safe to me because of the mutation potential...you hit skin cells with a laser and I'd say no matter how safe everyone says it is, there's still a risk.

Originally Posted by jeboi7

I have suffered from Acne since my teenage years and have scars around my cheek. I just came back from the consultion today and I was told that laser resurfacing treatment might be the only option. The thing is they cost $500 per treatment and I would need at least 5 treatments to see the difference. This depresses me so much. Does anyone have experience with laser treatment? I really don't want to spend this amount of money and not see any results! Any personal/non-personal feedbacks would be greatly appreciated!

As wise as the people on this forum may seem, I suggest you consult a dermatologist, and don't even look into laser treatment unless they think its something you should be considering.

You haven't given us much details. Do you still have acne? If so, how serious? Or is it just scars left over? What's your skin type? What type of scars?

If what you have is pit-scars (which is what I suspect, since you were suggested laser resurfacing treatment), no topical treatment is going to help. Even if your acne stops and you skin recovers, you scarring is unlikely to heal. However, there's always a chance.

If you don't, and the scarring is really just surface scarring, you have a multitude of options. People here will tell you about benzoyl peroxide and antibiotics and retinol treatments, because that's all the dermatologist prescribes.

Going to the dermatologist probably won't help as much as you'd like, because your treatments aren't personalized. They'd first prescribe a benzoyl peroxide topical (or if you acne is really bad, one coupled with an antibiotic, like Benzaclin). If you go back to say it doesn't work, they'll step you up to oral antibiotics, and then next to suggesting Accutane. It's the same routine everywhere you go, and none of them will help your scarring except the Accutane (and even then, if you don't take perfect care of your skin, it'll make the scarring orders of magnitude worse).

Take a look at this. If your skin is normal and your acne moderate, this may help. Look around the entire site; it has a lot of useful info, even if you don't plan on following the Regimen, You can get info on scar treatment and about laser therapy, and basically everything else you need to know.

Also, read with the aim of understanding. You don't want to just be putting a bunch of shit on your skin for the sake of putting shit on your skin. Understand your skin, you can probably tell if something's not going to work before you try it (like, is your skin really dry?) Also, when doing the Routine, actually follow the Routine. All steps. To the letter. Many of the little things included in it is key. Like not picking, or moisturizing, or how you dry your face, or shaving, and all that stuff.

Just some tips:

• The best non-medicated face wash for this probably Spectro for Acne-Prone Skin (purple bottle). Don't use Cetaphil; it clogs pores (both me and a multitude of other people have said the same).
• When shopping for products, don't take their word for it on comedogenicity. There is absolutely no regulations on that, and as a result, 99% of manufacturers lie about it. They can put 'Contain's Unicorn Blood' on the label and get away with it. Almost all of Neutrogena's, Oxy's, and Clearasil's products are comedogenic. All face-washes that lather are (they have sodium-laureth sulphate or a relation—a foaming agent that is comedogenic), which happens to be what almost all face washes do. Always look at the ingredients yourself. Here's a comprehensive list of comedogenics and irritates—take it with you when you go shopping. Print PDF it or something.
• For surface scarring, probably the only topical over-the-counter treatment is going to be AHA (alpha-hydroxy acid). They exist in about 2 or 3 forms. The only one I can remember is glycolic acid; and no, salicylic acid is not one of them. Salicylic acid is the biggest waste of time and money. When you read up on the site, you'll understand. You can probably ask your derm for an AHA-containing product. Remember to use it in conjunction with the Regimen, exactly how and when they say.
• Moisturize. You skin is going to get as dry as **** with the BP. You don't want to look crappy. Follow the advice on the Acne.org link I posted (really, read around the site. Click all those links) about moisturizers.

So, although going to the dermatologist definitely won't be the end-all-be-all of your acne, still go. It may be your best bet. But try and encourage conversation out of him/her. Hopefully he'll look further into what you have. Talk to him about your scarring and discuss your treatment options. If you have pit scarring, laser resurfacing may be the only option. However, you never know. If you begin a treatment, stick with it for at least 1 and a half months, no less. Even if your skin looks like it's getting worse (that usually happens for the first 2 weeks or introducing a new topical), stick with it. You skin needs time to acclimatize.

If the dermatologist puts you onto a benzoyl peroxide treatment, I highly recommend modifying it to the Regimen on Acne.org. It'll be the same BP treatment your derm prescribed, but you'll be taking a lot more care of your skin. Even if you get another topical, integrate it with the Regimen. Replace the BP with the prescribed topical, and try and take the same care and precautions.

Also know, everybody's different. BP and antibiotics are always the two 'go-to' generic treatments for everyone that have acne. And majority of dermatologists don't actually take the time to see whether you skin is any different and whether the treatment is right for you. It's a consultation already engraved in stone.

I had moderate acne with oily skin. I tried loads of stuff over the last 6 years: benzoyl peroxide, benzaclin (that's BP with an antibiotic climdamycin phosphate; they're supposed to be more effective together than by themselves), Retin-A Micro, sulphur, and oral antibiotics—tetracycl ine (made me feel nauseated for the two weeks I took it) and minocycline. Oh, and even the Regimen.

None of them produced any visible difference. Every single one of the topicals made my skin dry and tight and irritated and uncomfortable even with moisturizing. After prolonged use, it visible burnt my face (there was the burning sensation, but you could also see it was a lot darker that the rest of my skin). My skin-type actually permanently changed from oily to dry (till this day). And my acne wasn't going down.

Eventually (1 year ago), I stopped everything. I just washed my face with Spectro, and then moisturized, twice a day. Over time, I stopped getting any acne on my face, and I only get one or two a week on my hairline. My skin's still really dry if I don't moisturize, but it's back to it's normal sensitivity and colour. So that's all I do. There's still some scars, but they're fading slowly.

What it comes down to is this: no one can tell you what acne treatment is going or isn't going to work. All of those oft-prescribed treatments worked for someone or the other; not me. And you're going to find people who opted for not even washing their face, and it helped their acne (the caveman routine). Thing is, you gotta try. Everything. See which works for you. Or eventually, in your years of trying, you may just grow out of it. You never know.

/epicpost

That treatment sounds extremely expensive.

I had pretty bad acne for awhile. I started using St. Ives sensitive skin face wash, and it has been really great. You can buy it from any shoppers drug market for like $7 and just use it every day in the shower.

Thank you so much for your response everybody! The thing is that "some" of the treatment suggestions would not work for me because they are specific for acne. I no longer have break-outs but still have scars. My type of scar is a rolling scar according to the dermatologist. Supposedly, it should respond well to laser treatment (fractional non-ablative) compared to ice-pick scars. I have been googling "before and after" photos to get some reassurance and some have shown 40-50% clinical improvements. So there is "Hope".

I just want to see if anyone here has personally done this treatment so they can offer personal advice. I'm a student (like all of you) so the money is pretty tight at the moment. If anyone knows other people who have gone through this treatment, feel free to share. Any advice is helpful!

Note: I have tried Accutane (when I suffered from acne) and it does work. Yes, it can affect internal organs but that is if you go overboard with it. Most prescription is given at a safe dose. So if you suffer from severe acne, Accutane is the way to go. I've also tried pro-active which is ok but I didn't find them as good as their advertisement. It is a good solution for some people but it is def not a miracle treatment. I have not tried any other acne treatment before (beside over-the-counter products like Oxy and few others) but the key is that whatever works for some people may not work for another. One thing common is that acne is a deep hit to self confidence. It sucks having to look in the mirror with that red zit on your face!

HI, I am also suffering from acne and have tried laser treatments. I'm not sure if the laser treatment I had was the same as yours but I got them at a spa. The treatments weren't that helpful and I wish I'd gone to a professional rather than a spa. I've recently quit the treatments and am seeing a dermatologist. I'd suggest you ask your doctors about the laser treatments?
Hopefully my acne goes away soon XD I've dealt with it for like six years.

Uh the OP's merely asking for opinions/help in correcting his face to what it really WAS ORIGNALLY prior to scarring. :s. Its not like hes asking for a face transplant. So to me he's happy and acceptable of his own body and appearance.

And that was in response to Eternal fire. Forgot to quote.

It depends what you mean by "acne scars". Do you mean the pink/purpleish scars left by pimples, or the skin indentations left by acne? I don't know about the laser treatment, but for the pink/purpleish scars I've used a fading gel a few times before and it worked really well for me.

It's called Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2-in-1 Fight & Fade Gel. Basically, it contains salicylic acid which makes your skin really dry. As your skin dries and naturally peels off, the colour of your scars fade. It's not a miracle gel or anything, it will take time to show improvement. But I was impressed with the outcome. You can buy it at any Shoppers or Walmart.

Like others have suggested, talk to a dermatologist before you spend that much money. A spa or any place that offers this laser treatment will likely tell you it's your "only option" just to get your money. It may end up being helpful, but talk to a dermatologist and get another opinion before you spend your money.

Good luck

study hard, so you can easily afford the treatment in a couple years................ .(unless ur trying to be a doctor, in that case nvm)

I don't know what type of scarring you have, considering there are different kinds, but if it's dark/red spots from where you've had the acne you could try lemon juice on them, it will help lighten and fade them faster.