# Pimples



## Luke (Oct 17, 2010)

Do any of the products that claim to get rid of them actually work?


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Why get rid of them? They're adorable.


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## Luke (Oct 17, 2010)

Ace Face said:


> Why get rid of them? They're adorable.


Dimples are adorable, but I'm not so sure if we can say the same thing about pimples.


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## dagnytaggart (Jun 6, 2010)

Watch your diet. Are you eating a lot of sweets and soda? What about dairy or orange juice, as that can trigger it in some people.


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Luke said:


> Dimples are adorable, but I'm not so sure if we can say the same thing about pimples.


Oh, right... this type of thinking is brought on by the media. My bad.

I think pimples are adorable--always have. Take that, society.


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## Luke (Oct 17, 2010)

dagnytaggart said:


> Watch your diet. Are you eating a lot of sweets and soda? What about dairy or orange juice, as that can trigger it in some people.


I do eat lots of sweets. I'll try and cut back. But are there any good products in the mean time?


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## sprinkles (Feb 7, 2010)

They don't feel adorable and some even hurt so I could see why one would want to be rid of them.

Anyway, yes the products can work, depending, but your mileage may vary and it may take a little time.


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## Dimensional Transition (Sep 12, 2011)

I heard smearing bacon grease over your face does the trick!

Just kidding. I've personally found that using some clearasil-y anti-pimple skin product once every two days works perfect. If you use that skin stuff too often it'll make your face flaky, and it'll irritate your skin causing even more redness and such, though... But once in a while works. The pimples won't completely disappear, but they won't become as big or red when you use skin products which are supposed to work against pimples once in a while.

That's just when you already have pimples though. To prevent them I suggest working out and eating healthy. That usually helps a lot too. Even though there's no scientific evidence for the correlation between pimples and food, I do believe food influences pimples a little, but more in the long-term sense. (That doesn't stop me from enjoying some bacon every once in a while though...)


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## Adrift (Apr 5, 2011)

I've read that some cultures do not get acne because there is very little sugar in their diets. I've had luck with eliminating acne outbreaks using Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar. I drink about a tablespoon per day mixed in with warm water and sometimes cranberry juice. The acne goes away and stays away in about a week.


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## Malx (May 17, 2011)

It really depends on how bad it is. I was only bad enough for it to be very annoying.

I've been using Ivory bar soap 2x a day (morning and evening) and a gel-creme from Avene 1x a day. This has significantly helped. Once a week I also use an Aloette product called Restorative Enzyme Peel and that helps remove dead skin cells that will build up. 

My friend puts aloe on her face every day and says that it helped her a lot. Aloe is really good for your skin... you can even get an aloe plant if you're concerned about freshness/organic. Try not to use creme lotions on your face as they tend to have oils in them - even the ones that say they're meant for acne-prone skin. Best just to stick to water-based gels...

And to actually answer your question, it's hit and miss with these products. Everyone has different skin so sometimes it really works for some people... but in my experience, using any brand's 1,2,3 step routine have never helped me totally get rid of it, and sometimes made it worse or did nothing at all. I've tried Clean and Clear, ProActive, Mary Kay, Claretin, and a brand from the Bay (as well as many many others). I asked my doctor and she recommended the Ivory bar soap and if needed a gel moisturizer. As I mentioned before, the Avene gel seems to be the best for me so far. It's been the best, least expensive, and most simple solution yet.


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## Tristan427 (Dec 9, 2011)

Ace Face said:


> Why get rid of them? They're adorable.












How? lol


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## Le9acyMuse (Mar 12, 2010)

I'd suggest exfoliating scrub, along with an exfoliating wash cloth (they're hard to miss in a cosmetics section). Generally, the cycle for skin care is cleansing (with astringent), exfoliating, toning (with skin toner) and moisturizing (with lotion or other moisturizers). Cleanse, tone and moisturize often. Do not exfoliate every day (do it maybe once every week.)

Otherwise, if you have facial hair then you need to keep it under your control. Exfoliating (and the other stuff) helps this, too. Ingrown hairs will mess you up, acne wise. Especially if you're "African" or whatever you'd call it. Curly hair tends to cause acne by curling in under your skin. I don't think I could recommend a product, but I'd start with a relatively cheap one. You don't want to go all out just to do it.


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Tristan Rhodes said:


> How? lol


 
How are tits cute? They're milk bags. That makes playing with cows' utters game... deliciously sexy, right?! Pygmies would laugh at our society's fascination with tits. It's a cultural thing methinks. Men know from social/societal cues that they're supposed to like tits, right? Society has also "taught" us that pimples are bad and unattractive. I beg to differ, but that's just me.


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## Tristan427 (Dec 9, 2011)

Ace Face said:


> How are tits cute? They're milk bags. That makes playing with cows' utters game... deliciously sexy, right?! Pygmies would laugh at our society's fascination with tits. It's a cultural thing methinks. Men know from social/societal cues that they're supposed to like tits, right? Society has also "taught" us that pimples are bad and unattractive. I beg to differ, but that's just me.


Tits are sexy because they are a sign of sexual maturity ( plus they look hot ). Pimples are bad because they are clogged skin pores.

My mom says when I was a baby, I gabbed her friends boobs. She would take me to hooters, and I would grin at all the women. I was born liking women and boobs. XD


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Tristan Rhodes said:


> Tits are sexy because they are a sign of sexual maturity ( plus they look hot ). Pimples are bad because they are clogged skin pores.


But do you really think that, or was this how you were conditioned to think?! *DUN, DUN DUUUUUUUUN*


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## Tristan427 (Dec 9, 2011)

Ace Face said:


> But do you really think that, or was this how you were conditioned to think?! *DUN, DUN DUUUUUUUUN*


My mom says when I was a baby, I grabbed her friends boobs. She would take me to hooters, and I would grin at all the women. I was born liking women and boobs. XD


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## reletative (Dec 17, 2010)

when i was a teen, diet and staying hydrated helped the most.


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## Erbse (Oct 15, 2010)

Just sit it through.

If anyone complains, just shoot them straight in the face.

Har~ har~


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## Zster (Mar 7, 2011)

Severe acne runs in my family. Best approach, short of working with a dermatologist: eat a healthy balanced diet, keep your face clean (wash it at least daily), and try to get some sun (not enough to burn or tan, but some UV can do wonders). Short of that, I tried almost every old remedy available (antibiotic pills, benzoyl peroxide, retin-A, accutane, etc... and would not do so again, given the chance. However, Epiduo (prescription creme) does seem to work wonders, and with very little irritation.


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## QueCueYew (Aug 20, 2010)

probably on the spectrum of gnarly grossness, but i'm waiting for one of these moby dicks to pop on my face.


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## progBOT (May 4, 2011)

Like @Zster, acne also runs in my family. The dermatologist helped a little bit and I used to use one product (not sure if you can still get it and don't remember the name) that worked a little. But since I disagree with modern medicine for the most part, I'll tell you what helps me keep them away now. 

Eat healthy (no sweets/soda/sugar/fast-food). Exercise regularly and if you live close to a source of salt water (such as the ocean) I suggest getting in it. If not, spend as much time outside in the sun as possible. The sun always clears me up.

also @Ace Face


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## Neon Knight (Aug 11, 2010)

My method just involves, avoiding sweets, especially chocolate (not doing so well in that dept. at the moment) drinking loads of water and mild, gentle liquid cleansers (no soap with dyes or perfumes) that way your skin won't end up being irritated or dried out.


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## Mendi the ISFJ (Jul 28, 2011)

Salicylic acid. but if the pimples are over more of your body than just your face, you may want to avoid body washes that contain it as ive read that it can cause side effects even death because of its relation to aspirin. Your best bet is to see a dermatologist and have them prescribe something stronger than over the counter and something that is specifically for the type (and location) of _your _ pimples.


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## Neon Knight (Aug 11, 2010)

I like using salicylate gels (not sure what brands you have available but I use Spectrogel) but yeah just on the face, never really needed to try it elsewhere.


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## firedell (Aug 5, 2009)

Exfoliation, exfoliation, exfoliation. 

If it is really bad go to your doctors. At one point I had really bad skin, and I used everything I could think of, and I went to ask for some help with my skin, and they recommended to exfoilate twice a day, and to use rose water afterwards. Now I suffer for the occasional spot.


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## Lad (Jun 29, 2010)

Topically, I found that Proactiv worked best for me, but not at the level of use they recommend. Cut what it recommends by about half and you won't have excessive drying -- this also helps that $60 item last around a year. Additionally, remember that you need to adjust your routine a bit in the summer vs the winter. In the winter, I swap the benzoyl lotion for just a standard moisturizer. p.s. Note that if you're on Proactiv, your face will probably be the worst it has ever been within your 1st month of use, but will clear up better afterwards.

Diet-wise, I've found that SALT can cause the most problems (it dehydrates you and raises blood pressure). Assuming this is true, try things that do the reverse (drink water and exercise, duh).

Also, if you're a guy, sometimes shaving can cause irritation / in-grown hairs and can lead to outbreaks. Consider swapping to electric or just generally something less abrasive.

Lastly! Consider washing your pillow case often or to something that is smoother against your face. Believe it or not, but sometimes it can also be the laundry detergent remnants on your clothing / linen that can be leading to breakouts.


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## Mendi the ISFJ (Jul 28, 2011)

KuRoMi said:


> I like using salicylate gels (not sure what brands you have available but I use Spectrogel) but yeah just on the face, never really needed to try it elsewhere.


i dont have any problem with acne, but i have used face wash with it in it before. Ive been very lucky in that aspect.


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## ValleyWalker (Sep 16, 2011)

Ace Face said:


> How are tits cute? They're milk bags. That makes playing with cows' utters game... deliciously sexy, right?! Pygmies would laugh at our society's fascination with tits. It's a cultural thing methinks. Men know from social/societal cues that they're supposed to like tits, right? Society has also "taught" us that pimples are bad and unattractive. I beg to differ, but that's just me.


I wish I had you consoling me about my acne when I was 14-16! But no... I had to go through those years AceFaceless


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Tompster said:


> I wish I had you consoling me about my acne when I was 14-16! But no... I had to go through those years AceFaceless


Awww. I'm not sure if I'm flattered for me or sad for you D: lol.


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## Tristan427 (Dec 9, 2011)

People say drop the soda, I say no. I drink 3 or more mountain dews a day.


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## Toru Okada (May 10, 2011)

I had pretty severe and uncontrollable acne towards the middle of highschool. I had acne in some form since I was 11 (yeah, that young). For me, I tried lots of over-the-counter topical meds. None of them worked, some made it worse. I had to go on accutane twice legitimately, and I did a half-ass third round of tane with someone else's leftover pills. Accutane will usually get rid of even the most severe stuff for awhile, and if it comes back it's typically a lot milder.

Here's some fairly common sense suggestions I found to be helpful, though:

-Cut down on sugar and carbs. Just completely cut soda out, if you drink it (even shitty diet soda). Even fruit "juices" can contribute lots of sugar, so drink less of them (especially stuff like V8 splash, which is basically water and HFC). Don't listen to @_Tristan Rhodes_ .
-Eat more greens.
-Drink more water.
-Reduce stress. You can exercise to help this, or just reduce the amount of time you allow yourself to experience stress. Admittedly, I never exercised regularly to say if that works, but exercise reduces stress and has obvious health benefits so I imagine it would help.
-Don't eat an inflammatory diet or foods with very high glycemic loads. You can find out this info for foods on nutritiondata.self.com
-Use a gentle face cleanser, like cetaphil (buy the off-brand equivalent to save money). Moisturize dry skin with a non-comedogenic moisturizer. Don't use cleansers that scrub or have benzoyl peroxide/salicylic acid/menthol in them. The first two don't do shit unless they have time to sit in your skin, and menthol just irritates it.
-Just don't eat lots of bullshit foods if you can help it. 
-Have good genes. This is probably the most helpful.

I recommend using topical retinoids like tazorac or retin-a. They're the best topical applications if your acne isn't severe enough for accutane, or you don't want to go through the hoops to get it and keep getting it.

I hope I'm not repeating too much of what's already been posted.


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## Tristan427 (Dec 9, 2011)

Listen to me, do the dew.


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## Scruffy (Aug 17, 2009)

Don't touch your face, avoid your hair touching your face, and cover your pillowcase daily/as often as possible.


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## Snow (Oct 19, 2010)

Not sure about the dietary or physical suggestions everyone advises. I can only say that acne is directly correlated to high stress, which in turn is directly affected by the level of care which one has for the way others see them. So my suggestion is to care less about what others think of you, or if you can't do that then try to take anti-stress measures directly after being around people who you feel judged by (high school, college, work, whatever your situation is).

I had small issues in high-school only when I was going through puberty and had some issues with fitting in, but otherwise issues have always been minor for me despite my absolutely abominable dietary habits.


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## Jamie.Ether (Jul 1, 2011)

I used proactive for a while and my face was crystal clear. Although i've heard it depends on the individual and how bad their acne is. My brother used to have terrible acne and proactive didn't do much for him. I only had few occasion pimples.


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## Toru Okada (May 10, 2011)

Proactiv was about as useful as water if you had anymore than two zits on your face at a time.


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## finically (Nov 18, 2009)

I tried literally everything, from eating healthy to exercise, steam masks, not touching my face, etc. My acne would not go away. Anything too high maintenance was not going to work because I'm a busy university student with a job. Now I use a 5% benzoyl peroxide facewash (Clean & Clear Advantage) twice a day, a face cream (SPF 30) with glycolic acid (by Skin Effects), and apply a retinoic acid foam to my face (drugstore brand; AcneFree -- you can get it at CVS), back and chest before I go to sleep. 

This has helped immensely: I no longer break out (even when I go to bed in my makeup, which happens time to time) -- just the occasional pimple here and there. I think it's the facewash that helps. Benzoyl peroxide kills P. acnes bacteria. I've also heard that the Clarisonic Mia cleansing system (will set you back $120 or so) is excellent, and well worth the investment.


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## Adrift (Apr 5, 2011)

I found a free article about what causes acne in the journal Experimental Dermatology:

Link

The authors recommend avoiding dairy products and high glycemic load foods(sugary foods and carbs).



> Acne can be improved by controlling hormones and inflammation, both of which are influenced by diet; so full acne control requires dietary control. Concurrent with standard anti-acne therapy, all dairy products and all high glycemic foods should be stopped for at least 6 months to evaluate the effect (86). Vitamin A supplementation may help reduce plugging of pores in deficient individuals. Foods containing ω-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) and EFA supplements may help to control inflammation (83).


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## PurpleTree (Nov 3, 2010)

Here's some tips:

-Find ways to lower your stress level
-Eat healthy (avoid saturated fats)
-Wash your face at least twice daily (use a Benzoyl Peroxide or Salicylate acne-treating face wash)
-If the above dries out your skin, use an antioxidant-rich (e.g. green tea based) moisturizer with SPF.
-Try using an aspirin and honey mask once or twice a week (this can bleach your skin, so you may only want to spot treat with it)

Don't use the aspirin mask if you're allergic to salicylates/Salicylic Acid, and avoid face washes with those ingredients, unless you enjoy facial rashes and migraines. :wink:


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## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

Retin-A works very well. It's pharmaceutically compounded beta carotene that's been helpful for lots of folks with acne and helps build collagen. 

Dermatologists use Retin-A as part of their skincare regiment.


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