# Aaahhhh!!! My face!!! Aaaaaah! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102 "2004-01-06T23:09:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/1 "2004-01-06T23:09:33Z")
Ok, I started to think about the mess on my forehead, a.k.a. my not hellacious acne, but a veritable forest of pimples. I go buy Clearasil foaming cleanser. Take it back b/c the pump doesn’t work. What’s this? This “Clean & Clear” is over a dollar cheaper! (gasp!) I just finished using it, and my forehead is now the same shade of vanilla, except for bright red pimples staring back at me, whereas before, the pimples were mostly flesh-colored. Are the radioactive red zits going to consume my face, or does that just mean it’s working, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/2 "2004-01-07T00:24:32Z")
I Am Not A Dermatologist, So Don’t Say That I Am And Sue Me. Most OTC pimple stuff doesn’t work, as I recall from my teen years. Go to a real doctor, & he can prescribe something that will. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/3 "2004-01-07T00:33:35Z")
**Bosda** makes a good point. They got pills for that shit now. ---
**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/4 "2004-01-07T00:39:01Z")
I had the same thing happen with Oxy wash many years ago. Felt like I had scrubbed my face with acid. Believe it’s a reaction to too high concentration of benzoyle peroxide…or whatever the active ingredient is. Is there a wrning about discontinuing use if the junk, like, hurts? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/5 "2004-01-11T22:52:13Z")
The benzoyl peroxide is _supposed_ to turn the zits red. After a few more applications, they’ll look a bit worse. The idea is to get the skin to peel, and all that sebaceous crud will erupt. Then the zits will heal. That’s the idea, anyway. For many folks, it works. There are prescription medicines that do more vigorous work than that. They have their own side effects, and you should discuss that with your own doctor. ---
**Author:** ![seaworthy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@seaworthy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seaworthy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/6 "2004-01-11T23:07:51Z")
If it’s not hellacious, try putting an egg yolk on your face for 20 minutes at night. Apparently there’s a lot of vitamin A in egg yolk, which is a main ingredient in the prescription lotions they give you. It works for me. And tea tree oil- they make a lot of face washes with that in there. I think St. Ives makes one. It’s really good too. ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/7 "2004-01-12T01:08:33Z")
Go to the doctor and ask for some Emycin face pads. They look just like Oxy, only they have (surprise!) Emycin on them. Yes, the same stuff you take for bacterial infections. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/8 "2004-01-12T13:20:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by seaworthy \* > \*\*If it’s not hellacious, try putting an egg yolk on your face for 20 minutes at night. Apparently there’s a lot of vitamin A in egg yolk, which is a main ingredient in the prescription lotions they give you. It works for me. And tea tree oil- they make a lot of face washes with that in there. I think St. Ives makes one. It’s really good too. \*\* I call BS on this. The human skin **does not** and **cannot** absorb nutrients at any time, as **seaworthy** would know, if he/she/it had stayed awake in High School Biology class, & wasn’t brainwashed by advertising. You claim that Vitamin A is in prescription skin medicine? Cite, please? As for tea-tree oil, it sounds like the “weed-of-the-month” club’s latest fad. :rolleyes: This is the SDMB, **seaworthy**. We expect better. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/9 "2004-01-12T13:33:36Z")
Two of my friends had awful acne and they both went to a doctor, got pills called… somthing starting with Z IIRC and it cleared them right up! Mind you, they were not allowed to consume alcohol for a few months, a mammoth task for an Icelander at least. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/10 "2004-01-12T14:21:32Z")
Well, I don’t know about the usefulness of straight Vitamin A, but a Vitamin A derivative called retinol is considered useful for skin care: > [@](#): > > Retinol > This is a derivative of vitamin A, and you will see that a lot of skin care products contain retinol. Retinol’s stronger counterpart is tretinoin, which is the active ingredient in Retin-A and Renova. If your skin is too sensitive to use Retin-A, retinol is an excellent alternative. Here’s why skin responds to skin care products with retinol: vitamin A has a molecular structure that’s tiny enough to get into the lower layers of skin, where it finds collagen and elastin. Retinol is proven to improve mottled pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles, skin texture, skin tone and color, and your skin’s hydration levels.You may also hear about retinyl palmitate. This falls into the same family as retinol, but if the skin care product you choose contains retinyl palmitate, you will need to use more of this product than one that contains retinol to get the same effect. > **[WebMD - Better information. Better health.](https://www.webmd.com?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348%7D)** > > The leading source for trustworthy and timely health and medical news and information. Providing credible health information, supportive community, and educational services by blending award-winning expertise in content, community services, expert... As for tea tree oil, I was able to find this summary overview on previous studies through BioMed Central: > [@](#): > > Aim: Tea tree oil (TTO) is immensely popular for various topical applications. In vitro studies have repeatedly demonstrated that it has antibiotic activity. This article is an attempt to systematically review the evidence from randomised clinical trials for or against effectiveness of external TTO in dermatological conditions. Methods:Six electronic databases were searched. Methodological quality was assessed by Jadad score. Data were extracted and validated in a standardised fashion by two independent reviewers. Results:Only 4 trials were located. They suggest that TTO may be effective as a treatment of acne and fungal infections. The evidence is promising but by no means compelling. The adverse effects of TTO are usually mild and transient. They mainly consist of allergic reactions. Conclusions:It is concluded that, so far, there is no compelling evidence to show that TTO is efficacious in any dermatological condition. However, in view of promising findings, TTO deserves to be investigated more closely. Ernst, E. and Huntley, A., 2000, Tea tree oil: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials: _Forschende Komplementärmedizin und Klassische Naturheilkunde,_ 7:17-20. So **Bosda** , you are being a bit harsh, although to be fair if the OP has a serious problem neither egg yolks nor tea tree oil is likely to help him much. IF all the OP has is regular (if abundant) pimples and not cystic acne (a determination best made by his doc), OTC medication may help as long as his skin is not too sensitive or he is not allergic. In my own experience… benzoyl peroxide worked like a charm in getting rid of the zits, but I developed an allergic reaction and wound up popping Benadryl to get rid of the redness, puffiness and itching. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![alimarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@alimarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alimarx)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaahhhh-my-face-aaaaaah/223102/11 "2004-01-13T22:32:24Z")
Whatever you do, don’t take oral antibiotics! I did for a years as a teen; cleared up the acne all right, but boy am I sorry now. Now at 38, I still have acne, but I’ve found the best thing for me was cleaning up my diet (no sugars, no refined carbs, staying away from processed foods, etc.) I know, I know, all the research sez that diet has no effect, I’m just stating what has worked for me; we all know YMMV.