My mother has been recommending Cetaphil cleanser to me for years now, maybe it’s time to finally listen to mom.
I’m going to call around to the doctors offices on Tuesday and see if I can wheedle my way into an earlier appointment. In the meantime, I think my first strategy is to try to go easy on my skin. I’m afraid that right now I’m stressing it out with chemicals and I might try a gentle approach (no picking!) with gentle cleansers and see if it calms down a bit. Then I might add maybe ONE acne-targeted product into the mix and see if it helps.
The annoying thing is not so much the face acne but the body acne. It makes me feel even MORE self conscious than anything else. That’s really where I think a dermatologist would help. In the past I was on antibiotics and retin-A (stupidly I got forgetful and never continued these treatments), and I’m betting that’s what I’ll be using again once I can get in to see someone.
But hopefully a little TLC and some begging at the doctor’s office will get me somewhere.
I actually don’t like Cetaphil. If you need another option, I recommend Purpose soap. I honestly can’t use any other kind of soap, because they all make me break out everywhere.
I’ll third or fourth the vote for Clinique products. I had a bout of acne in my late 20s and my dermotologist recommended their foundation over others.
I only use the foundation, though. Buying the whole line would break my budget.
I also use Aveeno’s Positively Radiant daily cleansing pads for daily use. They have a soft side and a scrubby side and work very well.
If you’ve had good luck with perscriptions in the past, and you can’t get into the dermatologist early, talk to your primary about getting the same perscription that has worked for you in the past. I’ve done that many times in the past where I know something works for me. Your primary will call the previous physican who perscribed and have the records looked up for dosage.
You can probably do all this with a phone call to his nurse. Say “I have a referral for the dermatologist, but he can’t get me in until October, and I’m getting married in November - in the past Retinol A and XXXX antibiotic worked well for me and the perscribing physician was Dr. XXXX at XXXX clinic. Can you talk to the doctor and see if she will prescribe the same?” Chances are, your next conversation will be “which pharmacy should we call this into?”
For uncomplicated (non-cystic) acne, the most effective over the counter products contain either benzoyl peroxide 5%, or salicylic acid 2%. Since you can’t use the former, concentrate on the latter. Some people also report great results from glycolic acid 8%, but prevailing wisdom says that salicylic acid 2% is more effective, managing blackheads as well. You can get a wash, a toner, and a lotion/gel all containing 2% salicylic acid at any large drug counter for around ten dollars each. Use a mild exfoliating scrub every couple of days, too. Paula Begoun’s website will tell you a lot, and so will acne.org.
If your acne is more complicated, some people endorse oral (though not usually topical) antibiotics, and your dermatologist may recommend Accutane, though oral birth control is necessary with Accutane (teratogenic effects) and other treatments are usually given a good run first.
You have plenty of time to be able to expect much greater confidence on your big day.
I don’t know how this is possible, but my skin is always oily and dry and flaky at the same time. If I use a moisturizer it will improve the dryness, but then it will be really oily. If I don’t moisturize at all, my skin is extremely dry (and still a little oily). On top of that I get minor acne at least once a week.
I’ve tried dozens of products but I also have very sensitive skin. Even Cetaphil irritates my face. I’m in my 30s now but when I was a teenager, I used nothing but regular bar soap on my face and I had perfect skin. Bar soap only causes more dryness now.