Can anyone reccomend an effective cure for acne besides prescription medication? I’m not against taking prescription meds, but I’m just wondering if there is an effective treatment that can be more easily accessible. I have heard everything from rubbing alcohol and raw egg yolk to (God forbid) urine and semen can help.
Does anyone have any personal experience with this? Also, does exposure to sunlight help acne?
A sunburn might help.
Or…just a thourough scrubbing with soap and water. Frequently. Very frequently. Like “8 times in 12 hours.”
I always heard that TOO much scrubbing may cause even more acne. Something about you oil glands over-producing to make up for the lost oil on your skin…course that may be bulls**t.
An air powered die grinder.
You know, no one ever gets acne on scar tissue. You could just burn or carve the skin off of your face and then make sure that you get a nice even scar.
Really, why do you think that there are prescription meds if there was an effective treatment that is more easily accessible?
Here’s what I do, and it’s been very effective. YMMV:
**DRINK AT LEAST 2.5 LITERS (slightly more than 1/2 gallon) OF WATER DAILY!
MORNING
Get up, wait 20 minutes to shave to allow for facial swelling (from sleep) to go away and to allow for a better shave.
Wipe the oil off of my face with a cold wash cloth
Shave with a Braun Synchro razor. In my experience, it gives me the best shave with zero irritation.
Shower. Wash face with Cetaphil brand cleanser. It is a tad expensive, but it is totally non-irritating and will not clog your pores.
Scrub back with back brush and soap.
Scrub behind ear with Cetaphil on a washcloth
THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Wipe down face with paper towel soaked in cold water once or twice throughout the day.
NIGHTLY
Take a quick shower before heading to bed.
Wash hair, but do not use conditioner
While in shower, scrub face with ordinary baking soda. Get a handful of it, add enough water to make a loose paste, and scrub face and front/back of neck.
Wash with Cetaphil again.
Scrub behind ears with Cetaphil
Apply thin coat of Neutrogena Multi-Vitamin Acne treatment to face & neck. Spot treat as needed with 5% benzoyl peroxide.
If you MUST pop a zit, immediately clean the area with rubbing
alcohol or witch hazel.
This routine has worked very well for me. However, drinking the water is the most important and effective part.
Napalm. Lots and Lots of Napalm.
I’ve used Tea Tree oil, tar soap and lots of OTC products. None worked as well as Retin-A. Unfortunately, my wife is allergic to it, so I’m back to just using tar soap and moisterizer.
-Tcat
Mom always said that when you wake up in the morning, the first thing you should do is spit on your hand and rub it over your face. Don’t ask me if it works though, I’ve never tried. And I have a feeling that my mom just wanted to see how gullible I was.
Seriously though, wash your face with water whenever you can.
Put some Windex on it.
Tea treee oil soap. Looks a bit weird (it’s a translucent green colour) and smells a bit, but it does work.
Wash your face with medicated soap as often as practical.
Apply Oxy 10 (benzoyl peroxide) all over your face, with extra in oily areas. You should apply the Oxy 10 even when you can’t wash. Make sure to rub it in well, it won’t do as much good just laying on the surface. (Get the “Vanishing” kind.)
Wipe your face with tissue regularly to keep oil off.
Do not put ANYTHING with any kind of oil listed in the ingredients on your face. (There used to be some kind of acne treatment liquid that was loaded with oils. Can’t remember the name.)
Keep your hands away from your face. Don’t rest your chin on your hands. Learn to sleep without your face touching the pillow.
Drink lots of water as suggested above. Prohibitions against chocolate and greasy foods for acne patients is an old wives tale. There is no medical evidence that these foods affect the skin. It stems from the fact that teenagers eat a lot of bad food and also have bad skin. But there is no scientific correlation. (They also listen to a lot of bad music, but that won’t cause acne either.)
Acne is a disease that cannot be cured, only treated, but following the steps I’ve listed will show a marked improvement over time.
If not, consult a dermatololgist.
I’ve heard:
-tea tree oil
-toothpaste
-egg yolk
-no foundation (extremely pore clogging)
-stay hydrated
-take vitamin supplements
Guillotine. Unconventional, guaranteed, solves a whole host of problems
A nineteen-twenties style deaWHACK
Er, sorry.
Pee on a washcloth. Dab pimples with urine-soaked washcloth. This was told to my uncle by the old Italian ladies who used to rub their faces with the peed-up diaper when they changed the babies.
I never tried it myself.
My mother made me douse my face with vodka.
Love ya, mom.
Other than that, I second the massive amounts of water and the vitamins. Another thing that helped me was lots and lots of aerobic excercise. Good luck, Wristy!
The Master once said that “Female circumcism cures masturbation the way a guillotine cures acne.” Or something like that.
I recommend liquid antiperspirant, which really works.
Zinc supplements.
Keep it clean. Don’t use normal soap. Over-frequent washing and scrubbing is not a solution. It gives you dry, flaky skin so your skin just increases oil production to try and counteract it. End result is flaky skin and acne.
Putting anything else on your skin (like lots of the suggestions above) is just messing about with the symptons and not addressing the cause.
Zinc supplements. I said that already, didn’t I?
If you are looking for “unconventional” ways I have heard of two.
rub seman on your face, let it dry and then peel off with a cool wash cloth
rub toothpaste on the affected area at night and then wash off in the morning