the face of a 16 yr old..

bride2003

Well so now that AF is back so is my acne! I haven't had it this bad since before I started having kids. Ugh! I am very low key when it comes to makeup & usually use only clinique products so chime in with what you use to help your skin!

lala5507

I use my clarisonic with a deep pore cleaning brush head with an acne face wash. I still break out when I get my period but the clarisonic really knocks it out. I also had really bad acne when I was pregnant with my first. I went to a dermatologist and they sat me in front of this blue light thing a couple times and it did wonders for my acne.

lala5507

lala5507:

I use my clarisonic with a deep pore cleaning brush head with an acne face wash. I still break out when I get my period but the clarisonic really knocks it out. I also had really bad acne when I was pregnant with my first. I went to a dermatologist and they sat me in front of this blue light thing a couple times and it did wonders for my acne.

Ok, I guess the nest is not letting me make paragraphs today...

sundaygirl

Ditto on the Clairsonic. For bad breakouts I use clindamycin (prescription from my pcp) with benzoyl peroxide over it. There are some very good prescription acne meds available but I found most of them to be expensive under my insurance.

ziggy23213

Tea tree oil works really well for acne; you can buy just the plain oil at The Body Shop, or I use Thoroughly Clean face wash (get it at Whole Foods).

Lys1011

I'm glad you posted this. I've been breaking out like a 16 year old me for the past year. It seemed to start right after I had Mirena inserted, so I don't know if that's coincidence or not. It's good to know about the options out there to fight acne!

sundaygirl

Lys1011:

I'm glad you posted this. I've been breaking out like a 16 year old me for the past year. It seemed to start right after I had Mirena inserted, so I don't know if that's coincidence or not. It's good to know about the options out there to fight acne!

FWIW, Lyss, Mirena and acne went hand-in-hand for me.  Including chest and back, which I never had before.  I told myself it was just the change from birth control pills but without Mirena, things are much better.

northhillsbride

Another vote for the clarisonic!

Luckystar2

Clarisonic!! I am in love with mine. BCP helped with mine to an extent but I would still get gross cystic acne around AF and they would last weeks. Since using clarisonic they've all but gone away. I've been using it for almost 3 years and could probably count on my hands the # of bad breakouts. It's probably the best thing (tied with BCP) I've done for my skin! I wish I would have bought it years ago...I've struggled with acne for awhile and spent so much money on derm visits and pills and creams and OTC stuff that didn't work!  The clarisonic may be a little pricey but I probably save money since I'm not buying all the other crap that doesn't work