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Adult Acne Blog - 2002
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nurse, nutritionist, herbalist, or otherwise medically trained person.
I am an ordinary person who has suffered from adult acne since 1995 and have found no solution to my acne through conventional medicine.
December 28, 2002
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
10:48 AM (Pacific)
Wehellllll, would you guess what. I have stopped using topicals.
I'm currently mixing two yeasts...the original Lewis Labs brewer's yeast, plus something called "nutritional yeast" (KAL brand).
The KAL stuff is half the price of the Lewis Labs...about $6 for 16 oz. At first I had the idea of using the cheaper stuff. I used it by itself (same amount, 3 tablespoons per day) for a few days. The acne started coming back so I abandoned that idea.
I'm doing 1 tablespoon KAL to 2 tablespoons Lewis Labs. It seems to me personally, that they work better together than the Lewis Labs did alone.
I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DON'T HAVE ACNE ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Um, let me back up a bit...some parts of my face are...exactly like my old skin. I mean perfect. Other parts still have very small clogged pores...the clogs get smaller and fewer day by day though.
I really cannot believe this. I don't have to go walking around on eggshells anymore, wondering when my face would break out. I don't have to run my hand over my face anymore. There are times when I can actually forget I ever had a skin problem. I'M FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't need to wear any kind of foundation. I can take a shower, get dressed and leave the freakin' house with nothing on my face.
I really hope this works for someone else!
A warning though...if you have diabetes, you will want to consult your doctor before taking this. If I understand correctly...it's the chromium combined with B vitamins in the yeast, that works on acne. (I think adult acne itself has something to do with not being able to metabolize sugar.)
I looked at some chromium supplements...there was a warning on the label not to take the supplement if you have diabetes. So there is that consideration...and I would consult a doctor anyway before doing a yeast regimen.
That said...I am truly hoping to help someone else with this problem. Nothing else I tried worked.
Have the best of holidays and let's hope 2003 is a better freakin' year!
November 8, 2002
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
11:48 AM (Pacific)
OK...and I almost hate to say this...but I think I have found a solution to my adult acne, that I've had, off and on, since 1995.
The reason I hate to say it...is that everything else I tried before...from salicylic acid products, jojoba oil, changing my pillowcase, avoiding hormones in food, anything prescription topical, plus fiddling around with different birth control pills...really did not work. Helped, but did not work. Adult acne sufferers will know exactly what I mean.
What I'm doing new--two things. One is, get this, brewer's yeast. The powder, not the pills. Two is zinc...zinc lozenges.
It's the brewer's yeast though that really works. The theory is this. Brewer's yeast is basically a B vitamin complex with chromium. This combination can be used to treat stress. Adult acne is aggravated by stress.
I found out about it on the Net (naturally)...the recommendation is, start with 1 teaspoon of brewer's yeast powder per day and work up to 3 - 4 tablespoons of the stuff per day.
I tried it out in coffee--DO NOT DO THAT--you'll kill a perfectly good cup of coffee. But it's OK in unfiltered apple juice. It doesn't really dissolve, it's kinda gloppy, but it doesn't taste overly bad. The brand I got is Lewis Labs, $13 for 16 oz.
I looked into the pills...but each pill contains like 1.3 grams brewer's yeast. Two tablespoons of the powder contain 30 grams...so the pills won't cut it.
There were a couple of cautions that I read...one is, don't take it if you get frequent yeast infections. The other is, don't take it if you take certain anti-depressant medications (MAO1 inhibitors? I'm clueless...but if you're taking any prescription meds you will want to investigate possible problems first).
My skin is actually...dare I say it?...almost perfectly clear. This was during my placebo week of Yasmin birth control pills.
And speaking of Yasmin...Yasmin is good. It just took forever to kick in for me...I think I've been on it for nine months now. Ortho Tricyclen, it seems to me, started working pretty much right away.
The zinc...I read about that also so I'm giving it a try. 15 milligrams per day.
I'm still doing some topicals...I put a little Differin on my forehead and this stubborn spot on my jawline, plus the sides of my cheeks, last night. But I don't have to use topicals every night or all over my face anymore.
Ummm...I haven't even been ingesting the brewer's yeast every day. I started out with every day, now I take it every other day.
There was an article in "Allure" magazine...the August 2002 issue (Beyonce Knowles on the cover). Finally!!!!!!!!! Everything I've been saying for years. That there is this sudden epidemic of adult acne in the U.S., affecting women more than men, over say the past ten years. That it might be caused by exposure to hormones in food (there's a coy reference to that in the article).
But...taking it from here...assuming you already have it. I do recommend the brewer's yeast and zinc and, if you're female, finding the right birth control pill.
I'll have to stick with this for a while longer and see if it's possible to actually stop using topicals.
September 5, 2002
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
5:31 PM (Pacific)
OK folks... I've settled into using, *5* products, 4 of them prescription. So it's Differin one night, Azelex the next. I use tea tree oil or clindamycin phosphate in the morning...I prefer tea tree oil, but clindamycin phosphate smells less so I use it when I really don't want a stinky face. :)
The fifth product of course is Yasmin birth control pills. I prefer Ortho Tricyclen still. Today, I have a host of new clogged pores. Why? I'm on my placebo week of Yasmin. A few days ago my skin was really almost clear.
I don't know if the Yasmin will eventually even out...Ortho Tricyclen did after about three months. The placebo week wasn't dramatically different from the rest of the month. It remains to be seen about Yasmin. I can say I have more pain with Yasmin than O.T., it's really weird. The pain starts on Sunday but the period doesn't start until like Wednesday, and the pain overall is noticeably more and the period heavier. *phhhhhhht*
On the other hand...I think this routine is as good as it gets, without Accutane, oral antibiotics or extreme diets, unless someone comes up with some other treatment.
I still don't know what the deal is. Is adult acne, in particular female adult acne, worldwide? I don't think so. But I don't know. My gut tells me, we have polluted ourselves and our environment so much in the U.S., that's what's causing it. Maybe all those years of eating food pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, ends up causing acne that nothing short of extreme measures can treat.
At least, because I suffer from this condition, I strictly limit what kinds of food my kids eat. I remember this woman from one of the Internet beauty boards, Edina Monsoon--well that is a screen name :) --she said that she bought all her meat and dairy products from health food stores, as soon as she had a daughter. She just didn't fancy how such young girls...even nine years old...are getting their periods and physically maturing so fast. And that is the tip of the iceberg...who knows about cancer?
Well I've got to go...
August 17, 2002
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
12:43 PM (Pacific)
Well I've settled into Yasmin...it is still improving my skin, after 3 months worth. It works more slowly than Ortho Tricyclen. I would still recommend O.T. over Yasmin, but hell if you belong to an HMO that doesn't carry O.T., then Yasmin would be your next best bet.
Now I've tried Azelex 20% cream...a nice individual gave some to me. It's a good thing...my HMO (it's Kaiser btw) doesn't carry Azelex either! Or retin-A micro. Anyhow the Azelex is not as strong as Differin. It does work...but if I used only Azelex, I don't think it would be strong enough.
My plan is to use 3 or 4 products...Differin, Azelex, tea tree oil and clindamycin phosphate. I know you're not supposed to do that, you're supposed to stick with 1 set routine in order for it to work. But, nothing really works in the long run...if you continuously use something like Differin or even Azelex, it "burns" your skin and makes it itchy and red.
I haven't written about tea tree oil...you can get it at health food stores. A woman at my local store told me how to use it. You get some cotton pads or cotton balls...I went with the pads...she recommended the organic cotton ones (cotton is heavily sprayed with pesticides normally). You take a pad, wet it with water, fold it into quarters, squeeze out the excess water and open up the pad. You then carefully drop 2 drops of pure tea tree oil into the center of the pad and mush the pad slightly to distribute and dilute the oil. Then you use it like a Stridex pad on your face.
The brand is Thursday Plantation...because it comes in a dropper-top bottle. Buy the smallest one. Then, after it's empty, you can pop the top out and refill it with a cheaper brand.
Tea tree oil is an antiseptic...it helps the blemishes to heal faster. But that's all it does. If you had super mild acne, it might control it enough for you. Of course for me it's not enough...I like to use it in the morning after I wash my face. I let it dry before putting on makeup. Imo it's better than the clindamycin phosphate...it works as well, without making your face red or irritated.
It does smell strongly though, be forewarned. After it dries, it doesn't smell anymore.
So far...I've been fiddling around with these same products for a couple of weeks...my skin looks as good as, I feel, it's gonna get. Alternating Azelex with Differin has eliminated the lovely "shredded skin" look you get with Differin...and using tea tree oil whenever the Azelex gets to be too much, keeps my skin from getting itchy and "burned." But only Differin does anything with my forehead. *sigh*
The derm btw told me adult acne was genetically caused. I'm not sure if I buy that, but unfortunately it sounds right...it explains why you can't cure it. He said he does *not* recommend oral antibiotics except in extreme cases, where the side effects are outweighed by the benefits. He said there are two basic kinds of "mild to moderate" acne...the inflammatory kind (mine--pimples) and the kind where you get lots of blackheads and whiteheads, rather than pimples. Apparently the blackhead/whitehead kind, responds to stuff like clindamycin phosphate, erythromycin, etc. The pimple kind, that's where you use Differin, retin-A, etc. He said you could put cold cream on your face in the morning if you were using the Differin or retin-A routine, to get rid of the scaliness.
But I see it, as a tradeoff...I'd rather have somewhat more pimples, and no shredded skin (i.e. use Azelex as well as Differin). Overall the skin looks better. If you have all those flakes on your skin, you can't see the skin anyway, so it's immaterial if you have less zits!
Well that's my cheery adult acne thought for the day ;) I hope someone figures out something better soon but in any case, I think this new routine will be OK.
July 5, 2002
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
4:22 PM (Pacific)
I'm disappointed.
I'm at the end of my second pack of Yasmin birth control pills...and my skin...is under control, but nowhere near as clear as it was when I was taking Ortho Tricyclen. I am willing to go through a third pack...all acne treatments take forever, I know that much...but I was hoping for better results by now.
I should do some digging and figure out when Ortho's patent on the progestin in Ortho Tricyclen runs out. I really don't want to pay $80 for 3 months of O.T. ...a generic version would cost me $10.
*sigh* Smaller (much) and fewer clogged pores. But still, clogged pores and quite a few of them. For the past couple of nights, when I'm half-asleep I somehow believe that I can scratch out the clogs...it's bizarre...I wake up because I'm scratching my own face. Yech! Yech! Yech! Not scratching as in bleeding-scratching, but scratching nonetheless, and who wants to scratch their own face?
Hmmm...gonna go check on that patent thing now...
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