I'm 24 year old female and have been bothered by acne for more than 10 years. I get small pimples easily all over my face and my pores are big. I have very sensitive skin and I get pimples when I'm stressed or during weather change ( as I've moved from a tropical country to a dry country- Australia).
I have tried many products that didn't work for me. I wonder if there's any product that you would recommend to cure my pimples and stop it from growing. Is there anything that I can do to clear my pores? Would you recommend a set of products (cleanser, toner, moisturiser etc) or shall I take any medication? I really hope that you can give me some suggestion in it.

Proactiv DOES work, I have seen it work on others, like my friend.

Roaccuatne/Accutane has high success rates,but it is a harsh drug and should only be used as a last resort. You need to see a dermatologist for this.

Any Benzoyl Peroxide product should work. I recommend Benzac 5% topical cream.

The best solution is to go on a course of mild antibitoics, usually for 3 months. Something like Doxycycline works well, and combine this with prescription topical creams such as Zorac and/or Zindaclin.

Combine this with a gentle cleanser, exfoliate 2-3 tmes a week, use a toner and moisturiser.

Prescription stuff obviously requires a doctor, but not all of it. It doesn't hurt to see a doctor anyway, they can help you work out the best course of treatment for you.

I also advise going to Acne.org - Acne treatment and community

Also stay off dairy and sugar, they can trigger your acne and make it worse. Eat soy products instead.


Your 12 year old friend- Paul_John

I've found that most acne products really dry your skin out as many contain alcohol. It's also putting so much chemicals to your skin.

If you use mild antibiotics, I feel that it will later create an immune to antibiotics when you really need it.

I used to live in Australia and I know how dry it can be. . and really hot now too!

Recently I was introduced to a moor-based cleanser and it's got many purposes but one of them is that I found my pimples going away and no new ones coming up. I was told that it was the rich properties of the Austrian moor that does the trick. If you want to get some, you can go to this blog and it can be posted to you.

Proactiv works for some, and not at all for others. My sister in law was using it and it really dried out her skin. She switched to Timewise from MaryKay. I also had really bad acne and started using Timewise. I can finally leave the house without makeup, something I could never do before. Go to MaryKay.com if you want to see what I'm talking about. They have Timewise for normal/dry skin and then another type for combination/oily which is what I use. It wouldn't hurt to check it out if you've tried other types of skin care and they don't work. I know I tried all kinds of creams and whatnot from my dr. everything dried out my skin.

When I was younger I tried everything to fix my acne and found that proactive and all those other products didn't do a thing. I have also very sensitive skin myself and I have come to the point now of what to do...
... I don't eat so much candy as I used and avoid junk food as much as I can.
... I drink lots of liquids-water, tea, juice
... I use baking soda and water to cleanses my pore each day
... I use pieces of cucumber over my skin for a toner
... I use a good moisturizer mask once a week: 1 egg white, 1tsp honey, 2 drops of lavender essential oil- in a small bowl, beat egg white untilit is frothy and forms peaks. Gently fold in the honey and essential oil. Apply the mask to your face and let sit for 10 minutes. Then thoroughly rinse your face.

I hope this helps and good luck

I've tried proactive and it made my skin very oily. I use Neutrogena oil free acne wash every day and occasionally an acne cream or pad. Sometimes they dry out my skin very badly so I use a face lotion that contains acne medication and that really helps.

You could also visit your doctor, there are pills you can take to reduce your acne.