Acne removal for oily skin (face and back)

Hi TD,

First of all, you need to drink more water to be healthy. You also don't
mention your diet. Healthy food is essential for good skin. And, exercise
is also important for healthy skin.

Your skin is overly oily and that can be a trap. You would think you need
to dry it out but actually, that just makes the oil problem worse. You need
to find a good gentle cleanser for your face and then use a good
moisturizer. And then you use the acne medication.

Good luck.
ar

"TD" <Alt_15.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:9f4b0571.0309091442.3e53f553@posting.google.com...
> Im 14, a guy, and ive had acne since the 6th grade. Its all over my
> face, except my cheeks, but mainly on forehead. The acne is not as
> large in numbers as it is size. I also have many red spots and in some
> places (only a few) the acne is hidden under my skin. I almost always
> have oily skin, and I use Oxy and Isopropl to dry my skin out, but in
> less than 30 mins it gets oily again.
>
> To add to that, I have acne all over my back, these however are a bit
> smaller than the ones on my face.
>
> My parents told me that this is because of genetics. My brothers also
> had acne like this, just not as much. It eventually cleared up when
> they were 20. I cant wait that long!
>
> Here's my health. I eat and drink at a extreme minimal(2 glasses of
> water a day, and eat 2-3 times a day). I never go out, I mainly sit at
> home, or in the basement. I shower every 1-2 days just before bed. I
> used to use a perscribed medication by my doctor (not a derm.. i
> think) that had mainly alcohol and a small percent of some acids
> (hydrocloric acid and some other lotions). I constantly dose my face
> in extensive amounts of rubbing alcohol and I use Oxy 3 times a day to
> clean my face. Im also inactive most of the time (I dont run around or
> anything, mostly sit in a closed area)
>
> This is really ruining my social life!!!
>
> Any suggestions other than to see a derm would be wonderful.
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

TD wrote:
>
> Im 14, a guy, and ive had acne since the 6th grade. Its all over my
> face, except my cheeks, but mainly on forehead. The acne is not as
> large in numbers as it is size. I also have many red spots and in some
> places (only a few) the acne is hidden under my skin. I almost always
> have oily skin, and I use Oxy and Isopropl to dry my skin out, but in
> less than 30 mins it gets oily again.
>
> To add to that, I have acne all over my back, these however are a bit
> smaller than the ones on my face.
>
> My parents told me that this is because of genetics. My brothers also
> had acne like this, just not as much. It eventually cleared up when
> they were 20. I cant wait that long!
>
> Here's my health. I eat and drink at a extreme minimal(2 glasses of
> water a day, and eat 2-3 times a day). I never go out, I mainly sit at
> home, or in the basement. I shower every 1-2 days just before bed. I
> used to use a perscribed medication by my doctor (not a derm.. i
> think) that had mainly alcohol and a small percent of some acids
> (hydrocloric acid and some other lotions). I constantly dose my face
> in extensive amounts of rubbing alcohol and I use Oxy 3 times a day to
> clean my face. Im also inactive most of the time (I dont run around or
> anything, mostly sit in a closed area)
>
> This is really ruining my social life!!!
>
> Any suggestions other than to see a derm would be wonderful.

I suspect that the isopropyl is irritating your skin, causing it to
produce more oil in self defense. But who knows?

A few years ago, I came to this group to suggest that shampoo with the
anti dandruff ingredient might be effective against some cases of acne
that involved a bloom of microbes. Pyrithione zinc, a very active,
broad spectrum antimicrobial agent is present in many dandruff
shampoos, like DHS Zinc, Zincon, some versions of Head & Shoulders and
lots of generic competition.

The risk with this substance is skin irritation and suppression of
hair growth.

The method that people her helped me to refine is to coat the affected
dry skin with a thin layer of shampoo a little while before bathing
(say, 5 to 30 minutes). Because of the risk of irritation, start
short and work your way up, till you find your exposure tolerance.
Then shower it off, thoroughly. Complete rinsing is very important ot
make sure no shampoo residue is left on your skin to irritate it and
cause that dreaded oil rebound. Since the pyrithione zinc is somewhat
soluble in skin oils, a little is left behind below the surface to
discourage the growth of microbes. Because of the risk of irritation
and this slowly fading effect, it seems best to repeat the treatment
no more often than every second day.

If you use this treatment, discontinue any other skin treatments that
tend to irritate skin, like alcohol, Retin A, or benzoyl peroxide
(oxy- almost anything trade names) till two days after a treatment.

The best things about this method is that it is cheap (especially for
large areas like back and chest), and if it is going to work, it works
fast. It two or three treatments (4 to 6 days) show no improvement,
more will probably not do much, either.

There are lots of posts discussion the pros and cons of this idea in
the Google archive:
http://www.google.com/grphp?hl=en&tab=wg&ie=UTF-8

Search the group alt.skincare.acne for my last name and words like
pyrithione zinc, head, shoulders, and other unusual words I used in
the above paragraphs. About half of the people reporting a test of
this method had at least some positive things to say about the
effects.

Not bad for an inspiration during an idle moment.

--
John Popelish
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

Ok, let's see if I can post something more helpful. Remember I'm not a
dermatologist, and this can't be constituted as medical advice.

I know your skin is really oily, but I think that "drying out" your skin is
the wrong way to think about things. If your skin is red, it is irritated.
You want to baby your skin, soothe it. First of all, I would stop all the
isopropyl alcohol. It is very drying, and your skin will just produce more
oil to compensate. If you use a gentle, moisturizing cleanser for 2 weeks
(and no alcohol!), I think you will find that your skin is less oily than
before. Cetaphil is a very moisturizing, gentle cleanser that is easy to
find. It leaves your skin very soft. If you want to try a medicated
cleanser, Alpha Hydrox Moisturizing Body Wash is very popular. It contains
4% glycolic acid, which helps clear excess skin cells and stop them from
clogging. These are both inexpensive and easy to find.

Then you need an exfoliant to aid in clearing the excess skin cells.
Salicylic acid is usually what you want for acne-prone skin because it can
penetrate the oil (sebum) that can clog your pores. A cheap and easy way is
to get Stridex Alcohol-Free Pads. There is a maximum strength (2%), regular
strength (1%), and a sensitive skin version (1/2% salicylic acid). These
are a little irritating, but they are better than most of the other pads
that are loaded with alcohol. You can also buy a salicylic acid gel from
Neutrogena, like Neutrogena Clear Pore Treatment Nighttime Pore Clarifying
Gel.

Finally, you need something to kill the bacterial that causes pimples.
Benzoyl Peroxide is normally used. It can definitely be irritating. If
your skin feels red, itchy, or irritated by the Benzoyl Peroxide, use a
weaker strength cream. Oxy makes good 5% (Oxy Sensitive Skin Treatment) and
10% Benzoyl Peroxide (Oxy Maximum Acne Treatment), and Neutrogena makes a
gentler 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide (Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment).

.. . . or . . .

You could buy a kit at Walgreen's called Klear Action. It costs about $20,
and it has a cleanser, toner, and repair cream designed to fight acne.

Whatever you use, if your skin is red, irritated, or peeling, then you are
using something too strong, or you are using it too often.

Also, you should drink at least 8 glasses of water everyday! Even oily skin
can get dehydrated.

Hope this helps a little,

Stuart
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

Thx for all your support.

Ive discontinued using isopropl and Oxy and any other crazy method my
family suggested me (They told me that salt was very effective, which
hurts like hell and has absolutely no change. it also causes itching
when it soaks in and makes my face all red).

But i still dont know what to start with (since ive heard many methods
here), So far I found a Head & Shoulders bottle with the dandruff
stuff in it and now im applying it every 2 days. The guy who suggeted
me that also said, not to use anything else while doing this. So my
question is, can I use anything else with the Shampoo to futher reduce
acne? Or should I stop using the shampoo and try the moisturizes and
cleaners?

Now to answer some questions you people asked

My diet goes as follows: Breafest: Tea with waffles; Lunch:
Frenchfries (now that I started highskool, I can eat more of my
favorite type of food at the caf) and chicken nuggets; Supper: Soup,
or eggs or potatoes.

Also I want to add that my skin was oily before I started using Oxy or
Alcohol.
I heard that accutane really reduces the amount of oil your body
makes, but i wonder why people would rather not use it?

I also dont know why excersise is good for skin? and what kind of
excersise (weightlifting? sprinting?)?

And one last thing, can I get all of this at drugmart or walmart?
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

TD wrote:
(snip)
> ... The guy who suggeted
> me that also said, not to use anything else while doing this. So my
> question is, can I use anything else with the Shampoo to futher reduce
> acne? Or should I stop using the shampoo and try the moisturizes and
> cleaners?

I warned about using anything else that might be irritating within a
couple days of using pyrithione zinc. Anything else that is soothing
or protective is fine.

--
John Popelish
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

"John Popelish" <jpopelish DeleteThis @rica.net> wrote in message
news:3F5E823A.C337B5FF@rica.net...
> TD wrote:
> >
> > Im 14, a guy, and ive had acne since the 6th grade. Its all over my
> > face, except my cheeks, but mainly on forehead. The acne is not as
> > large in numbers as it is size. I also have many red spots and in some
> > places (only a few) the acne is hidden under my skin. I almost always
> > have oily skin, and I use Oxy and Isopropl to dry my skin out, but in
> > less than 30 mins it gets oily again.
> >
> > To add to that, I have acne all over my back, these however are a bit
> > smaller than the ones on my face.
> >
> > My parents told me that this is because of genetics. My brothers also
> > had acne like this, just not as much. It eventually cleared up when
> > they were 20. I cant wait that long!
> >
> > Here's my health. I eat and drink at a extreme minimal(2 glasses of
> > water a day, and eat 2-3 times a day). I never go out, I mainly sit at
> > home, or in the basement. I shower every 1-2 days just before bed. I
> > used to use a perscribed medication by my doctor (not a derm.. i
> > think) that had mainly alcohol and a small percent of some acids
> > (hydrocloric acid and some other lotions). I constantly dose my face
> > in extensive amounts of rubbing alcohol and I use Oxy 3 times a day to
> > clean my face. Im also inactive most of the time (I dont run around or
> > anything, mostly sit in a closed area)
> >
> > This is really ruining my social life!!!
> >
> > Any suggestions other than to see a derm would be wonderful.
>
> I suspect that the isopropyl is irritating your skin, causing it to
> produce more oil in self defense. But who knows?
>
> A few years ago, I came to this group to suggest that shampoo with the
> anti dandruff ingredient might be effective against some cases of acne
> that involved a bloom of microbes. Pyrithione zinc, a very active,
> broad spectrum antimicrobial agent is present in many dandruff
> shampoos, like DHS Zinc, Zincon, some versions of Head & Shoulders and
> lots of generic competition.
>
> The risk with this substance is skin irritation and suppression of
> hair growth.
>
> The method that people her helped me to refine is to coat the affected
> dry skin with a thin layer of shampoo a little while before bathing
> (say, 5 to 30 minutes). Because of the risk of irritation, start
> short and work your way up, till you find your exposure tolerance.
> Then shower it off, thoroughly. Complete rinsing is very important ot
> make sure no shampoo residue is left on your skin to irritate it and
> cause that dreaded oil rebound. Since the pyrithione zinc is somewhat
> soluble in skin oils, a little is left behind below the surface to
> discourage the growth of microbes. Because of the risk of irritation
> and this slowly fading effect, it seems best to repeat the treatment
> no more often than every second day.
>
> If you use this treatment, discontinue any other skin treatments that
> tend to irritate skin, like alcohol, Retin A, or benzoyl peroxide
> (oxy- almost anything trade names) till two days after a treatment.
>
> The best things about this method is that it is cheap (especially for
> large areas like back and chest), and if it is going to work, it works
> fast. It two or three treatments (4 to 6 days) show no improvement,
> more will probably not do much, either.
>
> There are lots of posts discussion the pros and cons of this idea in
> the Google archive:
> http://www.google.com/grphp?hl=en&tab=wg&ie=UTF-8
>
> Search the group alt.skincare.acne for my last name and words like
> pyrithione zinc, head, shoulders, and other unusual words I used in
> the above paragraphs. About half of the people reporting a test of
> this method had at least some positive things to say about the
> effects.
>
> Not bad for an inspiration during an idle moment.
>
> --
> John Popelish
>

Pyrithione Zinc suppresses hair growth?
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

"TD" <Alt_15 DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
> My diet goes as follows: Breafest: Tea with waffles; Lunch:
> Frenchfries (now that I started highskool, I can eat more of my
> favorite type of food at the caf) and chicken nuggets; Supper: Soup,
> or eggs or potatoes.

Not the healthiest diet. If you want your skin to look good, then you need
to nourish your body so that it can be as healthy as possible. Fruits and
vegetables will help a lot and cutting down on grains and simple carbs will
help as well. That means the waffles, the french fries the breaded chicken
and the potatoes could all be contributing to your skin problem. Yes, your
problem could be hormones but a proper diet might just help make the acne
better. Many of us have had our skin clear up when we changed our diets.

> I heard that accutane really reduces the amount of oil your body
> makes, but i wonder why people would rather not use it?

Accutane is a potentially dangerous medication. Although many people have
no trouble with it, many do. And it doesn't work for everyone. I
personally believe that the risk of the accutane isn't worth it. I can
clear up my skin by eating better and exercising. I was on accutane and it
really caused me a lot of trouble and didn't clear up my skin.

> I also dont know why excersise is good for skin? and what kind of
> excersise (weightlifting? sprinting?)?

Exercise is good for the skin because it helps the body detoxify and stay
healthy. Any kind of exercise will help.

Take care,
ar
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

If you do one thing for yourself in your lifetime, I would recommend it be
to take Arlyn's advice here.
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

Jason wrote:

> Pyrithione Zinc suppresses hair growth?

Yea. Makes it fall out if used often enough and with long enough
exposures. Hell of a thing for a shampoo to do. This gives you some
idea how powerful a biocide pyrithione zinc is. I didn't associate my
thinning hair with it till a person from this group who was using it
often and successfully for facial acne (by the method under
discussion) happened to mention that he didn't have to shave as often
as he used to.

Just lathering and rinsing every night with it is probable not nearly
enough exposure for this to take place, but putting in in your hair
for a half hour every night probably is. As with many powerful
treatments, the use of pyrithione zinc is a balancing act between
effectiveness and side effects.

--
John Popelish
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

Can you point me to some solid information regarding the use of zinc
pyrithione in treating acne? I've only found articles discussing it to
treat dermatitis, psoriasis, etc.

Head and Shoulders is pretty strong stuff, even without the zinc, as it uses
ammonium lauyrl sulfate.

Stuart



a.. Sulfates is the colloquial name for a group of cleansing ingredients
called alkyl sulfates, which are amongst the most irritating ingredients in
personal care products, yet used by almost every manufacturer worldwide.
Ammonium lauryl sulfate is the most strongly irritant, followed by sodium
lauryl sulfate (unless it's proficiently complexed with cocoamphodiacetate),
then the ethoxylated sulfates - sodium and ammonium laureth sulfate.

b.. Petrochemical cleansers tend to be harsh and irritating. Examples
include sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate and sodium C12-16 olefin sulfonate.

c.. Ammonium lauryl sulfate is commonly used to replace sodium lauryl
sulfate, which is the subject of negative publicity. The following table
shows that this replacement is significantly more irritating than SLS. See
FAQ for details.

PRIMARY IRRITATION INDEX of surfactant solutions

Percent active and product tested
10% Sodium lauryl sulfate
10% Ammonium lauryl sulfate
Primary Irritation Index
3.3
5.1
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

> Ive discontinued using isopropl and Oxy and any other crazy method my
> family suggested me (They told me that salt was very effective, which
> hurts like hell and has absolutely no change. it also causes itching
> when it soaks in and makes my face all red).

Yep, I'd definitely drop anything that is irritating your skin.

> But i still dont know what to start with (since ive heard many methods
> here), So far I found a Head & Shoulders bottle with the dandruff
> stuff in it and now im applying it every 2 days. The guy who suggeted
> me that also said, not to use anything else while doing this. So my
> question is, can I use anything else with the Shampoo to futher reduce
> acne? Or should I stop using the shampoo and try the moisturizes and
> cleaners?

I really hope the Head & Shoulders does the trick for you. Zinc Pyrithione
is certainly effective in treating some skin conditions.

You've told us that you are having a pretty severe acne problem, and that
you have pretty irritated skin. I'm a little disturbed by the fact that,
thanks to reading this newsgroup, you are now applying a very strong
detergent to your skin, with an active ingredient that as far as I can tell
(please correct me if I am wrong) does not have a proven track record in
fighting acne, and we've told you not to use any other potentially
irritating medications while you are trying this. I did read that some of
the conditions that it treats may have an acne-like appearance in some
respects. In the limited amount of time I had this evening, I wasn't able
to find anything from the AAD or the FDA indicating that Zinc Pyrithione was
useful in treating acne.

Stuart
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

thought i should drop my 2 cents in...

all the above posts are good advice, whether they work, i don't know, but
atleast it's from people tring to help and i'm sure we're all sympathetic
(pls correct if wrong!). i'd just like to add that in my experience rushing
off and buying the whole top shelf of the drug store and piling on the
creams might not be the best way to test them. everything i've seen for
treating acne (and certainly cystic) will require atleast 2 weeks (to
months!) to start kicking in. try out different topicals but give them a
chance to work (or not work) before you start on the next one. i would also
suggest any changes in diet / routines be done systematically to give your
body a chance to adjust... if you've been inactive for years? suddenly
starting to run miles a day ain't gonna work. build it up... for diet
changes also, test out diff. food, i've noticed that certain fruits actually
make me break out (bananas, strawberrys, kiwi etc.) - this has got to be a
rariety!

....acnes a bitch and it's a long process to kick it (if anyone knows
different i'll nominate you for a Nobel!)

all the best,
-dan

"Stuart Pierce" <stuartwpREMOVE.DeleteThis@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:YjU7b.5$Em4.3588@news3.news.adelphia.net...
> > Ive discontinued using isopropl and Oxy and any other crazy method my
> > family suggested me (They told me that salt was very effective, which
> > hurts like hell and has absolutely no change. it also causes itching
> > when it soaks in and makes my face all red).
>
> Yep, I'd definitely drop anything that is irritating your skin.
>
> > But i still dont know what to start with (since ive heard many methods
> > here), So far I found a Head & Shoulders bottle with the dandruff
> > stuff in it and now im applying it every 2 days. The guy who suggeted
> > me that also said, not to use anything else while doing this. So my
> > question is, can I use anything else with the Shampoo to futher reduce
> > acne? Or should I stop using the shampoo and try the moisturizes and
> > cleaners?
>
> I really hope the Head & Shoulders does the trick for you. Zinc
Pyrithione
> is certainly effective in treating some skin conditions.
>
> You've told us that you are having a pretty severe acne problem, and that
> you have pretty irritated skin. I'm a little disturbed by the fact that,
> thanks to reading this newsgroup, you are now applying a very strong
> detergent to your skin, with an active ingredient that as far as I can
tell
> (please correct me if I am wrong) does not have a proven track record in
> fighting acne, and we've told you not to use any other potentially
> irritating medications while you are trying this. I did read that some of
> the conditions that it treats may have an acne-like appearance in some
> respects. In the limited amount of time I had this evening, I wasn't able
> to find anything from the AAD or the FDA indicating that Zinc Pyrithione
was
> useful in treating acne.
>
> Stuart
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back) 

Hey Dan,

I just wanted to comment on how certain fruits make you break out. For one
thing, you could have an allergy to them.

Also, the job of the fruit is to clean out your insides. A lot of us have
acne because we detox through our skin when our liver and kidneys are over
taxed. If this is the case with you, it isn't the fruit that is making you
break out but the effect of the fruit doing its job - meaning it's the other
stuff you eat that is making you break out.

Take care,
ar

"D" <ukonline.TakeThisOut@ukonline.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3f6020f7$0$12639$afc38c87@news.ukonline.co.uk...
> thought i should drop my 2 cents in...
>
> all the above posts are good advice, whether they work, i don't know, but
> atleast it's from people tring to help and i'm sure we're all sympathetic
> (pls correct if wrong!). i'd just like to add that in my experience
rushing
> off and buying the whole top shelf of the drug store and piling on the
> creams might not be the best way to test them. everything i've seen for
> treating acne (and certainly cystic) will require atleast 2 weeks (to
> months!) to start kicking in. try out different topicals but give them a
> chance to work (or not work) before you start on the next one. i would
also
> suggest any changes in diet / routines be done systematically to give your
> body a chance to adjust... if you've been inactive for years? suddenly
> starting to run miles a day ain't gonna work. build it up... for diet
> changes also, test out diff. food, i've noticed that certain fruits
actually
> make me break out (bananas, strawberrys, kiwi etc.) - this has got to be a
> rariety!
>
> ...acnes a bitch and it's a long process to kick it (if anyone knows
> different i'll nominate you for a Nobel!)
>
> all the best,
> -dan
>
> "Stuart Pierce" <stuartwpREMOVE.TakeThisOut@adelphia.net> wrote in message
> news:YjU7b.5$Em4.3588@news3.news.adelphia.net...
> > > Ive discontinued using isopropl and Oxy and any other crazy method my
> > > family suggested me (They told me that salt was very effective, which
> > > hurts like hell and has absolutely no change. it also causes itching
> > > when it soaks in and makes my face all red).
> >
> > Yep, I'd definitely drop anything that is irritating your skin.
> >
> > > But i still dont know what to start with (since ive heard many methods
> > > here), So far I found a Head & Shoulders bottle with the dandruff
> > > stuff in it and now im applying it every 2 days. The guy who suggeted
> > > me that also said, not to use anything else while doing this. So my
> > > question is, can I use anything else with the Shampoo to futher reduce
> > > acne? Or should I stop using the shampoo and try the moisturizes and
> > > cleaners?
> >
> > I really hope the Head & Shoulders does the trick for you. Zinc
> Pyrithione
> > is certainly effective in treating some skin conditions.
> >
> > You've told us that you are having a pretty severe acne problem, and
that
> > you have pretty irritated skin. I'm a little disturbed by the fact
that,
> > thanks to reading this newsgroup, you are now applying a very strong
> > detergent to your skin, with an active ingredient that as far as I can
> tell
> > (please correct me if I am wrong) does not have a proven track record in
> > fighting acne, and we've told you not to use any other potentially
> > irritating medications while you are trying this. I did read that some
of
> > the conditions that it treats may have an acne-like appearance in some
> > respects. In the limited amount of time I had this evening, I wasn't
able
> > to find anything from the AAD or the FDA indicating that Zinc Pyrithione
> was
> > useful in treating acne.
> >
> > Stuart
> >
> >
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Acne removal for oily skin (face and back)