hi! i'm new to here.
but i would like to share my experience wif u all.
last time during form 4, i had acne problems also.
i went to consult dermatologist many times and many places.
i've tried many antibiotics (Tetracycline and minocycline),it doesn't work(no effect) but i'm allegic to Erythromycin (both oral and topical red colour lotion).

then a miracle happened,i was given accutane(isotretinoin) as my last resort and it works perfectly.10mg accutane a day(i tried 20mg aday, but it made my blood test result abit abnormal).took 1year 3months.after that,till now, no acne problems for me(old scars recover abit also).i'm 21 now.jinyee80 is correct.cetaphil is good,it works perfectly wif accutane.cetaphil helps dry the pimples quite fast

accutane its precribed from dermatologist.cannot buy at normal pharmacy.u wan details abt it, den search for "accutane".u might get frightened by the side effects,but if u follow careful instructions by doctor=100% safe.

those antibiotics details also can be searched from google.last time i did my own research on those stuffs before i start my medication.

it works for ALL genders.

hiie,i took Roaccutane when i was in form5(17) also.but i took only 10mg a day. i tried 20mg before but blood test has some abnormal stuffs.DONT WORRY,continue read on before jump to conclusion.i took it for 18months and then only my acne gone(those big pimples only not those whiteheads and blackheads).i tell u.Roaccutane only starts its effect after 1 month or so.at first,u might hv EVEN MORE PIMPLES coming out due to ur skin already has those blocked glands.but after one month,roaccutane will clear them for u.so u'll actually feel better.and if u feel tht "oh,i no more pimples coming out already,so i wan stop taking roaccutane even right now".never ever do tht!!!!!!!if u think like dat,ur pimples will make its return and u'll plagues by this problem even worse.at least consume it around 2 months more.those u see in websites are westerners.their diet and weather very different from us.to support my stand,i give an example y asians are not encouraged to do laser on pimples scars,coz asian skins are prone to develop pigmentation 'uneven colour' when exposed to sun after laser(Msia is bloody hot here).AND ur face will become very red after u do laser.GOOD NEWS is,Roaccutane also heals scars SLIGHTLY coz its actually a modified type of VITAMIN A.u take Roaccutane means u're taking an overdosed Vitamin A into ur body.u might think 'i can eat more vegetables such as spinach which also has vitamin A to combat acne'. u're wrong. vegetables such as spinach has a substance call octana which limits ur Vitamin A consumption and no matter how much u eat also it'll be no use coz it'll end up in ur toilet bowl.

those products u're using i used a few before,namely the lip conditioner,the face cleanser.but then i've another neo strata clarifying lotion for peeling off dead skin faster.ok.after one month,if ur acne doesn't do any good.go do the glycolic acid peel treatment.i've done dis before also.but only twice.its kind of organic acid from fruits put onto a topical layer on ur skin.the dermatologist will do for u.it will start of in stages,but mostly start wif 20% concentration, then 50% den 70%.but then i only managed to endure till 50% concentration.when the doctor sapu tht acid on ur face,u'll feel abit uncomfortable.MILD acid on ur face.imagine tht.when it dries up,u'll feel like ur face feel like a MASK(its tight).anyways,i'll talk abt others later on if u're interested to noe.AND as a reminder: glycolic acid peel works together wif Roaccutane=work as a charm.

BTW: do u guys and girls feel tht Cetaphil is abit overpriced nowadays,the big bottle wif a pump cost up to 39bucks at guardian pharmacy though i got mine at 28bucks at cheras area.tht area is called Suntex if u noe where it is.

This post has been edited by k!nex: Aug 2 2007, 02:03 AM

i do agree wif u tht those beauty salons ..better dont go.it destroy my face also.same scenario as u.
as wif ur scaring, BP wont cause scaring.u do those extraction to ur pimples will cause scaring(thts wat happened to me when those at beauty salons did tht to my face).
FYI,i'm not taking any course on acne,i'm actually an IT student,but i've alot of personal experience on this stuffs.those i dunno i wont answer.all those i noe i answered according to wat dermatologist told me during the bad days i had acne.

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Added on August 7, 2007, 2:34 pmjinyee80, thanks for ur effort in helping the forumers around here.i'm also a cetaphil user.used it for the past 4 years already if i not mistaken.

may i ask, how old are u?
u took accutane 3 months and most of your pimples cleared up.thts good.very positive effect u get.but u better do blood test once a month at least if u're taking accutane.the marks u mean is the 'porthole' which is left by ur pimple or ur skin colour reddish like dat?if u feel dat ur face is abit red after taking accutane, thts normal,it will get worse when u're exposed to direct sunlight.thts y accutane users should AVOID DIRECT SUNLIGHT EXPOSURE(u can use sunblock to prevent it).for asian skins,our skin is prone to pigmentation (meaning is,ur face will hv uneven skin colour and WARNING,ITS PERMANENT).during my time wif accutane,it took me 6 months to get rid of all my pimples.u only 3rd month,accutane only start to kick all ur pre-appearing pimple out before starting to prevent them.so no fuss abt it,just get ur itchy hands off them u touch ur face more,the more pimples u get, coz ur hands got bacteria.

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Added on August 7, 2007, 2:40 pmseems tht u hv very sensitive skin,better go to a dermatologist and tell the doctor wat u're experiencing.dun anyhow try those products tht u dun hv any idea on them.it may cause u develop even more rashes.

This post has been edited by k!nex: Aug 7 2007, 02:40 PM

exact time to heal properly depends on individual.mine is 1 1/2 years.but even if heal properly,u still will hv blackheads and maybe mini pimples around ur forehead especially.no worries though, accutane will heal ur scars SLOWLY but NOT COMPLETELY IF U HV 'PORTHOLES'.even after u stop taking accutane for 3 months,it will heal ur scars though.and if u use those benzoyl peroxide/tea tree oil stuff to kill acne,u'll find tht its more effective than ever due to u've taken accutane.

nolaa,dun be scared.just use tht sunblock whenever u're out. den u will be fine.but STAY AWAY FROM DIRECT SUNLIGHT IF POSSIBLE.anyways,u also wont wan ur face to look as red a tomato ---->accutane consumers will find their skin more sensitive to sunlight.be aware of tht.

another question,u find roaccutane tablets expensive or not?last time it was like RM8 per tablet for 10mg.purple colour tablet if i not mistaken.but WARNING: DO NOT SIMPLY STOP CONSUMING ROACCUTANE BY JUDGING THT UR PIMPLES HAS HEALED UNLESS UR DOCTOR TELLS U.if not,ur pimples will make a return very fast and u will hv a harder time to tackle ur acne due to its 'partly immune' to accutane.

This post has been edited by k!nex: Aug 8 2007, 01:04 AM

the panoxyl thing smells abit like turpentine or tina water.so u hv to bear with the smell. i've been through this stage before when i was form 4/5. my opinion, go consult dermatologist. they will give u antibiotics such as minocycline or erithromycin or just give u Retin-A for u to apply on ur acne. i did smtg that i regret throughout my entire life, during tht stage, i went to beautician for extraction of those acne.The problem now i having is, though my acne can say is 98% gone, but the scars are there, its same as normal skin colour but those pot-holes remain there. and i dun think it can be healed completely unless i go for laser treatment( but i dun feel the need la since i'm a boy ,furthermore, asian skin are not suitable for laser as pigmentation will occur coz after u do laser, ur whole face become like tomato for weeks ,if u expose to direct sunlight,there goes ur pigmentation problem especially such hot climate like m'sia).

cetaphil cleanser 1 bottle around 40bucks i think nowadays.

from my own findings, acne problems become worse if u stay up at night or burn midnight oil or never sleep at all during the night.ur body heat will go up and ur face oil glans start opening up wide and there goes ur acne 1 by 1 popping up. coz i was once an online game addict till i wont sleep at night sometimes.

2nd thing is tht, try to avoid humid places such as walking at petalling street, it will make ur acne pops out also. BUT u shud do more exercise to remove ur body toxic through perspiration (sweating),but remember to wipe your sweat with a CLEAN towel as failure to do so will result in more acne

3rd thing is i notice tht there was once i went to hong kong during end of the year near christmas for vacation, the weather was like 18C-20C already.maybe i alwiz walk around and the cold breeze actually dried up all my acne surprisingly( but return to m'sia there go the same acne problem again la duhhh ). i did not apply anything to my face during the trip.thts y simple conclusion would be humid weather promotes pimples breeding.

4th, if u really feel tht u're hand itchy type and wanna extract pimples on urself, cut ur fingernails.failure to do so will result in more acne coming out due to bacteria stucked on ur fingernails.

okay, dis is my personal experience of acne related stuffs and my researching thoroughout 6 years.


This post has been edited by k!nex: Feb 1 2009, 11:15 PM

my opinion is, if u dun wan more scar on ur face, go consult a dermatologist ASAP. different product suits different ppl, and ur skin might be more sensitive than other ppl.sometimes u cant only depend on stuffs u can get in pharmacy or places like watson.

hi , actually i also took roaccutane during my spm days.from wat my dermatologist told me, u cant stop accutane at a sudden coz all your acne will come back very fast.thus u're only wasting ur money for ur accutane for 9 months, i assume 1 tablet of accutane 10mg is 8bucks, 1month 240 already. u can only stop accutane stage by stage by reducing ur dosage.well, dun trust ur fren's mom whos just a pharmacist.a dermatologist is a skin specialist who noes how to prescribe drugs and follow up on it if anything goes wrong with u. its just tht, accutane users need to do blood test once a month compulsary. if u find abnormal readings, den normally u'll get reduced the dosage of accutane.and not completely stop at a sudden. and if u stop at a sudden,u'll get sudden acne outbreak and ur acne will be harder to cure since it has develop immunity to accutane. hope my years of research and experience helps. FYI, i've tried antibiotics and it din work out for me, it caused even more acne outbreaks.thts y i had taken accutane and do occasional glycolic acid peel for 18months before stopping it. abt the side effect thing, i've stopped accutane for 3 years and so far ntg happens to me. most importantly, my old acne scar reduce slightly coz of the accutane (its actually overdosed synthetic vitamin A), and my acne problem reduced at least 95%, now more more big pimples that cause permanent scaring.just tht if i not enuf sleep due to my work, my forehead will hv small ones which is unnoticeable unless the other person is less than 10 cm from me.

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Added on February 7, 2009, 9:00 pmpanoxyl is benzoyl peroxide, and its meant to be applied only on the pimple itself. if apply whole face, u might get skin burn at parts of ur skin tht is low on sebum resulting in scabbing.different parts of ur skin produces different quantity of sebum.

This post has been edited by k!nex: Feb 7 2009, 09:03 PM

my own advise, dun take photo of your skin almost everyday.it wont heal overnight u noe? take weeks or months.if u take photo almost everyday, u'll notice tht 'how come no improvement???' , eventually u'll get depressed and depression will worsen ur acne problems. my own advise, take picture every 2 weeks or a month.
btw, try not to mirror urself too much also, ur fingers might get a little itchy and keep touching ur pimples resulting in more pimples since ur fingers may contain bacteria.

This post has been edited by k!nex: Feb 9 2009, 12:06 PM