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Stubborn Acne, my journey

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:12 am
by swisherheidil
Hello all! I wanted to share my story in a short post in case there is anyone else out there who this could help. Disclaimer, I am NOT a scientist or any sort of expert on dermatology or anything i a, discussing here today. I am just sharing what I have found to work for me personally. I do believe that acne is a multifaceted problem and not everyone can address it in the same way. With all that said, on to the post.

I have been struggling with acne since i was about 12 years old. Not surprising, since most tweenyboppers and teenagers struggle with this. My sister (just over a year ahead of me) also developed it around the same time. For her, the proactive system would work. Proactive worked on me for a while but then my acne reappeared and i couldn't get it to go away. I tried everything in the book. I tried many different types of products. I event consulted with dermatologists 5 separate times. I even changed my diet and tried "magical" drinks that promised clear skin. I've been on accutane, I've had prescribed over the counter creams, gels, and anything else you can imagine. The years went by and I watched any all my friends and my sister lost their acne and were able to use minimal maintenance to keep their skin glowy and pretty. For me, i couldn't catch a break. Until...I finally found a product that worked practically over night. This product is Neutrogena's Rapid Clear Stubborn Acne Cleanser. This product has 10% Benzoyl Peroxide. I also didn't use it really as a cleanser. I would put a light layer on after I washed and lotioned my face. It worked like a wonderful magical acne destroying charm and I finally had clear skin for the first time in years. This product has honestly never failed me and i used it for years (until this past summer, more to come on that in a minute) and i had skin that got regular compliments (and i don't ever wear makeup).

Okay, now the downside...Benzoyl Peroxide stains clothing, like badly. I didn't know what was causing this at first but my husband actualy is the onewhoj sggested it may be my face product. Sure enough, that was it. It was so depressing. This was th eonly thing that worked on my skin and it stains all our clothes. My husband was sweet and trying to work with it by seperating our wash and everything but i know he was tired of having to buy new work shirts, so i started googling and trying new things (spring 2019). I first got the idea to try essential oils (EOs) from a post i read about tea tree oil. Tried it, and it didn't work. I tried a few other things but nothing was working.

One night i was up, again, googleing alternatives to benzoyl peroxide and i came across a research article (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132408/) about Thyme Oil. i had never heard of this before and the article was a few years old but i was intrigued none the less. The researchers found that thyme oil seemed to be more effective at killing the acne bacteria that benzoyl peroxide. Now, to be clear, this study was not on humans. From what i can tell they literally put the stuff in petri dishes and went at it. Honestly, i was desperate enough that i didn't care. it was the most recent article i could find and even though i cold find a whole lot else on it or any products for acne with thyme oil, i decided to give it a go. I ordered pure Thyme oil off of amazon and when it arrive i rubbed it on my skin. DON'T DO THAT. it burned the hell out of my skin. i googled once again and discovered that with EOs you're supposed to dilute them. So, i was looking around to see what i had and i remembered that i had a bunch of pure alovera gel. I made a mixture of 10% thyme oil and the rest alovera gel. It has worked amazingly!!! It is a tad drying on the skin but ive tried different concentrations and for me personally i need it to be 10% thyme oil for it to work. With that said, i use pure shea butter to moisturize my skin and it works fantastic!!! It's only been about 6 months but things are going great so far!

Word of caution, be careful with thyme oil. I did give myself a chemical burn from it which took a couple months to clear but the shea butter (i discovered) actually helps those clear much faster. Also, i have stubborn acne but my skin is not very sensitive. I am able to put pure tea tree oil on it without a burn, so, if tea tree oil burns your skin, you may want to lower the concentration for the thyme oil.

I hope this post helps someone. There was also a more recent article released in 2018 which talks about benzoyl peroxide, thyme oil, and oregano oil. i will post bellow.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6225355/

Re: Stubborn Acne, my journey

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:08 am
by talkhealth
Hi swisherheidil,

thanks for sharing your interesting story of your battle with acne, I am sure that many members will find this information very useful.

As you say, we would always advise that you look for research to back any claims of a miracle cure with valid trial results suggest a benefit in using a product, so thanks also for including the links.

There are lots of articles here you may also find of interest, http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/ta ... ticles.php

Regards,

talkhealth