<p>Hey guys!
Over the past few years, I've struggled a lot with my skin and have done hours upon hours of research. I know it's what's on the inside that counts, but skin problems can be very painful and lots of the time, it really can affect someone's confidence. I've had problems with acne, dryness (oiliness too), sensitivity, and spots. I'm proud to say my skin is on its road to recovery and is suffering a lot less. If you have a skin problem, ask it here, and I'll do my best to help! Feel free to respond with your own tips as well.
Having good skin isn't the solution to all problems, but it can definitely help give you back confidence.</p>
<p>Well hi! 
I’m a 16 year old guy and this year I started getting a ton of acne all around my chin. It gets really frustrating because I eat right and work out all the time, and the skincare I use doesn’t seem to help at all. I get enough sleep, I don’t get nervous at school (I love school), and I don’t see what the problem is.</p>
<p>So I’ve been up and down with my skin. The majority of it is disgustingly dry and flaky, and relatively sensitive. (I can’t draw on my hand with a marker). In middle school I had terrible acne, but that’s probably because I didn’t care at all about what I ate and I was kind of a mess. </p>
<p>Then for two years, freshman and sophomore year, my face wasn’t a warzone of zits but it wasn’t flawless. It was a lot better though. </p>
<p>Around May of junior year I started breaking out again. Right now, approaching the end of first semester senior year, it’s getting a bit better but not like in frosh/soph years. </p>
<p>It may just be stress… </p>
<p>So what did you do to get on the road to recovery?</p>
<p>@Idominate:
Hey! I know lots of guys who have chin acne. I honestly would say it’s just hormones, but there are still other factors that contribute. If you touch your chin a lot (like you lean it on your hand or something), your skin can get irritated by the contact and transfer of dirt, so try and monitor that. Sometimes, skincare products just won’t work, and a lot of the time, it can make things worse. I would say limit yourself to maybe three or four skincare products: an oil free moisturizer, an oil free/non-comedogenic sunscreen, a spot treatment (try out either salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide in low doses; if one doesn’t work, use the other, or buy the YestoTomatoes pimple roller ugh omg it saved me), and a gentle cleanser (like the one from CeraVe). I’ve heard my dad tell me that Benzoyl Peroxide worked better on him, but honestly, I would stay away from a spot treatment for maybe three weeks so your skin calms down. Since you exercise a lot, make sure you wash your face immediately after a work out (LIKE ACTUALLY WASH IT WITH A CLEANSER AND DRY IT WITH A CLEAN FACE TOWEL NOT JUST PAT YOUR FACE WITH A TOWEL). You should also limit dairy because that’s been linked with acne (the milk industry feeds cows a lot of hormones).
That’s all I’ve really got for you; just be gentle on your skin and keep being healthy. IF you’re still frustrated and can afford it, go to a dermatologist; it’s worth it (just look up accutane before so you can be informed about what he/she is probably going to push on you).</p>
<p>@quidditchcat:
Sensitivity, dryness, and acne; girl, we must be twins. We have like the painful trifecta or something, I swear. Go look up some rich moisturizers for your dry spots; I recommend Atopalm Intensive Moisturizing Creme for your dry flaky spots (that’s what I use) and a light oil free moisturizer from Neutrogena or Aveeno for the places where you have acne. For the pimples, I recommend Salicylic Acid in a lower dose because it’s less irritating, even though it does still dry skin out. Just keep it moisturized! For a cleanser, I recommend the one from either CeraVe or Cetaphil (I use the one from Cetaphil). Keep your hair out of your face by tying it back everyday for a couple weeks. After a while, you can use a weekly moisturizing mask to get rid of your flakes. Asian and mud masks are the best for this if you ask me.<br>
Basically I’ve had cystic acne since 7th grade and I took care of it with Neutrogena redness reduction stuff initially, but my skin grew to be basically immune to it. So I switched between brands like L’Oreal, Clinique, and all this other crap, and pretty soon my skin was worn out; that’s when I started using the Atopalm. I still had three huge pimples at a time, but at least my skin wasn’t chipping off. I then started using the Clean & Clear spot treatment with salicylic acid, which helped initially, but stopped working. Around ninth grade, my pediatrician prescribed tretinoin (used for wrinkles but supposedly works for acne too) or a form of it, and that still didn’t work, but I was content. After a while, I switched to Epiduo, which sucked about just as much for me. So after a year, I went to a dermatologist who put me on oral antibiotics, a “lotion” of 10% sodium sulfacetamide with 5% sulfur, and a gel with clindamycin phosphate 1% and benzoyl peroxide 5%. He basically thrust Cetaphil cleanser on me and told me to stop using any other skincare products because I had worn my skin out so much; he wouldn’t even let me use my moisturizer or sunscreen. He also made me swear of yogurt. After a few weeks, my skin cleared up completely and I started using my Atopalm and sunscreen again. I basically wear my hair up or else get pimples.
I’m still on the regimen (off the pills), but I still get a pimple every now and then.</p>