juicypinkglam Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 It's now been 1 year since I graduated college and I've been suffering with acne on my chest since 10th grade. It has resulted in acne scars on and off.. I'm left in the same state as I started, although previous acne have healed, the new acne keep reappearing leaving more damage and trauma!! I know some of you have been through the same situation and am seeking advice from you guys... I've been to three dermatologists on and off for over a decade seeking treatment. My facial acne has calmed down a lot but my chest is still the same. I don't know what works. I'm thinking of seeing a holistic dr. Also the scars really make me depressed, I miss wearing V neck shirts and letting my chest area breath. I just feel like I'm hiding forever.Have any of you tried fraxel laser surgery or chemical peels to remove scars? Is there anything effective for these scars? I'm tired of all the marketing, i've exhausted most options. Please share your experience. What about trying a holistic dr or changing diet / hormones to stop the acne from reoccuring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisousx Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 If your acne is hormonal, have you tried using birth control or Vitex Elixir? I just started using Vitex (or any chaste tree extract) and my skin cleared up in a day. I used Obagi on my scars with good results, im not sure if you can use it for your chest though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gymangel812 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Spironolactone helped my hormonal acne tremendously. Chelated zinc and vitamin d + fish oil vitamins also helped. Before I tried the spiro, the dr was suggesting i try accutane since nothing was helping. for scars, i do makeup artists choice peels. i started with glycolic & lactic and have moved on to TCA. they do help (just don't expect immediate miracles!). they're easy to do (just follow the directions) and pretty cheap, especially compared to going to a dr for peels. i would suggest waiting until the acne is not happening any more (or at least mostly) before trying to remove the scars (especially if you try the expensive fraxel). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juicypinkglam Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 thanks, i'm on spironolactone for hormonal acne.. not sure it is helping but i have only taken it for a week so far i'll look up the vitex, i've tried birth control before with no results and nausea ><, maybe i could try another brand. Obagi has a decolletage system, just looked them up when did you start using them and seeing results? did a derm recommend it and the vitex elixir? sigh i guess despite trying so many different things and feeling quite discouraged i don't have a choice but to keep seeking options for clear skin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juicypinkglam Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 thanks! i'm going to keep going on the spironolactone for awhile. when did you first notice results with it? and which brand peels do you use? how often are you supposed to use them? i just looked up fraxel reviews and some of the post-fraxel pictures look really scary.. all swollen red and bloody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisousx Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 If you went on birth control and it didn't help, is it possible that your acne is not hormonal? Birth control adds risk of stroke and heart attacks, so if you're not on it for pregnancy reasons, I'd stay away from it. My gyno wouldn't prescribe me birth control anymore bc it was raising my blood pressure, so I'm glad it lead me to the Vitex. I'm amazed at how quickly it worked. I put them in gel capsules that I bought off Amazon so I don't have to taste it. I started using Obagi about 2 years ago (I have an Obagi journal on here or the beauty forum, forgot which one) and it made my skin like new. The thing is, the first couple months sucks because your skin will be RED like sunburnt skin and it's not pretty. In my opinion, the Obagi will work better than a peel. I'm right there with ya.. I've had acne since I was 11, and it's mostly been on my face so I absolutely hate my skin and any flareups I've had recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gymangel812 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 i was/am on bcp and it didn't help and my acne was hormonal. it takes several weeks to start helping and you will continue to see improvement over the next few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina230 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Did you try Retin -A? It did help me. Again, it is not going to look good for a while because your skin is going to be red and peeling. Try using every other day or every two days. I hope it helps you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messagetolove Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 You're thinking along the right lines there. The cause of people's acne outbreaks is rooted in their diet and lifestyle choices, which causes an imbalance of hormones that stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce excess oil. Stress can also play a part. That's why facial skin care products fail in the long run for so many people. Even if they do get some initial success (and usually only people with mild acne do), the acne usually comes back if they stop using the products, because they were only treating the symptoms of the problem. If you are an acne sufferer, you have to target the root cause to get your skin clear for good. I used to have bad acne, and i used almost every skin care product out there, believe me. But none of them worked. I got rid of it in the end, but what you have to do is change your diet and lifestyle, because that's what's causing it. It took me a couple of months, but i've never had any problems since. The free report on this site http://bestacneproductsx.org can show you the right way to start getting rid of it. I would recommend waiting until you solve your acne problem before you try to get rid of the scars, as apparently you can aggravate your acne further if it has not already cleared. Sort out one problem at a time seems to be best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahs483 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 would accutane work on the chest? if so, check it out. I went on it for horrible acne on my face and it was a miracle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavisa Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I used accutane for 9 months for severe back, chest & face acne. The chest has stayed clear, back gets a few pimples in clusters & face has about 20% of what it used to have. I was meant to have a second course but am TTC. I get peels one often & use Cosmedix & Aspect at home care. I also have PCOS which is a factor in my acne. Good luck to you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juicypinkglam Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 thanks for all of your suggestions, i may have no choice but to use accutane... i have heard of it as a 'last resort' type thing. ive been on a new regimen for a few weeks now and acne seems to be clearing up on my chest (been taking/using spironolactone, clarisonic, dermalogica body exfoliate, various natural products from eminence, and microdermabrasion... hoping to get a peel soon).. but every time i say that a few days later another break out occurs. crossing my fingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aoifeee Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 i have had issues with back acne and chest acne for a long time. the only times it healed, were when i was doing a veg juice detox with aloe vera juice. that is less food and mostly carrot, celery, beetroot juices. i felt good but the skin went back to normal when i went back to old eating ways. more recently, i have started using tea tree shower gel, and afterwards putting tea tree oil (neat) onto the area. same for my face, exfoliate then dab using cotton bud onto the blackheads and few spots, and it is working!! it has taken two weeks but my skin is 90% better so far. i have also gotten 2 'back facials' in the past 2 weeks, and this could have helped. it was this beauty therapist that recommended the tea tree as she explained extra oil comes to surface, skin needs to be exfoliated to get rid of cells and then tea tree gets rid of bacteria, otherwise the bacteria grows and causes spots! definitely juicing is also very good for skin! also a herbal tincture called 'Burdock Root Tincture' or 'Burdock' tincture seems to be working and i have seen a lot of positive comments on this also- it can be gotten in a health shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lv_forever Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I know the derms would hesitate to do a fraxel unless your acne is mostly gone and not recurring. I had some hormonal acne issues that left some dark spots, but the derm advised against doing fraxel until my acnes were definitely under control. Fortunately, my acnes started going away and the dark spots eventually disappeared with regular use of glycolic acid gel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixiejenna Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Acme is hormonal. Spiro can help with acme because it's an androgen blocker, blocking androgen helps lower your testosterone levels which in turn helps clear up acme. I have PCOS I take metformin(insulin in pill form) which has helped me out a lot with the symptoms of PCOS including acme, I still have it but no where as bad as it used to be. One of the drugs they also use to help with PCOS symptoms is spiro, I tried it for about a month and saw no real change in the amount of acme and made me feel like I was about to pee myself 24/7. If it didn't have that side effect I would have kept taking it to see if would help. But for some people it makes all the difference in the world, since you've only been on it a week keep on taking it and give it some time to work. I think one of the best BC's for acme is yasmin because it has higher doses of estrogen than most BC's and it also has androgen blockers in it. When I was on it my skin was the clearest it's been basically since I hit puberty. But they recently have had a lot of lawsuits due to side effects in the past couple of years. I went off of it when the lawsuits came out and I was diagnosed with PCOS after being off of it for a year. So I'd weigh the options before hopping on the BC bandwagon especially if you don't need to be on BC. After coming off of BC I am in NO hurry to take another synthetic hormone. Another thing to consider to help minimize acme is some dietary changes cutting out dairy(all dairy I know it's hard) has made a huge difference for me. Every once in a while I give in and have a deep dish pizza and I pay the price for it and break out the next day. Also cutting out artificial sugars and regular sugar as much as possible basically eating a low GI diet helps. If you eat meat, eggs, and can't give up dairy make sure you buy stuff that is organic, hormone, and antibiotic free. Animals are given synthetic hormones to grow bigger quicker and produce eggs/milk faster so farmers can turn a quicker profit. Well these artificial hormones don't leave the animals when they are processed so when you consume them you are also consuming artificial animal hormones, which can cause your hormones to go out of whack. I wish I could help you with acme scar reduction, the only thing I tried in the past was retin A which was heck on my super sensitive skin. If you choose to go on accutaine be very careful and make sure your family & friends know your on it. I say this because it has been linked to depression/suicidal tendencies, they know you best and can get you help if they notice a change in your personality. I don't mean to scare you off of it just make you aware of that. That being said I know several people who've taken it and had great results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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