Acne Magazine : Skin Care, Tips, Treatment Reviews

I read an interesting piece on a dangerous diet trend in Hollywood and other looks-conscious industries and locales about how Adderall, the medication that is often prescribed for both ADD (attention deficit disorder) and ADHD (adult attention deficit disorder), is being used as an appetite suppressant and weight loss and maintenance method by (mostly women) that are extremely mindful of their figure due to their industry or profession, or just want to obsessively control their weight, even if it is with a potentially dangerous and addictive substance.

Well if there was ever a tip that I said didn’t work for my acne that tons of people disagreed with me on, it’s the tip to use baking soda on new acne lesions.

I am a huge fan of using spongy makeup pads to apply my foundation.  I don’t know what I’d do if I had to actually go back to using my fingers before I found my favorite makeup pads, which are only found at Wal-Mart that I know of.  The ones I use come in a white color and are oval or egg shaped, and they are still the only makeup pad I will use, so I don’t know what I’ll do if they ever discontinue them. 

Makeup pads are great for applying your makeup, especially for those that have had acne and have scarring and unevennes they want to cover up or camouflage, because makeup pads help you to apply just the right amount of foundation.  Because they absorb some of it, you don’t end up with that excess makeup on your face, which can lead to a chalky look, and you also don’t usually end up with too little either, which can leave your less than perfect areas not adequately camouflaged.  They give a great finish and I recommend them to anyone who uses liquid foundation like I do. 

Now, for the bad part.  And I’m not saying I haven’t been occasionally guilty of this too, is that sometimes you can go too long between washings and let your makeup pads build up a lot of old makeup, dead skin and bacteria.  Because they are essentially wet when you’re done using them, they can accumulate bacteria very easily, so take care that you wash them periodically.

I’d say a good rule of thumb is to wash them out about once a week.  This way you don’t let too much gunk build up in them.  Many makeup application sponges are washable, you just have to read the label.  If they don’t indicate it, just try one out.  I usually wash mine in the sink with warm water and add a tiny bit of soap to get the old foundation out, and then let them air dry because I’m really not sure if they are drier safe or not – they may shrink or be ruined from the heat.  This will ensure that you don’t aggravate your acne or bring on new breakouts since we all know that trapped bacteria in those nice clear pores is one of the worst things to cause acne. 

Tetracycline, ah, now there’s a name from my acne fighting past.  Back when I wasn’t even old enough to drive and my face started breaking out worse than any of my friends and from there became quite a real problem thanks to my raging hormones, my mom took me to the dermatologists and I was put on the antibiotic tetracycline, which back then was one of the most popular acne treatment medications on the market. 

This was even before Accutane came onto the market – that was just a few years later that it came bursting on to the scene as the savior of those with acne who had tried everything and anything.  That was also before many of the problems that are now associated with the medication were known.  It was also before any of the potential long term problems with tetracycline were known as well. 

There has been some evidence, and I’m not sure how strong, that long term use of tetracycline, or any other antibiotics, may lend a helping hand to the development of breast cancer in women.  I remember the first time I read this and it scared me because although I wasn’t on it for years and years, I was on it for a while, at least a year, and wondered if that could potentially increase my risk for developing breast cancer down the line.

Add to this the fact that my aunt, on my mom’s side, who passed away from breast cancer years ago, was on tetracycline for years as a teenage for very bad acne, and I thought there could definitely be something to this link.  Then I also thought, maybe it’s just an unrelated fact, since women with bad acne who have been put on tetracycline or other antibiotics also typically have hormonal imbalances, and this may be a risk factor for breast cancer in itself.  What do you think? 

I have been on the birth control Alesse for some time now, and I’m thinking I’m just about done with the period in my life where I’ve been on birth control pills, which has been at this point about 6 years straight.  I am in a monogomous relationship, and have been for six years, so I’m going to try my luck and see if my doc will let me get an IUD since I’m tired of being on the pill.  I have a sneaking suspicion that my intermittent depressive and anxiety episodes may be due to being on the pill.

I think Alesse has helped slightly with my skin, but at what cost?  I’ve been reading more and more reports how many women believe the pill has made them have so much anxiety and depression that they nearly feel as if they are losing their mind periodically, and that’s not worth the pregnancy prevention and the other side benefits of being on the pill in my opinion, especially when there are other methods out there that don’t mess with your natural hormones either or contain synthetic hormones.

Many of us with hormonal acne can acknowledge the praises of the birth control pill when it comes to the fact that some of them can help clear and control acne breakouts, but many of us also acknowledge that it makes us feel crazy half the time.  Some women even complain that their contraceptive pill has made them feel very numb and disconnected emotionally, which is typical of classic  depression.

I have read so many different things about different birth control pills that it’s difficult to say which pill has the least side effects for whom.  Some say that Yasmine, or Yaz is great, but others said they had such extreme emotions on it that they had to quit taking it almost immediately, while some say ortho tri cyclen has worked for them without depressing them, but others say they felt anxious and about to bust half the time. 

Honestly, I don’t think there is one magic pill, and if you’re at a point in your life like I am now, you may want to kiss the pill goodbye for good for your emotional health.  If you have no problems at all on the pill, then all the more power to you!

More updates on this later since I have an appointment with my gyno next week and plan to ask her about the IUD and other alternative, non homronal alternatives to birth control.  Wish me luck!  I’ve heard some docs don’t like to give IUD’s to unmarried women, which in my opinion isn’t totally fair, but we’ll see how my doc reacts.  For other treatments specifically targeting the hormones (but naturally) see hormonal acne treatments. 

Hi, I was wondering do I have to use different SPF during winter? Is it true that we should wear SPF15 during winter and SPF30 during summer? I use the same sunblock with SPF30 all year round. My sunblock also acts as a make up base so is it ok to reapply it?
Thank you.

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