It is very difficult to get rid of acne. I spent most of my life with over 30% of my body covered in whiteheads, blackheads and cystic nodules. Growing up in the bay area of California there is a holistic approach to treating any ailment. I spent hours in spas in Berkeley trying to get my skin acne free. When this failed to work, thousands of dollars later, I turned to a dermatologist. I was given tons of prescription pills and creams over the next five years. One of the more famous ones prescribed to me, it is also used for anti aging, Retin-A. Most of the drugs I was given had harsh side effects and were minimally affective while I was using them. Once I stopped taking the drug or using the cream my skin would go back to being covered in acne. This was devastating to see small improvements and experience harsh side effects only to have my skin resort back to its old ways.
My brother’s case of acne was much worse then mine. Often acne is worse in men then it is in women because of the hormonal differences. He was prescribed a drug and within two months his skin was 90% better. I was amazed at how fast this improvement took place. After four months my brother’s skin had completely improved. He was given a drug called Accutane. At the time it hadn’t been on the market for very long and side effects were still coming into full view. Some of the sided effects were depression, birth defects and dizziness this list goes on and on into more obscure and terrible things.
Having my entire chest, back, neck and face covered in acne for ten years I did not care what the side effects were. I had to go to four different dermatologists to obtain a prescription. Doctors do not like to prescribe Accutane to females because of the risk of a pregnancy while taking Acctane. After taking this for 6 months my skin had cleared up 100%. When I stopped taking the drug my skin stayed cleared up. Two years later I started to get breakouts again. My skin was still 80% better than it was originally. I got another prescription for Accutane and took it for 3 months. That was a year ago and today my skin does not have one imperfection.