Acne Help for Women

If the information and ad. links in this hub help you, I will be very pleased. I have called it 'for women' because I am reporting on my own personal experience.

As a teenager I felt left out when my friends were buying special acne products to clear up their spots! I honestly never suffered from spots, blackheads or pimples and maintained a clear skin without the need for any special care.

After the age of 40 my skin - or the gods - took revenge on me. Suddenly I was getting little whiteheads, at first they were not a big problem and I simply put up with it. They would disappear for up to a week at a time, and then return more strongly. But makeup covered them pretty well. After a couple of years the outbreaks became more intrusive and embarrassing. I was more embarrassed by the who gave me their (unasked) opinion on the problem. "Stress" came pretty high up the list from all my trendy workmates but I could see that the Acne was unaffected by stressful events.

I soon realised the acne was connected to hormone changes: I was experiencing the perimenopause, a term guaranteed to make anyone feel a little stressed or depressed. My cycles were also disrupted, leading to a couple of pregnancy scares - now that was stressful! Still I put up with the acne. I took some long courses of Tetracycline, and later doxycycline - also handy for preventing malaria - prescribed by my GP. I was also prescribed Differin cream, all that did for me was make my skin dry. These really made very little difference but I had plenty of other things to deal with and my skin went to the back of the queue.

Gradually my confidence was being eroded by my skin problems. I had started working from home on my own websites on the topic of how to make money blogging, also how to make money from Adsense. This meant my day-to-day appearance was less important - only my laptop had to look at me! As a result I started a vicious circle of lower self confidence and less care for my skin.

I asked to be referred to a dermatologist, who prescribed 20mgs of Roaccutane daily. He explained that he had nothing else to offer after the treatments I had already tried. I got my prescription, and then became nervous of starting the course. Roaccutane is a strong drug that contains a mega dose of vitamin A and needs to be taken for at least a month normally. I had to sign an undertaking to avoid getting pregnant, since the drug can cause birth defects. All this made me a little nervous, and then a friend mentioned that a Zinc supplement can be very helpful. I know a lot of people who swear by natural remedies, and I am not normally among them but I decided to give it a shot. At first, my skin started to improve but after two or three weeks I had one of my worst outbreaks ever - and just before Christmas. When I saw the photos I decided to stop messing around and take the drugs. After just a week, the difference was clear - and so was my skin! And I started off with just one capsule on alternate days.

I now realise that I should not have allowed the Acne to go on for so long, it is too easy to start believing that there is no solution. Whether you decide on the treatment I chose, or an alternative therapy, it is worth exploring all the available options and you will find some useful links on this page.

UPDATE

I went to my GP after taking I had been taking Roaccutane for six months, and we were discussing which Contraceptive Pill I should take. I explained that this is even more important while taking Roaccutane: she looked at me and asked why was I taking Roaccutane, as my skin seemed clear! That is the first time anyone has said anything like that about my complexion for years - I feel (almost) cured!