What was the name of that skin care website/program for acne?

[Old Dominion Heather]

I know we discussed this before. I have a friend whose son, 9, is already having some acne problems. Both mom and uncle both had acne and she wants to try to get a handle on this before it becomes a problem.

 

FWIW, this kid has always been developmentally physically ahead. He is nine, 5'0", 110 lbs and grew a chest hair last year when he was eight.

[Janet in Toronto]

You're probably thinking of Proactiv.

 

My DS (16) tried it for a few months but it didn't work for him. We went to our family doc and he said that for many men in particular, the testosterone effect is just too strong for an OTC med to counteract. Along with that, he said that nobody has to suffer with acne these days, as there is a wide range of prescription meds that can help.

 

He started my son on some antibiotic cream in the morning (Stevimycin) and Differin cream at night, plus Spectrogel to wash (non-prescription). If he isn't 100% (or, 90%) satisfied in 8 weeks, he'll start him on some oral antibiotics (next treatment "up the ladder"). It looks like we will be doing that as the creams are not really cutting it (we're five weeks in.)

 

If seeing a doc is an option for your friend('s son), I'd try that route before going for the Proactiv. It sounds like he's in puberty as the hormones are a powerful force.

[sdWTMer]

There was an earlier thread about baking soda rinses being really good for that, at least that's what I remember.

[Brindee]

Janet, that's interesting! Now I need to rethink things. My ds17 has been doing okay, but recently it's been worse. I got him an OTC thing like Proactiv, but it dried his face out a LOT. He likes the idea of it, so I was thinking of trying Proactiv. Hmmmm.

[milovany]

I just did a bunch of research on this topic last week, and from searching here at WTM I found acne.org. It's an individual's site where he describes his three-step skin care (acne care) regimen. I was down to Proactive and Acne.org's regimen and was going to order Acne.org's regimen for our4 14yos when I got an email from our AIM products distributor about acne. When her oldest was going through puberty, he broke out and she started him on their Herbal Fiberblend product. It's basically a colon/system flush thing. He cleared up and she gave it to all of her other kids as they hit puberty and they all had clear skin.

 

Since I had some Herbal Fiberblend, I decided to try this natural remedy first before going with the chemically ones on the skin. Ds is on day #2! We'll see how it works out for him. If you're interested in a link, let me know and I'll dig it up.

 

HTH~

[Janet in Toronto]

Yes, my son had a similar experience with Proactiv....very drying with not a lot of actual relief of the acne. DH had horrible acne so to some extent, DS has genetic predisposition...probably though high testosterone levels (at least that's what our family doc suggested). My DH is very concerned that DS not get the same scarring that he did, so we're staying on top of this quite assertively. DS is very good about using the products as prescribed, so given the not so great results, I think we'll be moving to oral antibiotics.

[Brindee]

Yes, my son had a similar experience with Proactiv....very drying with not a lot of actual relief of the acne. DH had horrible acne so to some extent, DS has genetic predisposition...probably though high testosterone levels (at least that's what our family doc suggested). My DH is very concerned that DS not get the same scarring that he did, so we're staying on top of this quite assertively. DS is very good about using the products as prescribed, so given the not so great results, I think we'll be moving to oral antibiotics.

Yeah, I don't want ds to have the scarring either, so want to find something asap that will work!

 

Thanks for your info.!

[Only me]

Acne.org It's a simple routine but really helped. She started getting bad acne when she was 12 or 13 but now she has very clear skin.

[Michelle T]

I use their cleanser, their benzoyl peroxide gel is the BEST, and I have their moisturizer but rarely use it.

 

This is the most helpful acne regimen I've found. My skin is still horribly oily and does still break out, but I'm going through fairly severe hormonal changes (nothing like being a woman in the mid-40's!) so I don't think ANYTHING could entirely clear my skin.

 

I tried Proactiv a few years back, and it was awful for me. My face was chapped and stung, it bleached out all my towels and pillowcases, and I didn't like the way it felt on my skin.

Michelle T

[Brindee]

Wow, this is all good info. I went to acne.org and it looks very doable! I will show my ds's and see if we can get them started. DS14 doesn't ahve TOO much trouble. DS17 has flare-ups. DS17 will be very good with a regimen. It'll be good to get DS14 started on a regimen now, before he gets worse, cuz it takes awhile for him to actually stick to doing something consistently!

 

Either that or I'll try the baking soda and see how that goes....

[Ellie]

Here's the link.