Tired of my battle with acne. I want a new face.

I have been dealing with this smurf since I was 11, no joke. I'm 23, and my skin is still horrible. I refuse to leave the house without foundation on, I don't even remember the last time even my SO saw my bare face.

I have horrible anxiety over things touching my face now, afraid it will wipe off the foundation that hides the ugliness beneath.

Does anyone have any suggestions to help? I feel like I have tried e v e r y t h i n g!

I don't have the money for a dermatologist, but maybe if you've seen once, you can give me idea/advice from your experience?

I've also noticed, after I wash my face, I have tons of dry skin, Mostly on my forehead, and my cheeks, some days worse than others, but it's always there and I use a daily face lotion. So I'm confused. It's like flakey though, like if I sat there with tweezers I could probably pick it all off. (Sorry super gross, I know).

Have you takes with your general practitioner?

But my main advice is lose the make- up. I've always been told it makes it worse.

The only stuff I know works is a medication that is scary as hell to take. ( side effects)

Quoting Buzz and Almond Joys momm:" Have you takes with your general practitioner? But my main advice is lose the make- up. I've always ... [snip!] ... been told it makes it worse. The only stuff I know works is a medication that is scary as hell to take. ( side effects)"

I don't have a general practitioner. I mean, at the moment I see a NP for my pregnancy, but I'm on Medi-Cal so as soon as I'm 6 weeks PP I lose my insurance, and go back to not having any.

And as much as I would LOVE to not weak foundation, I can't, my skin is sooo bad, I just can't.

you don't have insurance that can cover a dermatologist?
I had nasty acne mostly on my forehead and chin .. horrible skin
I finally went and started using Duac and Differin.. it cleared my face and i've used it or years now.
nothing over the counter or natural ever worked for me... proactive made it worst i remember

Have you tried a more natural approach? Like drinking more water (like ALOT of water) and maybe using tea tree oil for breakouts?

I've tried Proactiv and it works great. You do need to use it every day, but it doesn't dry your skin out too badly.

Witch Hazel pads Work pretty good.
And for the dry skin maybe try not using any face lotion or foundation for a while.
When my face starts breaking out badly I just let my face be with nothing on it for a week or so and it clears up pretty fast.
I think the foundation may be breaking you out worse (clogging pores)
And washing your face/ using face products is probably drying your skin out.
It's good to let your natural facial oils do their job.

Quoting fashionista♥ 23wks:" you don't have insurance that can cover a dermatologist? I had nasty acne mostly on my forehead and ... [snip!] ... my face and i've used it or years now. nothing over the counter ever worked for me... proactive made it worst i remember"

No, I wish.   This problem has been plaguing me for 10 years now. I seriously would pick having clear skin over winning a million dollars, no joke. I freaking hate it! Proactive didn't work for me, either, dried my skin out eve more, which made my breakouts even worse. Hated that crap.

Makeup is only making it worse.. but, I know how you feel. My face is alright majority of the time, but every month around my period I break out.. & I wear more makeup to cover it... which causes more break outs.
Anyway, I used to wash my face twice a day, but since I've started washing it only once a day (at night), it's MUCH better. I don't use any lotion on my face & this is the face wash I use at night to take off my makeup.

I would ditch the foundation. I use Vaseline lotion that's in a jar when its dry. I put it on at night, and in the morning.

I know how you feel! I have been dealing with acne since i was 12 and i'm 28! Try farmacy from lush.

I'd try going makeup free for a bit. I know how it's hard, especially when you dislike your skin. Try washing your face with a little baking soda and coconut oil. It will exfoliate and hydrate your face, and it sounds like you need that.

Quoting O ♥ G:" Have you tried a more natural approach? Like drinking more water (like ALOT of water) and maybe using tea tree oil for breakouts?"

I try to drink a lot of water since I'm pregnant, and I've tried tea tree oil before, didn't do anything for me. I read something on pinterest about washing your face with olive oil, I'm tempted to try it lol.

I had acne bad when I was pregnant and after I had my daughter... The only thing that worked was acne.orgs regimen. Go to acne.org and look it up and buy the kit seriously. I swear it was a lifesaver. I literally have no acne now. I started seeing results maybe after a month or so.. You have to keep using it to make your acne stay away but it definitely works. Good luck! I hated having zits