Thread: acne and aging skin

ok.........if there is a thread on this, i'm not patient enuf to skim thru previous threads, so i'll ask

i'm in my early 40's and have the awful combo of a some fine lines (no major wrinkles, thank heavens), larger pores and ACNE! gaaaah!

right now i use arbonne's RE9 system, which is pretty good, but not a cure all....it keeps the aging part firm, and supple, and even helps the acne a little bit (as does the mineral make-up).....my acne would be worse if i didn't do them.....

anyone know anything good, including diet? managed to avoid sagging skin and heavy wrinkling, so nothing drying, and tho i respect vegans and their choices, please don't ask me to give up meat........i've curtailed it in being healthy, but the last time i tried to cut it out for a bland medical diet, i got sicker, and quite anemic...(i'll not even mention the MAD cravings for steak the never went away for 3 weeks)

i'm eating REASONABLY well, (stopping when starting to feel full, 3 squares and 1 or 2 smaller snacks), cut down or cut OUT salt (and i'm a salt FIEND, so that was hard), love veggies n fruits, but am guilty of some processed foods and chocolate :tongue: , still managed to lose an inch in waist and hips in the last month, but it hasn't really helped my skin........am i stuck with it, or is their a product i missed, or maybe something in the 'bad' bits that needs to go?

hhhyyeeeeelp!

when I was 34 I started going to the derm. Tetracycline really helped, but I didn't want to keep taking antibiotics. Some things like RetinA helped, but then irritated my skin, so I got more problems, so they prescribed new stuff... in an endless worsening cycle... What helped the most was getting simple skin products with very few ingredients. I like Juice Beauty, Boscia, and DermaE. Even ground soy flour to use as a cleanser (! I read about this somewhere!) helped out. The less irritation, the better my skin. Unfortunately, I had to do trial and error to figure out what my skin didn't like (silicones, fragrance, etc) ANd I started to really moisturize with Boscia.

The only other thing that really made a difference is Flax Seed oil. You have to take the liquid, not the pills though. There was a formulation that had a combo of oils with primrose oil that worked too. It will make your hair very shiney! I actually need to start taking it again now that my daughter is done nursing.

If you find a cure, let me know!

As soon as I turned 30, I got acne and noticed the fine lines...maybe they were always there, but in being supersensitive to the blemishes up close, I REALLY started paying attention to the whole picture.

The pruducts from Platinum Skin Care saved my sanity. I use the products and peels geared for aging skin with acne and have stopped the breakouts and even some fine lines.

They have alot of info on the site and seem to be very good about answering questions.

My two cents....,r:;

Go to your library and get out Paula Begoun's book called, 'The Beauty Bible' - it will really educate you on what can and can't be done to help you regarding both acne and ageing.

I tried switching birth control. I tried a variey of prescription and non-prescription topicals and washes. I tried RetinA, RetinA Micro and Tazorac. . . the Taz about killed my skin, the RetinA helped a tiny bit. Finally, my doc gave me a very LOW dose of doxycycline (20mg I think it is). Its not strong enough to interfere with my birth control or to cause scary antibiotic immune germs. I took it twice a day for 2 months, and then once a day for a year. I went from really bad, deep acne on my face, neck and back, to an occasional tiny pimple. If I start to get breakouts, I go back on the doxy for a month and it clears right up. (Before I tried doxycycline, I did a round of minocycline which didnt do much for me.)

Have two friends who had the same issue, and after seeing how well it worked for me, they talked to their docs and did the same thing and now are clear (one is on the DOxycycline and the other Minocycline).

Not for everyone, I am sure. But its something to consider when all else fails.

If your acne is primarily along the jawline and neck, it can often be a sign of something hormonally askew. If thats the case, you should have it looked into!

Good luck!