OMG!!! I feel the same way. A war broke out on my face this week!! No lie. I actually had awesome skin in high school. No zits nice and clear. After I turned 21 that's when they attacked! I have had bad break outs since I turned 21 and I'll be 26 in about 6 weeks! I used proactive after my face got really bad without any help from over the counter products. Has worked well. But I have thought about trying something else. Not sure what. Plus If I wear mineral makeup that stuff that is supposed to help your skin, it makes it worse! Not sure why. I like proactive because its not too strong where you'll have a dry flaky face and its still effective. They have the best face moisturizer too.

I totally understand you. I'm getting really frustrated at the moment too!

I had breakouts...not bad ones, but I would get huge pimples in the most noticeable areas like my nose, chin and forehead. But back in those days, I didn't even use a moisturizer. I have sensitive skin and so some products will just make the problem worse so I didn't put anything on and was a soap and water girl. Now days, I work for a natural skin care company so I get lots of freebies. ;-) It's cool because natural products don't have the gunk in them that used to mess me up. You should do a search on these types of products...there are a lot out there, some better than most and some places offer samples so that you can test and see if they really work.

i have bad skin too and i'm 26. i didn't really get breakouts til i was about 20, either. i mostly get breakouts along my mouth, chin area. for the most part though, i have really deep big lumps under my skin. the kind you can't pop. they are really painful and tender too. or i also get tiny little clogged whiteheads, also the kind you can't really pop.

i've used alot of products for my skin. it's dry and sensitive too. i used to be crazy and always pick at it, and scrub really hard and use all these products and i think i made it worse. so i usually just wash it with warm water, use a toner, and moisturize. and i think it's better.

also..... i read that digestive problems and food allergies can lead to breakouts. and during the last few weeks, i started taking digestive enzymes with meals, and i swear my skin has seriously cleared up.

so good luck to you, i feel your pain. trust me.

i use some kind of daily face scrub (clean and clear usually) and straight up cetaphil mosturizer. i also use a tinted spf on my face like a foundation in the morning. i am terrible about taking off my eye makeup at night though.

I'm 27 and have always had awful breakouts. Recently, I went to a dermatologist for another issue and she also prescribed me a face wash called Benzoyl because of my pimples. It's been 3 months, and a friend of mine actually commented the other night on my flawless skin. You're supposed to use the wash twice a day, but I only do it in the shower. She also gave me a sample of some Duac cream for putting in the bad pimples at night. I swear, when I have to use it, they're almost completely gone by morning! But I haven't really had any breakouts lately to worry about using it. I still have really oily skin, but I've started using a mineral powder from Walgreens every day which is like magic for the goo and the shiny.

I'm one of those people that had perfect skin in high school, and then I hit my mid-twenties and started breaking out. I wish I knew why so I could stop it. I used Proactiv for a while and it was really effective, but I couldn't afford to keep using it.

Now, I wash my face with Johnson and Johnson's Baby Wash (I'm not kidding - it's really gentle and ideal for sensitive skin), moisturize with an oil-free moisturizer, and at night I use a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide pad made by Stridex. I love those pads!

Ugh I hate them! I dont break out big time, just consistently have a few big ones. I was put on retin-a which is beginning to help but still does not have a fighting chance against my period. She put me on antibiotics (weird, huh?) for the body acne but i was getting yeast infections so i stopped that..