For some reason lately, I have been having severly bad break outs. I dont know what the problem is. I drink water. I wash my face daily. I exfoliate. And I have seriously tried almost everything. Proativ. Cetaphil. Purpose. Right now I'm using biore pore unclogging scrub and it seems worse!

I was wondering what everyone else uses because I've always had acne but not to this degree!

When I was about 16 my acne was so unbearable it was making me depressed, so I went to the doctors. After trying numerous antibiotics etc I began to think that nothing would work (I had already tried everything possible in the shops). It's not ideal for everyone and is only really for quite severe acne but I went on a pill called Dianette, it also acts as a contraceptive but is primarily for acne. It blocks a receptor which produces excess oil in your skin which gets infected and causes acne. It can have some pretty bad side effects but works incredibly well, my skin is now completely clear! You can only be on it for about 18 months but it can really help get through the bad acne and if it makes you feel bad you can just come straight off it

In short, you could go to your GP if nothing over the counter works for you and see what they think

I had terrible flareups about a year ago. Like you, I tried everything I could get my hands on. What's worked for me is Basis face cleaner, St Ives Microdermabrasion scrub, and Burt's Bees spot treatment on my entire face. I haven't seen a pimple in months.

My kids had really good luck with ProActive. If you buy it retail at the mall/store, it is a better deal than doing mail order. ONE CAUTION - USE ONLY WHITE TOWELS AND WASHCLOTHS because it takes the color out of non-white ones! Learned that the hard way! LOL!

I use proactive aswell. I don't have acne but it keeps the blackheads away. It does bleach colored towels so I learnt the hard way to lol It really is a great product. Just give it a few weeks you might have to do some fine tuning like only use the repair lotion every few days. Because it can dry out the skin if you don't have full blow acne.

Everyone reacts differently to products, it's just a matter of finding what works best for you.

For me, it's topical treatments that contain salicylic acid.

Also I find taking zinc and vitamin e supplements make a difference.

I tried the pill, it caused cystic zits on my chin (huge, deep ones I'd never had before) which have left awful scars.

I've been living with acne for so long. Couple of months ago I start to use Paula's Choice products and it's amazing how my face is clearing out!!! I've tried everything on the market. You can check the website, she even have videos explaining the facts about acne.

Good luck

I have had acne since I was 12 years old. It continued all through my teen years. Of course I was told, "That's normal--you're a teenager!" which I don't doubt at all but even in my 20s my skin never cleared up. NEVER...NOT ONE DAY. In my 20s I was told, "Oh, it's normal for adults to break out, too." My acne wasn't super severe, it was just on my chin but it was about 10-15 (with up to 5 of them being the deep, cystic ones) and it was every day of my life.

I had been dealing with acne every day for 20 years--you can bet I tried nearly everything on the market. Finally, this past September (32 years old), I decided to see a dermatologist. At first we tried different topical meds (Aczone, Epiduo, and Zianna in different combinations) but it didn't work. Then we tried Solydyn (a short term antibiotic) along with the topicals, which worked beautifully for my acne but caused raging yeast infections. (I had lunch with a girlfriend one day who knew I was on meds for acne and remarked on how beautiful my skin was and my response was, "Yeah? You should see my vagina!") Then we tried Oracea which is actually for rosacea but works on some acne patients. Not me.

Finally, the doc pulled out the big guns and I have been on Accutane for 77 days. While the results have been very pleasing, I don't recommend it right off the bat. It is a wicked medication (there is a reason that I know I've been taking it for 77 days and that I have 73 left!) You absolutely cannot get pregnant on this med while on it and for a month after because it causes severe deformities in babies. You must be on two forms of birth control while taking it. It can cause your cholesterol to rise (mine has, slightly.) It can cause depression and people have committed suicide while on this drug (it has no affect on me in this regard.) It dries you out so bad--I only have to wash my hair once a week now (and only that often because I know my kids have thrown food in it or something else!) My nose is constantly dry and bleeding. My lips are so dry they burn (I play trumpet in a band and I have seriously considered quitting this season until I'm off the med.) My skin is constantly dry and peeling. You cannot have any sun exposure--I sat in 65 degree partial cloudy weather this past weekend and my forearms are burnt to a crisp. You cannot get waxed because it rips several layers of your skin off and will leave you prone to scarring, so my thick unibrow is back until I can get the tweezers to it. I have to go to the doctor every month for a pregnancy test and blood work. Then I have to go online and answer stupid questions about preventing pregnancy (did you know that you can get pregnant from having sex even if you lay very still???) However, my derm told me that 90% of her patients that have taken Accutane never have acne again!! (Please, please, please let me be in that 90%!!!)

Funny thing--at first, my insurance company wouldn't pay for it because they determined I was too old!! After my derm told them we had tried 5 different things prior, they approved it.