Cheaper alternatives to Dr Hauschka for stupid acned skin?

[caramelgirl]

am sick of stupid cystic acne and nasty scarred skin.
I've been using Dr H for three years (ordering from Germany as v much cheaper fwiw) but, even tho' my skin is glowing it is still raddled with spots and old scars.

So, does anyone have a v kind and gentle routine which is natural? I had a squizz at the oil cleansing method but saw plenty of outbreak stories too, which I'd really love to avoid.

Have tried: clarins, dermalogica, guerlain, all meds including roaccutane. Now keener on stuff that works with, not against skin.
Also tried acupuncture, also reflexology and, humiliatingly, am a nutritional therapist so look v unconvincing- luckily most people are more about weightless or energy which I feel confident about helping with.

Am resigned to never having clear skin unless can stay in 2-3rd trimester pg forever which does have downsides. but thought maybe could fail to have clear skin on a lower budget instead of £££ Hauschka?
Thanks for any suggestions

Can I ask how long you were on roaccutane for?

So understand! am sitting here with a deep cleansing face pack on. Have had acne (vulgaris) with blackheads, oily skin, pustules, lumps bumps ans scars for........nearly 25 years. I too have tried everything. I find AHA products helpful to a degree, but they take ages to work when a major break out starts. Jan Marini Bio clear cream seems to keep the acne at bay for a while, but costs £50. I am also in the health and wellbeing industry, so my face is not a great advert. I am going to a very smart party on Sat eve, feel depressesd at the thought. OP you are not alone.

Avidly waiting for the post with the miracle answer. Am I going to have to wait to the menopause to be spot free?

Ah, thank you chickydoo, yes, I feel so cross with my skin for undermining me. And helpful advice to relax from my mum people is as welcome as for ttc!! My friend uses Andrew Weil for Origins and it cleared her cystic acne and, as she says, she'd happily pay five times as much as it's changed her life. But since mine still sucks I refuse to indulge it much longer. Clearly I also tried Weil stuff but no dice for me, reacted to it.

kittyanne 9 months of roaccutane I think, initially lower dose and then ramped up. Was a decade ago tho' tbh and I am niw much More hippy about aggro therspy ( tho' do sometimes fantasise about Obagi blue peel- would put skin in its place, hah!). Roaccutane affected all of me except stupid spotty face. Rest of body is completely clear and permanently the kind of golden skin that makes people v impressed. May have to invest in a paper bag, gah.

I suffered from nasty, painful hormonal spots when I was on fertility treatment and found Dr H was good, and also Liz Earle. Her stuffs not cheap - about the same as Dr H - but I did find it very calming and it smelt a damn sight nicer than Dr H. You can get trial size packs from her website or John Lewis so you can give it a go without splurging too much.

Good luck, hope you find something that works soon.

Acne is miserable. I suffered for years so if I could, I'd hug the bejesus out of you.

I was on roaccutane so I know its hideous; but it may be worth giving it another go as I have friends who did and it worked second time around. In my experience the drug didn't kick in until the last month. At least we have the NHS here because in Ireland it costs a bomb.

I know you wanted cheaper, but I love this stuff for my (now) occasional breakouts. It's stocked in Boots and if you don't like it, you can take it back.

www.my-no-no.com/nono-skin-about.asp

Make up wise, Bare minerals is good.

Scars you can only get rid of by peels or laser. :/

Oh, and this might be the future:

[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2060572/Vaccine-end-misery-acne-millions-teenagers.html?ito=feeds-newsxml]

I'm deffo vaccinating my dd if DM speaks the truth ( oxymoronic?).
That nonono looks quite fun. As a laser hair removal veteran I'm quite keen on zappy stuff.
But, yes, 20 years of horrid skin. Terrible wedding day skin, it all sucks.
And I find that I am enjoying wallowing in self pity vortex tonight, v mature

Ooh and thanks sleepyF, was wondering about Liz E and didn't know re trial packs

No worries. It if turns out you like it, it's often on QVC so you can bulk buy some items which lowers the cost a little bit!

If you order from LE herself, the stuff comes beautifully packaged and you usually get a wee freebie sample chucked in too, I'm a sucker for stuff like that

I would get Dalacin-T from your doctor. The bottle last over a month and it is very effective. Best thing I've tried and only normal prescription prices. I wish I had gone to the GP before spending 100's of £ over the years in all sort of beauty treatments.

I have all my acne on my chin area. I do use Liz E myself and on the rest of my face my skin is great, but its by no means an acne cure for me unfortunately.

Just another - does dalacin T dry your skin? Is it topical? Sorry to be thick. I have bad hormonal spots, but clear skin in-between, because my acne isn't constant I feel reluctant to go to the doctor as I feel like I'm making a fuss. On the other hand, when my skin is bad it's horrible and my scarring is only getting worse. And now I just sound really vain.

I only used to have hormonal spot on my chin. The kind that never really went as they were like bumps underneath the skin. Others were just horrible and raw. After about 5 years of buying every product in the shops, I went to the dr and he prescribed Dalacin T. It comes in lotion or solution. It does not dry your skin and it does not itch. I saw the difference within 3 days. The spots just disappeared and never came back. I am delighted.

I though the dr would dismiss my problem as "not important", but in fact, he acted as "seen it 1000's of times" and was totally supportive. I really wished I had gone sooner.

Thank you!

Know how you feel I have had the same problem however it is now much more under control because of the following:
I had Rentin-a which is like a gel from doctors worked a treat for both dh and I.
I also found a short course of facials really helped, ones meant for acne type skin. At the start I felt weird about someone touching my acned face but after a while it actually gave me confidence.
Liz earle is lovely stuff
Thing that has really helped recently is bare minerals make up it has both made my skin better and also is great at covering spots and scars without looking too heavy.

I use neutrogena vegetable based soap, on advice from dermatologist. I use neal's yard frankincense moisturiser and bare essentials make-up. Caveat re moisturiser I know someone who reacted against it so best do a patch test. The rest works for me. It's horrible isn't it I have wrinkles and acne: truly I gap the generations.

Ahhhh wrinkles and spots, I share your pain! Sometimes I wonder if my crows feet will detract from the massive zit on my chin. I would throw serious ££££ at the problem, so I don't know why I'm being such an idiot about going to the doctor. I just feel I should only be going if I'm in serious danger of bits of me falling off - although I'm sure they are bothered by people with even more mundane problems than spots!

Haha, grey hairs, wrinkles and more spots than next door's teenage boys, generation bridging is not good!
Tried dalacin-T and retina but both too harsh for ungrateful skin. Will investigate Neal's Yard, thanks. And qvc!!
Am all over the bare minerals (as per recommendations on mn, I bought matte and avoid warmth to avoid bismuth- similar to nickel).
Tbh, I have felt vain to worry about skin but your face is your presentation to the world and I do worry that spots massively affect how I am perceived. Plus I hate the whole kiss as greeting thing when I have an outbreak. It's just easier to have non yucky skin ( pragmatism, not vanity, see).

Yes, dalacin T topical, comes as lotion or, harsher, alcohol based toner type thing. Antibiotic.
Retinol is again topical but vitamin A based I think. Can cause almost chemical burns ( on me at least) and think you need to avoid sun. Not sure about pregnancy, roaccutane is stronger version and you are compelled to go on pill if take it.
Doctors are v nice about spots ime, but best with teenage type greasy skin spots which can be quite aggressively tackled. Solution to hormonal spots seems generally dianette pill- didn't work for me