I started a thread like this some months ago, but I can't find it.

Any other adults here with acne problems? What's worked for you?

I'm 37. When I turned 19 I started birth contorl pills, and those helped a lot, but in the past few years it's been worse again. The only thing that's REALLY worked was the antibiotic Augmentin, but you can't take that long term.

The following have not worked:

Benzoyl peroxide
Salicylic Acid
Retinol
Alpha-Hydroxy acid
"Cetaphil" (which is just a plain old detergent, BTW)
Tea Tree Oil
Antibacterial soap

Mud and clay masques seem to help. Or at least they make me feel better. My favorite is the Mint Julep masque by Queen Helene, but almost anything seems to help at least somewhat.

The Biore brand nose strips don't improve the appearance of the skin, but I've noticed that after I use them, my nose is a lot oilier, which means it is definitely unclogging pores, even if you can't tell. The other brand names/generic brands don't work at all.

I haven't tried this Proactiv stuff, but it's basically just bensoyl peroxide and an alcohol toner. I'm guessing waste of money if benzoyl peroxide hasn't worked for me before. I'm also heard it has really bad drying effects in adults.

I did the antibiotic thing too - six months of Erythromicin (sp?). Plus I've been on antibiotics for 5 cases of strep throat and various infections (I trap feral cats; I'm always in with some infected scrape or scratch or bite). Only Augmentin has ever affected my skin.

One thing I don't think I've tried is using both Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid together. I'm trying that starting today. BO in the morning and SA at night. We'll see if that works.

I will also look into the Milk of Magnesium mask idea.