OK, I have been going all over this board trying to find girls that have acne like mine who are about my age. I am 23 now with moderate (but annoying and ugly!) cystic acne. or atleast most my lesions are that. Now when I say cysts I dont really mean really huge ones. they stick and stuff and some are deeper than others. they are smaller "around" than say a writing pen cap end. lol if that illustrates well. Some have a white spot I can gently pop, others don’ when I look up acne all I see is the clustered kind that is all over peoples jaw line and cheeks. I dont have that. mine are randomly everywhere, mainly my T zone,. I get an occasional small zit in my cheek or cyst on my temple (that started within the last 2 or 3 yrs. It started when I was mabe about 16 and it was very mild. I got cysts though. Just 1 or 2 here and there. Not bad. Now I can get up to like mmm 5 at a time and have just started seeing mild scaring on my fourhead and temples. Before it would just leave a dark spot that would leave eventually bad ones mabe taking months. That didn’t bother me! Dark spots that go away I can handle. Actual scars no. I think I have been careless with picking though.

I guess I just want to talk to anyone who’s breakout seem about the same as mine to see if the pattern is about the same, how is scaring for you? what helped, what doesn’t? so on…

What have I tried? Well, antibiotics (didn’t work that good and caused me other problems) I don’t think that is good for you. Lots of topicals, BP, SA, sulfur (still use cause it atleast helps) tretinoin, differin, and NOW Im on Orth Tri Cyclen Lo (don’t think its working seeing I had the worse break out ive ever had here recently. Been on it month and ½. Anyway Im going to try diet now. Im hoping diet can help cysts

LAST concern. SCARING… Every website I read the say cysts are the most severe scaring types of acne lesions bla bla, well yeah they are deep and they hurt but Ive not really had a huge problem with scars till just a few minor ones now. Dark spots is about it. Im scared that Im in for a rude awakening and someday they will start to scar me for life. I now you skin as you get a lot doesn’t heal and handle things as well but hopefully I will have grown out of this to some degree. I may have it for life because my mom has really oily skin and gave it to me apparently. She got cysts and still gets one here and there in her late 40s. she said Im worse than she was at her age and that upsets me L But mabe if Im dealing with them now I wont have them as long as her J she has a few scars on her outer nose under her eyes. I don’t get them there that much and don’t have any scars there. I know this is long but I just wanted to see what kinda response I could get.

Thanks!