I have suffered from acne for many years (15+ yrs), and have tried nearly everything in the book, except for isotretinoin. It is basically the only "cure" the medicine has to offer, but can be expensive and a hassle (if you're female, you have to do a lot of blood work/birth control to qualify to use it), which is why I’ve not gone to those lengths quite yet.
Of what I have tried, the best possible combination for maintenance (sort of like StarFish’s use of medicated apricote scrub + olive oil soap) has been:
daily exercise, plenty of water, wash twice a day with gentle cleanser, exfoliate twice a day with astringent, and the key element, skin/hair/nails vitamin supplements (loads of B, A and E vitamins, plus various other minor elements to help your body repair and maintain the keratin and collagen in skin/hair/nails.)
When I have a breakout, I switch to ProActive for a couple of weeks till I’m cleared up again. It’s not foolproof, but it’s working for the meantime.
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