Adult Acne Support Thread

[Brave Little Sapling]

I'm almost 30, still a pizza face (admittedly it's better than it was 10 years ago when my entire face was basically a giant cyst), and I'm starting to lose hope that my skin will ever clear up completely. I used to be a licensed esthetician so I know all the products and processes to use, I've done diet changes, taken medications (doxycycline, tretinoin, never acutane--never will take it), and sometimes the solutions help for awhile, but eventually everything seems to fail. I've even gone product free to let my skin equalize and that works for a time, but never lasts. I haven't worn makeup in almost a year beyond mascara, and I've not worn foundation/concealer/face powder in closer to three years. I use only gentle, fragrance free products and follow a very simple skincare routine--literally just face wash and a light moisturizer for fear of making it worse by introducing more products to my skin. I used to get monthly facials with microdermabrasion and that worked really nicely until it started causing me to get horrendous cold sore outbreaks on my chin, not even near my lips. I used to think it was genetic, but my mom's had clear skin since her mid-20s and said her acne didn't crop up until she got pregnant with me when she was 20. So I'm really just at a loss as to why this plague continues to haunt me.

I guess I'm not sure what I'm seeking by posting this, I just feel so defeated by this 20-year long battle and I'm curious if any of you also feel my pain. #AcneicAdultsUnite

What do you do for skincare? Is there some kind of supplement you swear by? Do you just accept it and move on without giving it a second thought? Do you have wild coping theories as to why we must suffer so (i.e. the govenment poisons the air, Yoba knew we'd be too powerful if we had clear skin, etc. lol)?