Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

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Robin
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Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:09 pm

Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Robin »

Hello, I recently ordered the ZZ cream and it should be arriving today, I am a bit scared to start using it due to the initial getting worse part.... A little about me: 36 yr old female, I have had problems with acne since I was a teen and took various antibiotics which seemed to help, The past 6 months(before this I had been free from acne for almost a year) I have been fighting rosacea, I have had a red/pink face for a few years now, but at the end of march after wearing mineral make up for 18hrs straight my face horribly broke out in what I thought was an allergic rash all over my cheeks/sides of face and bridge of nose between my eyes, face was very red and tiny white bumps everywhere and within weeks I had thousands of broken capillaries all over as well. during this horrible last 6 months I have tried numerous things.. herbs, supplements, antibiotics (helped with the little bumps), ivermectin, borax/hp, ponds cream (caused the same tiny white bumps/rash, you name it, I have tried it, I have been through 2 vbeams (seemed to make things worse) and 4 IPL (helps with the capillaries but my skin texture is horrible, large pores and little indents, and I am now broke), diet changes... My skin is very very oily yet a bit flakey in spots. Currently I am taking antibiotics, vitamin B complex, D3, A, C, glisodin, msm, vitamin K, E, and chantix to try to quit smoking, I also just started diotamaceous earth yesterday. topical I use tea tree oil and borax powder in hopes to kill mites but I don't think I have been using it long enough to know if it is working yet. I do have a question, does anyone know if taking antibiotics in the beginning while using zzcream will help with the initial break out?? i really don't want to go through having all those bumps again after I just got them under control, it was horrible and i am afraid it will cause all those broken capillaries again that I just spent all this money to get rid of. does this sound like demodex? any advice is welcome and If anyone has had a similar experience I would love to hear your story as well. Thank you so much.
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Walter
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Walter »

Hello

It is not a general rule those beginning breakouts, some have, others not.
If your skin problems are because of demodex mites, you need to treat it well,
trying to get rid of them with products which are not working good enough only makes it worse in the long run.
You can try the antibiotics against infections in the beginning but it is not for sure it will help,
the antibiotics cannot reach well the infections but you can try, and like I wrote, it is not for sure you will get breakouts.
The only topical product you need to use now is the ZZ ointment, our soap is a help but not necessary (kills bacteria though)
don’t use something else, there is no better topical anti demodex product on the market today then the ZZ ointment,
if this doesn’t help, then you have for sure not a demodex mite problem, without testing it is never to say for sure but
reading your skin history there is a very big possibility it are demodex mites.
A very important thing is that you need to be patient and stick with the treatment, the biggest reason for failures
is stopping to soon…………………
What make a couple of months difference if one already suffers for so many years?
I had myself cystic acne from my teen time and also tried everything, nothing helped, then, around 40, I got a red itchy skin on top of it.
I used the ZZ and now I am already many years clear, no acne, no red/itchy skin anymore, I do a maintenance treatment though,
once in a while when I think about it, I use in the evening/night.
For me it took almost one year to become and stay clear, looks a long time but there was already a big improvement
after the first months so I just did not gave up and got the results.
so, If you want to treat, only use the ZZ in the evening/night after washing your face, if your skin can handle it
you can also use in the morning if you don’t need to use makeup that day.
Don’t use anything else topical………………………..

Walter
Robin
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Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:09 pm

Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Robin »

Thank you Walter, I tried this on my forehead and chin today when I recieved it in the mail just to make sure I don't have an allergic reaction to it and so far so good. I think I will start using it tonight after my shower, I only wash my face once a day and I don't wear make up so I will probably just put it on before bed after my shower. Does the ZZ continue to work as long as you don't wash it off? Since I don't wash my face in the morning I won't have to reapply?
kiva
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Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 4:24 pm

Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by kiva »

Hi Robin,

Just was reading your post and noticed quite a few similarities in our cases – and particularly – I had just started using “mineral” make-up for the first time too just before my skin all went crazy, and I have been wondering lately if that could have been a factor, so it’s interesting to see you had the same experience. I wonder what they put in that stuff??

I had similar symptoms to you also – my cheeks and nose were affected and I had enlarged pores and little red capillary vein things. It literally happened overnight after using some particular make-up and then wouldn’t budge. I had also tried many of the things you mentioned and to no luck with anything, creams, treatments, steroid creams, diet changes, nothing…I also had very dry parts on my face that would flare up red and scale and then very very oily other bits :(

I am on the zz cream at night (very very small amount as I was wary, so my progress may have been quicker if I used a tiny bit more but not too much!) for 3.5 months and my skin is finally looking almost normal! (To be honest, to other people it probably looks fine, it’s just me that knows it’s not exactly how it used to be). So, please don’t give up hope….I was feeling desperate and hopeless all this year until trying the zz cream, I never thought anything would ever get rid of my problem.

I can’t answer your question about the antibiotics unfortunately….I am guessing it wouldn’t hurt, but the reason I chose not to use anything else was so that I’d be 100% sure it was the zz cream, otherwise I’d never know which one it was that really helped?

My only advice would be to be VERY patient with the zz cream….as you’ve probably read from other posts the first few weeks are not fun at all but if you can stick with it, the results do seem to come in the end (not obviously for everyone, I can only speak for my own experience). It was only because I could see that slow progression that I stuck with it but I was very frustrated and did want an overnight cure, but, I am so very glad that somehow this cream seems to work.

I also applied mine at night like you are doing but I did wash it off in the morning so obviously I was doing it the “slower” way by only having it on my skin 8 hours per day, I guess leaving it on during the day too may speed it up for you…

I really hope it works for you too….fingers crossed :)
Robin
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Robin »

Wow, thank you for your post Kiva! our situations do sound very very similar. It really stinks when one day your face is perfectly fine then the next day you wake up and BAM! I went from pretty.. to Ugly over night LOL! I am so happy the zz is working for you! I have been using it just a little over a week myself and am just now starting to get a few red bumps here and there I am actually breaking out on my neck and chest more as well and I am taking this as progress :) I am also pretty dry and flakey sometimes but I am not going to use anything such as moisturizers, I am just going to try to ride it out and hope for the best :mrgreen: I do have a question for you though, as I said IPL has helped a bit with the red veins/broken capillaries or whatever they are and I was wondering if you are having any luck with them going away after killing the mites/using the ZZ? I don't have any more money to spend on IPL so I am sure hoping they WILL eventually all go away.
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Walter
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Walter »

Does the ZZ continue to work as long as you don't wash it off? Since I don't wash my face in the morning I won't have to reapply?
I have no idea if the ointment still works after a night, probably yes but I realy dont know. :oops:

Walter
Robin
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Robin »

Thank you walter, it doesn't seem to do anything bad so I will continue on :)
Robin
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Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:09 pm

Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Robin »

I am just about at two weeks with using the ZZ cream, face is extremely dry and quite itchy, will the dryness ever go away While using ZZ? I have a very red spot next to my ear on the side of my face that is SUPER itchy and a few red blotches here and there. so far my face doesn't look any better mostly because of the flakiness, redness comes and goes day to day, some days are better than others. I am soooo hoping and praying this eventually works! and I am hoping as well that I am not to Flaky tomorrow when I have to be out in the direct light during my sons football game :?
Robin
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Robin »

Oh! and I forgot to add that my neck is breaking out a bit.. a few red bumps here and there and also my chest, I think my chest is the worst at the moment, lots of bumps and whitheads, I am assuming this is a good thing :)
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Walter
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Walter »

And how was the football game? :)
will the dryness ever go away While using ZZ?
Yes, with most people the dryness becomes les and les during the treatment,
don’t use too much ointment in the beginning.
redness comes and goes day to day, some days are better than others
This is normal, too soon…….
I am soooo hoping and praying this eventually works!
Will work, just don’t give up
I think my chest is the worst at the moment, lots of bumps and whitheads
Don’t use on your neck, the skin is to sensitive there, on your chest you can use a bit.

Walter
Robin
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Robin »

The football game was GREAT! And my boy made a 96 yard touchdown, I am a very proud mommy! Now he gets to go and play for the allstars :)
Is there something else that I can use on my neck because I beleive I have demodex there as well, just like my chest I occasionally break out in little bumps on my neck too..
kiva
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by kiva »

Hi Robin,

I am really glad to hear that the cream seems to be having some effect – I also went through lots of breakouts and redness/dryness in around the first month but it did get better. I did get little pimples on my neck too so I think that sounds kind of normal, to be getting them elsewhere as well. It’s really hard to stick to a treatment that makes things worse in the beginning because you already feel self-conscious and then when it gets worse it’s pretty difficult to deal with but in my experience it did turn around and it was worth it!!!!!

Just wanted to come back on a question I see that you asked me earlier in the post regarding red spider veins/capillaries. I have no idea what causes these but I had these come up (mildly) at the same time my face went crazy and I’d never had them before in my life. I only had them around the sides of my nose on my cheeks and they were very small but they were causing me great concern as they appeared out of nowhere and like all the other craziness getting worse and worse on my face I could just imagine them spreading so I was very unhappy about those. Since using the cream, they did start to fade and I did not get any new ones. I can only assume the cream somehow helped, although I don’t know why (as I thought only lasers etc. could actually remove them once they are there).

Perhaps you could wait until you have used the cream for a few months and hopefully have your clear skin back and then address the veins issue if they are still there?

I am a big fan of not mixing treatments (so that you always know what it is that is helping/not helping) so perhaps it’s better to stick to one problem at a time? It would be so great too if they also start to fade along with the redness/rash and you would have saved money on expensive treatments….:0)

I really hope the breakouts start to slow down and you start seeing some progress soon….as someone who has their skin back now I cannot thank the ZZ cream enough and know just how much it means to not have to live with the self-conscious nightmare all the time…..I really really hope it works for you too :-)
kiva
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Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by kiva »

Hi Robin,

Just one more quick post too – I saw that you mentioned that you don’t wash your face again in the morning. I just wanted to say that as well as using the ZZ cream I also embarked on a big “cleanliness” drive….just washing my face with water (no cleansers or soaps or anything) as much as I could without causing dryness. Changing my pillowcases and pyjamas every night, and not touching my face at all during the day (difficult as I used to constantly touch it out of paranoia to feel how good/bad the rash was that day!).

I don’t know if it helped but I really felt like keeping my face/upper body super clean all the time would somehow also help….in washing the face throughout the day (when I didn’t have the zz cream on) I also felt almost like I was washing some bacteria/critters off…..silly perhaps but thought I’d just share ;-)
Robin
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Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:09 pm

Re: Acne/Rosacea and a couple questions

Post by Robin »

Hi kiva and thank you :) Yes I am going to wait to have any more IPL's done as I can't afford it anyway and am trying to save up some cash just to get more zz (don't want to run out! LOL) I have always been a super clean person, up to 3 showers a day, always have changed my pillow case every night and used a new towel after shower. But then when I started washing my face with just water and only taking one shower a day my face cleared up for a few months (from acne...) I mean, I was totally clear except for the tiniest pimple every now and then. and my skin wasn't so dry, I now live in a very dry climate (coming from and extremely humid climate) and the water here is hard water and that doesn't help at all either. so what i am doing now is.. washing my blankets every day on my bed, putting my pillows in the dryer everyother day on high heat and washing them once a week, washing my clothes seperate from my kids, I always wash my towels and pillow cases with bleach and borax (i also use borax to wash all my stuff) and of course dry everything on super high heat. I also have diatomaceous earth that I have put on all the carpets in the house, couches, under beds,on dogs beds, on matresses etc etc... so Hopefully I am on my way to being bug free! haha.. I haven't seen any spiders around lately ;) the only thing that bothers me is that I do daycare and I have numerous kids coming in with blankets and clothes from their homes, sometimes they aren't the cleanest.. dog hair, sometimes smelly, it absolutley drives me nuts but there is not much I can do about that.... can't take the kids and give them borax baths every day lmao, and the funny thing is a couple of these kids have skin problems on their face, and their mom has rosacea as well but it doesn't seem to bother her. Well it bothers me! I just hope having them in my home is not holding me back in my progress :/
Robin
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Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:09 pm

Itching

Post by Robin »

Am I doing something wrong?? I am almost three weeks in and my face it itching/tickling more in the past couple days than it ever has in the past.. Is this normal? I thought the itching got better at this point? Also my face has been redder than it has been during this time as well and my nose and cheeks are flushing today, I haven't flushed in a couple of months like this is this a sign of mites dying?
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