Acne hasn’t changed and it’s just as damaging as ever. There is better treatment now, and retouching has always been a thing. Trust me, there were plenty of zits everywhere
We had nothing but the worst options. Only Benzoyl Peroxide (Oxy) and Stridex astringent pads. If you went to the dermatologist they could prescribe antibiotics and then Acutane in the 90’s.
Eh, it comes, it goes. I haven't had a flare for awhile. Don't know what I did right. Doxycycline was a no go, had a reaction that wasn't in the paperwork. I do think it's in one ear Dr said to watch and make sure it doesn't go in the eyes.
For the Ladies:
I had HORRIBLE body acne, my Mom took me to our GP, they prescribed Ortho Tri Cyclin birth control pills, the body acne cleared up, and made my hormonal face acne a bit more manageable.
By the way, I was barely 14 years old.
I was honestly just using it to control the acne, but of course people (dad, other family members that he told, etc) judged, except my Mom and my GP......I think they probably figured it wasn't a bad idea for a teen to take BC pills in case they *do* end up using them as a contraceptive, anyway.
If you're female, consider hormonal therapies to help with acne, and also make your period suck a little less~
I had bad acne as a teen. The good news is my skin is NOT dry at 65 and I have few wrinkles-and I don't use creams or potions or lotions. I wash my face with soap and that is IT. Heck, my skin still feels a bit oily right now!
You mean it helps your skin age better. Yes, that can be true. I'm lucky not to have scars and I have very few wrinkles.
EDITED TO ADD:
In recent years, I've developed eczema, which I never had.
It depends. Accutane was the only medication that was effective for me, but I could take only limited courses. After a year or so off the medication, it would return. My acne finally went away when I was 45 and I've never had acne since.
Wait. This is the old people sub. You sound like you're my age!
Get outta here with this, "Back in the olden days in the 90s..." I thought you were gonna tell us about the 50s!
Noxema and Clearsil. And, we were just as self-conscious of it then as you are now. Being called a “zit face” was fairly common, and a thing to be avoided. I’ve been rather pleased to say that it has been a long, long, time since I heard kids teasing/bullying someone with that one. In many ways kids are a lot nicer to each other now that they were when I was a kid.
"Beautiful skin can be a breeze..." I had completely forgotten about that until just this moment reading your comment. Thank you for the blast from the past!
You're welcome..lol I had three older brothers who used it, so that and Noxema were all I used until I got my first paycheck and ran to the Clinique counter.
I *think* you can still buy it. My skin and nostrils started to tingle as soon as I saw that blue jar on the shelf. I swear I can smell and feel a picture, alone.
And, what were those pads? Oxy-something, maybe? They were pre-soaked and you were supposed to scrub your face with them after washing it. Pretty much the polar opposite of what we now know about acne, but it probably helped boost product sales.
Oxy 5 and Oxy 10 were "acne creams", 5% or 10% benzoyl peroxide. Oxy Clean. Harsh stuff. While it may have helped some, more isn't better in many cases. I'm sure it exacerbated a lot for me, at least.
Much older folks sometimes remark that you just don’t see the horrible acne cases you used to routinely see.
Truth is, if you go back far enough, there weren’t very effective treatments. Things are completely different today. If you’re struggling, a dermatologist will be able to provide you with great advice and great options.
OP, ^^^ this…For many, the ABx’s like tetracycline that were prescribed had a bad side effect - would cause the kid’s teeth to turn yellow/brown - permanently, IIRC. So for some, the ABx only mildly helped the acne, then caused yet another issue for an already insecure teen to deal with…
I am 53 and used it for abit when I was 15. My kid has used it at 20. The dermatologist said it’s still one of the best resources they have to treat bad acne.
It was the only medication that completed cleared up my acne. I started my first course when I was 28. I wish it had been available when I was a teenager.
Nothing worked. It might help for a short time, and then it stopped. I used clerasil back in the day, and that was almost worse walking around with orange paste on your face.
I had it very bad in the 70s. Finally, I went to a dermatologist who put me on Tetracycline antibiotics ( oral or topical) that worked really well. I am not sure what they use now. But if you can, go to a dermatologist who knows how to treat skin conditions.
I used OTC products and prescription products -- topical and oral medications. At one point when I was in high school the dermatologist gave me sunlamp and dry ice/sulfur treatments. Nothing worked well. Finally, when I was 28 I had my first Accutane prescription. It was a miracle drug, completely clearing up my acne. The only SE I had, a common one, was dry lips.
I graduated from high school in 1978.
Acne was a big deal and everyone had it.
I was lucky and only had several, but I was positive my entire face was one huge zit. 😀
Acne waa definitely a thing, hence all the acne treatments that were advertised to us when we were teens in the 80s and 90s, like Clearasil, Stridex, Oxy, Neutrogena, and harsh toners like Sea Breeze (I can still smell it, lol).
I’m so greatful we have more research on why those arnt good options right now I’m using an adapelene from my derm but no results. Did it get better as you got older ?
I've never had serious acne, so I'm not the person to ask. I just had the typical teenage acne that would actually crop up and/or get worse the more products I used to "treat" it. Once I stopped everything and just washed my face with bar soap and put on moisturizer, it went away over time.
They airbrushed mine out in my yearbook photos in the 1980s. I didn't ask them to, but they did anyway to really hard cases like mine. I still have scars in my 50s, especially on my shoulder and back where my skin looks like the surface of a bowl of oatmeal.
I got called Pizza face , held down and someone used a black sharpie to put more dots ( to add to my blackheads) on my face. Good times!
Eta - also was told I had pimples on my pussy.
When we had a class assignment to say something nice about everyone, I was told I had nice zits.
So not only did I have pimples and blackheads, I also had eczema. Yay me!! I can laugh now .
I’m sorry you went through that ugh!!! I had acne and eczema and both were severe. I never had a date in high school and missed prom.
In my day (graduated 1978) dermatologists performed acne “surgery” which consisted of piercing the pimples with a sharp needle instrument. I still have scars from it.
One day when I was maybe 22? my acne just went away on its own. It never came back. Although I still occasionally get eczema flare ups
When I was in high school, my little town had teen dances each week. I had a crush on a cool guy and one night he asked me to dance a slow dance. I was in heaven! Unfortunately, I looked into his black headed filthy ears. I don’t think he ever washed his ears.
Lots of bad skin due to zits. And yes, I was so over that crush.
Made me extremely self-conscious. I have a sister who took great delight in calling me zit-face, telling me no boy would ever like me, basically destroying my self confidence. Back then, the only products available were Clearasil, Listerex (extremely harsh) and tetracycline. Benzoyl Peroxide was much later and caused a chemical burn on skin as sensitive as mine. It wasn’t until after perimenopause that my skin finally calmed down.
It was red spots on the face, sometimes painful. Most people got a few as teenagers, some people got so many it was really disfiguring. Much like now. Probably worse, in fact, because I think there must be better treatments available now - I don't see teenagers with the full horrible face full of pimples as often as I did when I was a teen.
The difference you might be noticing is that back in the day, everyone wasn't carrying a camera that could take a functionally infinite number of pictures. If an unflattering picture was taken of you, it's less likely to have been saved and passed on through the generations.
And yes, there were emotions about it, from mild embarrassment to really high shame.
What can I say? Wash your face with soap every day; don't eat greasy food; covering the zits with makeup works but might make them worse; definitely don't pop or pick them; remind yourself that your value comes from your kindness and your skills, not your skin; see a doctor if it's really bad.
Acne was the bane of my existence and we didn't have very effective treatment. I was a pizza faced kid. We just didn't want it in photos and it was a given that in your senior picture they would paint it out
I never had a ton of acne, but a few pimples always came with my period like they were travel buddies. I remember classmates with extremely serious acne. It isn't new.
I was one of the first test subjects for a new drug (at that time) called Accutane. (I had bad cystic acne). It changed my life and let me face people confidently. So there definitely are some of us who had it.
I then had to have dermabrasion bc of all the scarring.
There were a lot more kids with acne (including yours truly) back in the 1970s/80s than you see today. The first really effective treatment was oral tetracycline and then it was topical. My skin didn’t really clear up until my mid 20s.
oh it was definitely a thing. I used to carry a bottle of clearasil with me to school and during lunch and bathroom breaks I'd cotton ball that stuff across my face nonstop. I spent hours over the weekend with my face 5 inches from the mirror so I could see which I could pop. Putting tape strips across my nose to remove blackheads...it was nonstop for a hot minute. Then one day, it went away. I did briefly have acne as an adult, but that too eventually went away and didn't come back.
My Mom had it in latest 1940s to early 1950s. Back then the doctor would freeze off layers of the skin. I don't remember what they called it. After that, she had flawless skin.As for me in the 1970s, We would use a product called Acnomel it would dry up breakouts.
It meant you were horny and not getting any! That's what we used to say in my Catholic high School!
If you were lucky and your family had insurance doctors would put you on tetracycline. It's a pretty strong antibiotic so I'm not sure how the whole thing worked but I remember a lot of my friends taking it.
My father was a professional photographer who took a *lot* of Senior yearbook portraits for high schoolers in the 70’s. They were retouched. It cost extra.
Heck yeah it was a thing, lots of friends and family had a problem or not a problem. They hated it but not much to do about it. I don't know if insurance covered it because they probably viewed it as cosmetic. I know my brother had pretty bad acne and my cousin and some aunts and at least one uncle. Scarring to show for it. I've seen some of the older actors out there that definitely had acne, you can see the deep scars on their chin line.
In the 70s I used Sea Breeze and an Avon powder that turned into a thick paste by adding a few drops of water. The powder had tiny hard particles (I think it was ground up almond shells) in it that acted as an abrasive. In the 80s I used Aapri Facial Scrub and now I use St. Ives Apricot Scrub.
I had acne but it got a bit better in my 30's, still got zits (I thought a lot still compared to others), cleared right up when I took chemo drugs for a year and an oral estrogen blocker for 5 years (don't recommend that as acne treatment tho) and everyone would comment on my beautiful skin. I was always totally shocked because no one ever said that to me until I was 44, no hair and in cancer treatment. Ha. Close to 70 now, still get a few zits once in a while now. Acne is not fun since it's on your face and hard to hide, your face is just out there. I was very self conscious and embarrassed about it. My sister though had beautiful perfect skin always. I don't even think she ever had a zit in her life!
One of my cousins had severe acne starting in the late 50s. Sun lamps, witch hazel, strict dietary rules…nothing helped her except eventually growing out of it (young adulthood and on).
There are better treatments for severe acne than there were in my day, so perhaps more young people escape scarring from acne. It seems to me, though, that almost everyone had some acne in high school. It's just the consequence of changes in body chemistry.
When I was in high school I looked like I lost an acid fight. Trust me, there was some brutal acne back then. I had it all over my face and my back, sometimes I get them on my back so bad I could swear I was growing a dorsal fin.
Yeah it's way better now. I get one on occasion and it's a mean son of a bitch but what can you do? Of course then you have to deal with getting acne and sometimes gray pubes at the same time and you ask maybe there's no God, and if there is he's got to make up his mind.
I’m 71 and severe acne runs in my family. My dad and uncle both had “ pizza faces”. When I turned 12 (f) my dad made sure I was taken to the best dermatologist in town to save my face. Twice a month I endured a nurse slitting open my zits after an alcohol wash and afterwards dipping a square of dry ice in sulfur powder and rubbing it all over my face to “dry “ it out. I was made to wear sulfur based thick foundation every day to prevent break outs. That stinky stuff would crack making it look like a bad mask. This was in 1964 and back then it was the gold standard of treatment. I didn’t scar too badly but my brothers did. They had tumor type zits on their faces, necks and backs. Not much else to do. Very painful. Today I have my grandson wash with zest soap( no fat in it) and swab his face with witch hazel. He has been lucky to escape the family curse.
I can't say anything really helped. It got better with age but occasionally had a couple of breakouts in my 20's. Proactive worked well with my daughter (it wasn't around in my teen years).
I'm not sure how you're defining "older," but acne was a big problem for lots of kids in the 70s.
I was luckier than many of the kids I went to school with as I didn't get a pimple until I was in my early thirties. Now, at 60, I use clearasil regularly. 🙃
remember there weren't as many phones and photos, you had cameras with film that had to be developed. And no social media to share. People made sure the awful pictures disappeared before anyone saw them
(M 66) I was fortunate enough to barely have even regular zits. But both of my brothers had terrible face-scarring acne. My older brother went to a dermatologist who squeezed and poked, and I think he was dosed with tetracycline for long stretches. Eventually he got over it. I’m not sure what my younger brother did for treatment in high school, but his acne hung on for a long time. Sometime post-high school he took accutane, which cleared it right up. I don’t know if accutane is still a thing. I guess it worked, but I think it had potentially dangerous side effects.
It was the only thing that worked for me, I had to go through it two separate times. It was not pleasant. At least now there seems to be a gentle approach of longer courses at a lower dose.
Have you visited the skincare subreddit? There are so many different types of acne and different treatments now.
>It was the only thing that worked for me, I had to go through it two separate times.
I did three courses of Accutane, each separated by a year to 18 months. My only SE was dry lips. I felt great because I didn't have acne, didn't have to worry what my skin was going to look like from one day to the next.
Yeah Acne was around when I was a teenager (1960-70s) It was a pain and most people just "waited it out" Try eliminating dairy products...since my time we connected dairy to acne.
Oh yeah, we had zits all right! Witch Hazel was an old fashioned astringent that we used to use to treat it, as well as the benzoyl peroxide products that others have mentioned. Girls would usually wear makeup to cover it. It mostly went away by the time I turned 20, I think, but it’s different for everybody.
Acne hit me mildly as a teen in the 1970s. Not horribly, but for a few years it was like there was always _one_ pimple I was dealing with.
No scarring, but a regular annoyance and for a short while I had to use a prescription topical cream - can’t remember what.
I struggled forever with it. I hated it. Couldn’t find anything that really helped. Went on Accutane and that helped. But a few years later it started to come back again. I found Neostrata glycolic acid face wash. Then a Thayers toner and neutrogena Severe acne Glycolic acid treatment, then serum and moisturizer. I finally figured out what works for me. I put my 21 yr old son on the same stuff I use and he cleared right up too. No more acne issues for either of us.
Zits were there for every important event. Things like Clearasil and Noxema were supposed to help but I honestly don’t think it made much of a difference. Just tried to keep my hands away from my face and kept it as clean as possible.
I had back acne as well which made it near impossible for me to feel comfortable in a swimsuit….so I gave up swimming. It absolutely affected my self esteem.
Acne eventually went away in my twenties.
I didn't have a lot of zits but once in awhile I would get that third eye. Up near my hairline, a huge cyst would appear, sucker would hurt like he'll and I would put potions on it to bring it to a head, then squeeze until it looked like John belushi, in animal house "what am i?...a zit" and squeeze it all over the mirror.
We did. There was strydex pads, clearasil, different soaps, etc. Half the treatments burned my face.
HS photos were retouched. This was 1989 so way before Photoshop and such but I'm sure the photo companies had some sort of editing
Methods were just different. It probably involved physically doing it and taking a picture of the picture. Of course large photo companies such as ones that do senior pics for graduation and yearbooks likely had more advanced tech that few others had because it was their business
I felt lucky in the 70s regarding 'breakout' treatment. Benzoyl Peroxide was enough for minor breakouts.
Inflamed, cystic acne required a Retin-a prescription. My mom was prescribed Retin-a when it first came out for removing brown pigment spots. Back then it was in liquid form and was very very strong. It caused very red skin where it was applied, then as the skin healed and peeled off smooth skin emerged. I don't think it's even available in liquid form any more.
Boys were NOT allowed to wear any make up, whatsoever, so I think they suffered more than girls. Girls could at least cover up the redness with foundation.
When I was young teens had acne. The girls in particular used foundation makeup to make their entire face the same color (or add some contrasting colors). This hid the acne. An advanced technique was to pat powders on the skin over the makeup to make the result look more like skin than paint. The ultimate technique was to add highlights and shadows to this monochromatic base.
Then? No acne. Noxema in the blue jar to wash and take off makeup. Every morning. Every night. Seabreeze astringent with cotton balls. Baby oil to tan with or Ban de Soleil 🌞
Yes, people had acne and if they had a bad case of course it affected their attractiveness and self-esteem. Today, there exist better medications for severe acne like Accutane.
Yep, it was a thing, we just didn't have a constant stream of photos of ourselves. My mom who was born in 1947 had acne so bad it scarred her face for life.
I had much less severe cystic acne, most of my adult life, until I changed my diet.
People who had acne had terrible cases, I remember, People had huge pox marks from uncared for acne. Terrible, terrible scars. I remember going to the dermatologist became big in the mid 80s because Sea Breeze, Noxema, Clearasil, Stridex, etc., was stripping the skin and worsening it. I was so lucky that I never had an issue, but my brother had it terribly. To this day, I do not over cleanse my face and I just didn't touch (pick) or lean on it much. Just adds dirt, etc to it! Oldest friend was lucky she didnt have permanent marks because her acne started when she was 8.
Regarding attractiveness? it wasnt that unusual and people did cover it. If you were hot, you got a pass for sure!
Everyone had acne. Acne treatment was a multi-billion dollar industry that dried out your face and made the acne worse. Over the years, the focus has been shifted to better cleaning / hygiene products. We didn't have cell phones where our zit days got captured every 3 seconds like you do today. Plus, film cameras were softer and would generally hide defects - like an Instagram filter.
Acne is normal.... assuming you're doing what you can to combat it, and have seen a doctor if necessary (there are good medicines available we never had) it's an adolescent right of passage - it'll just take some time.
Black & White photos hide acne. I was the yearbook editor and we considered paying extra to have color photos of the senior class. This was in 1986. Across the country, schools were starting to do this, especially in California, it seemed. Our yearbook sales rep ultimately talked us out of it because color pictures show acne.
I learned to use makeup for my acne when I was a teen, there are better treatments now, book an appointment with a dermatologist, if I get a super big one I get it injected and it goes down in a day
Yeah, time and hormones settling. I am in my late 50s and still get occasional acne. As a teenager i had done everything...watched diet, washed face religiously, toners, benzoyl peroxide. I was on multiple courses of tetracycline, retin A of various strengths, one course of Accutane. Nothing helped but time.
It's one of the things I regret most about my teen years...how much I let it rob me of my self confidence.
Yes I am using a prescription adapelene right now but i have not seen progress. I don’t wanna try oral meds but I’ll try to stay confident. It’s nice to know it get better though
Yeah one of my younger daughters tried that. I know people who have had success with it, but she did not. It's all a trial and error situation. It gets better. Just know that the people who matter will still know your heart and mind, no matter what your skin is like...acne or whatever. Hang in there.
I grew up in the 80s and many people had moderate to severe acne. Retouching photos was a common thing, especially for studio professional portraits. People didn’t take many photos because you were limited to the film roll. Photo quality was poor too.
I think *now* few people have acne. Most parents I know will seek medical help for a kid with moderate or severe acne. This is why Acutane was invented.
My kids had only a small amount of acne and your basic skin preparation like Clearasil, plus a good diet, cleared it up the rest of the way. I also bought Proactive for one of my kids and they had no more zits after about two months of use.
I’m currently using a cream from my derm but it feels nice to know it’s not a new age thing. Does acne get better with age. I really don’t want to use any oral pills
Acne hasn’t changed and it’s just as damaging as ever. There is better treatment now, and retouching has always been a thing. Trust me, there were plenty of zits everywhere
That feels so good to hear! How did you guys treat it and keep your confidence up?
We had nothing but the worst options. Only Benzoyl Peroxide (Oxy) and Stridex astringent pads. If you went to the dermatologist they could prescribe antibiotics and then Acutane in the 90’s.
Aghh I used the harsh products before going to the derm but I really don’t want to take oral meds. Does it get better with age?
Well yes and no. If you are female it comes back in Perimenopause.
I ended up with rosacea. So much worse
Me too! I’m about to spring for the laser
Eh, it comes, it goes. I haven't had a flare for awhile. Don't know what I did right. Doxycycline was a no go, had a reaction that wasn't in the paperwork. I do think it's in one ear Dr said to watch and make sure it doesn't go in the eyes.
Mine cleared up when I got pregnant and hasn't come back yet (post-menopause)
>If you are female it comes back in Perimenopause. That didn't happen to me.
Lucky!
Given all the misery my acne caused me -- it lasted until I was 45 -- I guess I was owed something.
For the Ladies: I had HORRIBLE body acne, my Mom took me to our GP, they prescribed Ortho Tri Cyclin birth control pills, the body acne cleared up, and made my hormonal face acne a bit more manageable. By the way, I was barely 14 years old. I was honestly just using it to control the acne, but of course people (dad, other family members that he told, etc) judged, except my Mom and my GP......I think they probably figured it wasn't a bad idea for a teen to take BC pills in case they *do* end up using them as a contraceptive, anyway. If you're female, consider hormonal therapies to help with acne, and also make your period suck a little less~
Did you acne come back when you got off it
I had bad acne as a teen. The good news is my skin is NOT dry at 65 and I have few wrinkles-and I don't use creams or potions or lotions. I wash my face with soap and that is IT. Heck, my skin still feels a bit oily right now!
I’ve heard acne helps you age so yay
You mean it helps your skin age better. Yes, that can be true. I'm lucky not to have scars and I have very few wrinkles. EDITED TO ADD: In recent years, I've developed eczema, which I never had.
I have had good luck at this late age with Niancitamide
I used this before starting my new routine and it was so good for the post marks
It depends. Accutane was the only medication that was effective for me, but I could take only limited courses. After a year or so off the medication, it would return. My acne finally went away when I was 45 and I've never had acne since.
Take the meds. Sincerely, retired family doctor.
Ok I’ll talk to my derm about it
Good for you.
Wait. This is the old people sub. You sound like you're my age! Get outta here with this, "Back in the olden days in the 90s..." I thought you were gonna tell us about the 50s!
It was even worse in the 50’s (I’m told)!
Noxema and Clearsil. And, we were just as self-conscious of it then as you are now. Being called a “zit face” was fairly common, and a thing to be avoided. I’ve been rather pleased to say that it has been a long, long, time since I heard kids teasing/bullying someone with that one. In many ways kids are a lot nicer to each other now that they were when I was a kid.
And Sea Breeze. That sh*t burned
"Beautiful skin can be a breeze..." I had completely forgotten about that until just this moment reading your comment. Thank you for the blast from the past!
You're welcome..lol I had three older brothers who used it, so that and Noxema were all I used until I got my first paycheck and ran to the Clinique counter.
Sea breeze was better than noxzema
I tried sea breeze and had the same problem.
I haven't thought of Noxema in a very long time!
Same! I was a total Noxema girl until my mid 20s.
I *think* you can still buy it. My skin and nostrils started to tingle as soon as I saw that blue jar on the shelf. I swear I can smell and feel a picture, alone.
And, what were those pads? Oxy-something, maybe? They were pre-soaked and you were supposed to scrub your face with them after washing it. Pretty much the polar opposite of what we now know about acne, but it probably helped boost product sales.
Oxy 5 and Oxy 10 were "acne creams", 5% or 10% benzoyl peroxide. Oxy Clean. Harsh stuff. While it may have helped some, more isn't better in many cases. I'm sure it exacerbated a lot for me, at least.
Oxyclean
They had Benzoyl Peroxide. I used to take it in the form of a prescription cream. It works on milder acne but it bleaches fabric.
Unfortunately my mom got me into modeling and people bully you in that comunity but it’s not bad at school. Does it get better with age?
Much older folks sometimes remark that you just don’t see the horrible acne cases you used to routinely see. Truth is, if you go back far enough, there weren’t very effective treatments. Things are completely different today. If you’re struggling, a dermatologist will be able to provide you with great advice and great options.
I don’t think any of the available products did a bit of good. They still aren’t great.
I am a retired family doctor. Acne is very treatable now. Ask your family doctor and or see a dermatologist. Good luck.
Thank you
I know I had plenty!
OP, ^^^ this…For many, the ABx’s like tetracycline that were prescribed had a bad side effect - would cause the kid’s teeth to turn yellow/brown - permanently, IIRC. So for some, the ABx only mildly helped the acne, then caused yet another issue for an already insecure teen to deal with…
Acne is not new. We hated it back then too.
How did you guys treat it ?
Accutane if it was really bad, sometimes low dose antibiotics which still sounds like a bad idea, lots of harsh creams…
I had no idea accutane was a thing back then. Unfortunately I can’t take many oral pills
I am 53 and used it for abit when I was 15. My kid has used it at 20. The dermatologist said it’s still one of the best resources they have to treat bad acne.
It was the only medication that completed cleared up my acne. I started my first course when I was 28. I wish it had been available when I was a teenager.
Ask if they still do topical Tetracycline. It helped me a lot. It is an antibiotic.
I’ll ask thanks
Approved by the FDA in 1982.
Caused very serious and debilitating depression , scary depression.
Thank you so much
Did acne get better with age ?
Yes yes yes yes yes
my mom told me she took it in her 20s and she was a boomer
Nothing worked. It might help for a short time, and then it stopped. I used clerasil back in the day, and that was almost worse walking around with orange paste on your face.
But everyone did, so you were the in crowd lol
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I have but now I am using an adapelene with benzoyl peroxide and it’s gotten worse
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I actually don’t wear makup I do use a tinted sunscreen by my dermatologist.
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Mine was from my derm and actually has helped quite a bit I think it’s the zinc
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BECUASE it’s still there but sunscreen definitely reduces symptoms
I had it very bad in the 70s. Finally, I went to a dermatologist who put me on Tetracycline antibiotics ( oral or topical) that worked really well. I am not sure what they use now. But if you can, go to a dermatologist who knows how to treat skin conditions.
Thank you so much I’ll ask mine about this
I used OTC products and prescription products -- topical and oral medications. At one point when I was in high school the dermatologist gave me sunlamp and dry ice/sulfur treatments. Nothing worked well. Finally, when I was 28 I had my first Accutane prescription. It was a miracle drug, completely clearing up my acne. The only SE I had, a common one, was dry lips.
I graduated from high school in 1978. Acne was a big deal and everyone had it. I was lucky and only had several, but I was positive my entire face was one huge zit. 😀
Acne waa definitely a thing, hence all the acne treatments that were advertised to us when we were teens in the 80s and 90s, like Clearasil, Stridex, Oxy, Neutrogena, and harsh toners like Sea Breeze (I can still smell it, lol).
I’m so greatful we have more research on why those arnt good options right now I’m using an adapelene from my derm but no results. Did it get better as you got older ?
I've never had serious acne, so I'm not the person to ask. I just had the typical teenage acne that would actually crop up and/or get worse the more products I used to "treat" it. Once I stopped everything and just washed my face with bar soap and put on moisturizer, it went away over time.
Unfortunately mines a little worse but thanks so much for responding
People who had serious cases back then were on Accutane or Retinoids. Sometimes birth control for us girls.
Kids had terrible acne and scars. I dont think I've even seen a kid lately with the kind of acne some had. There are effective treatments now.
They airbrushed mine out in my yearbook photos in the 1980s. I didn't ask them to, but they did anyway to really hard cases like mine. I still have scars in my 50s, especially on my shoulder and back where my skin looks like the surface of a bowl of oatmeal.
I didn’t know they could do that thanks !
photo retouching was already pretty good before we went to digital.
I got called Pizza face , held down and someone used a black sharpie to put more dots ( to add to my blackheads) on my face. Good times! Eta - also was told I had pimples on my pussy. When we had a class assignment to say something nice about everyone, I was told I had nice zits. So not only did I have pimples and blackheads, I also had eczema. Yay me!! I can laugh now .
Wow I’m so sorry. But that’s quite the story you can tell now
💜
I’m sorry you went through that ugh!!! I had acne and eczema and both were severe. I never had a date in high school and missed prom. In my day (graduated 1978) dermatologists performed acne “surgery” which consisted of piercing the pimples with a sharp needle instrument. I still have scars from it. One day when I was maybe 22? my acne just went away on its own. It never came back. Although I still occasionally get eczema flare ups
What you endured sounds extremely painful physically and mentally. I’m sorry you went through that.💜
You’re very kind thank you 🙏
Thank you for YOUR kind response 💜
When I was in high school, my little town had teen dances each week. I had a crush on a cool guy and one night he asked me to dance a slow dance. I was in heaven! Unfortunately, I looked into his black headed filthy ears. I don’t think he ever washed his ears. Lots of bad skin due to zits. And yes, I was so over that crush.
That’s a crazy story but it feels good to know it’s normal! Does it get better with age ?
Most definitely!
Praise the lord that’s so comforting
Made me extremely self-conscious. I have a sister who took great delight in calling me zit-face, telling me no boy would ever like me, basically destroying my self confidence. Back then, the only products available were Clearasil, Listerex (extremely harsh) and tetracycline. Benzoyl Peroxide was much later and caused a chemical burn on skin as sensitive as mine. It wasn’t until after perimenopause that my skin finally calmed down.
Graduated in the early 90s. Acne was bad some kids my heart broke for them. It was a thing I swear.
Acne can be so heartbreaking
It was red spots on the face, sometimes painful. Most people got a few as teenagers, some people got so many it was really disfiguring. Much like now. Probably worse, in fact, because I think there must be better treatments available now - I don't see teenagers with the full horrible face full of pimples as often as I did when I was a teen. The difference you might be noticing is that back in the day, everyone wasn't carrying a camera that could take a functionally infinite number of pictures. If an unflattering picture was taken of you, it's less likely to have been saved and passed on through the generations. And yes, there were emotions about it, from mild embarrassment to really high shame. What can I say? Wash your face with soap every day; don't eat greasy food; covering the zits with makeup works but might make them worse; definitely don't pop or pick them; remind yourself that your value comes from your kindness and your skills, not your skin; see a doctor if it's really bad.
Thank you so much. This is a relief to hear! The camera thing makes so much sense. I went to a derm and got an adapelene but no results yet !
Acne was the bane of my existence and we didn't have very effective treatment. I was a pizza faced kid. We just didn't want it in photos and it was a given that in your senior picture they would paint it out
I never had a ton of acne, but a few pimples always came with my period like they were travel buddies. I remember classmates with extremely serious acne. It isn't new.
I was one of the first test subjects for a new drug (at that time) called Accutane. (I had bad cystic acne). It changed my life and let me face people confidently. So there definitely are some of us who had it. I then had to have dermabrasion bc of all the scarring.
That’s so cool you were a test subject for that! I’m so happy it worked out for you
Thx. I hope you find something that works for you, too.
There were a lot more kids with acne (including yours truly) back in the 1970s/80s than you see today. The first really effective treatment was oral tetracycline and then it was topical. My skin didn’t really clear up until my mid 20s.
I’ll ask my derm about that thank you so much
oh it was definitely a thing. I used to carry a bottle of clearasil with me to school and during lunch and bathroom breaks I'd cotton ball that stuff across my face nonstop. I spent hours over the weekend with my face 5 inches from the mirror so I could see which I could pop. Putting tape strips across my nose to remove blackheads...it was nonstop for a hot minute. Then one day, it went away. I did briefly have acne as an adult, but that too eventually went away and didn't come back.
At what age did it get better ?
As a kid I grew out of it by the time I hit HS. Then it flared again in college (likely from stress) and went away again after a few months.
My Mom had it in latest 1940s to early 1950s. Back then the doctor would freeze off layers of the skin. I don't remember what they called it. After that, she had flawless skin.As for me in the 1970s, We would use a product called Acnomel it would dry up breakouts.
>Back then the doctor would freeze off layers of the skin. I had a dry ice and sulfur treatment a few times in the 1970s. It wasn't very effective.
It was the late 1940s and early 50s. Whatever he did wkd for her.
I was talking about my experience.
No problem. Everyone has a different experience.
Even in the 40s and 50s they did painted touch ups, before there was airbrushing and Photoshop.
I had no idea that they did this !
It meant you were horny and not getting any! That's what we used to say in my Catholic high School! If you were lucky and your family had insurance doctors would put you on tetracycline. It's a pretty strong antibiotic so I'm not sure how the whole thing worked but I remember a lot of my friends taking it.
Wow, that’s a wild belife.
Those round alcohol pads that dried your face out
Omg I tried these and they burnnnn
My father was a professional photographer who took a *lot* of Senior yearbook portraits for high schoolers in the 70’s. They were retouched. It cost extra.
I had the worst acne. All over my forehead. It was awful. I was teased relentlessly. Photo quality was horrible.
Heck yeah it was a thing, lots of friends and family had a problem or not a problem. They hated it but not much to do about it. I don't know if insurance covered it because they probably viewed it as cosmetic. I know my brother had pretty bad acne and my cousin and some aunts and at least one uncle. Scarring to show for it. I've seen some of the older actors out there that definitely had acne, you can see the deep scars on their chin line.
In the 70s I used Sea Breeze and an Avon powder that turned into a thick paste by adding a few drops of water. The powder had tiny hard particles (I think it was ground up almond shells) in it that acted as an abrasive. In the 80s I used Aapri Facial Scrub and now I use St. Ives Apricot Scrub.
The worst of the photos were ripped up.
I had acne but it got a bit better in my 30's, still got zits (I thought a lot still compared to others), cleared right up when I took chemo drugs for a year and an oral estrogen blocker for 5 years (don't recommend that as acne treatment tho) and everyone would comment on my beautiful skin. I was always totally shocked because no one ever said that to me until I was 44, no hair and in cancer treatment. Ha. Close to 70 now, still get a few zits once in a while now. Acne is not fun since it's on your face and hard to hide, your face is just out there. I was very self conscious and embarrassed about it. My sister though had beautiful perfect skin always. I don't even think she ever had a zit in her life!
One of my cousins had severe acne starting in the late 50s. Sun lamps, witch hazel, strict dietary rules…nothing helped her except eventually growing out of it (young adulthood and on).
There are better treatments for severe acne than there were in my day, so perhaps more young people escape scarring from acne. It seems to me, though, that almost everyone had some acne in high school. It's just the consequence of changes in body chemistry.
Yes there are so many options now. Almost to many
When I was in high school I looked like I lost an acid fight. Trust me, there was some brutal acne back then. I had it all over my face and my back, sometimes I get them on my back so bad I could swear I was growing a dorsal fin.
Oh my gosh I love the description. Did it get better as you got older ?
Yeah it's way better now. I get one on occasion and it's a mean son of a bitch but what can you do? Of course then you have to deal with getting acne and sometimes gray pubes at the same time and you ask maybe there's no God, and if there is he's got to make up his mind.
I’m 71 and severe acne runs in my family. My dad and uncle both had “ pizza faces”. When I turned 12 (f) my dad made sure I was taken to the best dermatologist in town to save my face. Twice a month I endured a nurse slitting open my zits after an alcohol wash and afterwards dipping a square of dry ice in sulfur powder and rubbing it all over my face to “dry “ it out. I was made to wear sulfur based thick foundation every day to prevent break outs. That stinky stuff would crack making it look like a bad mask. This was in 1964 and back then it was the gold standard of treatment. I didn’t scar too badly but my brothers did. They had tumor type zits on their faces, necks and backs. Not much else to do. Very painful. Today I have my grandson wash with zest soap( no fat in it) and swab his face with witch hazel. He has been lucky to escape the family curse.
Lucky son for real. I wish my parents took me to a dermatologist right away. It’s been 6 years and I jsut went
My mother refused to believe I had acne and would not let me see a dermatologist until I was in my mid-teens.
This is me. I’m 16 have had acne since ten and jsut went
There was acne but the cameras were not as good.
I didn't like having my picture taken, but for some reason, my acne often didn't show up in photos.
I had horrible acne. I knew other girls with acne as well. It was a thing back then.
What treatments worked for you or does it jsut get better with age?
I can't say anything really helped. It got better with age but occasionally had a couple of breakouts in my 20's. Proactive worked well with my daughter (it wasn't around in my teen years).
Lots of people had bad acne. They refused to have their picture taken.
I'm not sure how you're defining "older," but acne was a big problem for lots of kids in the 70s. I was luckier than many of the kids I went to school with as I didn't get a pimple until I was in my early thirties. Now, at 60, I use clearasil regularly. 🙃
We didn't spray our faces and bodies with chemicals, nor did rub Phthalates over our bodies, so acne was rare.
remember there weren't as many phones and photos, you had cameras with film that had to be developed. And no social media to share. People made sure the awful pictures disappeared before anyone saw them
(M 66) I was fortunate enough to barely have even regular zits. But both of my brothers had terrible face-scarring acne. My older brother went to a dermatologist who squeezed and poked, and I think he was dosed with tetracycline for long stretches. Eventually he got over it. I’m not sure what my younger brother did for treatment in high school, but his acne hung on for a long time. Sometime post-high school he took accutane, which cleared it right up. I don’t know if accutane is still a thing. I guess it worked, but I think it had potentially dangerous side effects.
Accutane is still a thing but I really don’t want to do it because of the side effects
It was the only thing that worked for me, I had to go through it two separate times. It was not pleasant. At least now there seems to be a gentle approach of longer courses at a lower dose. Have you visited the skincare subreddit? There are so many different types of acne and different treatments now.
>It was the only thing that worked for me, I had to go through it two separate times. I did three courses of Accutane, each separated by a year to 18 months. My only SE was dry lips. I felt great because I didn't have acne, didn't have to worry what my skin was going to look like from one day to the next.
Yeah Acne was around when I was a teenager (1960-70s) It was a pain and most people just "waited it out" Try eliminating dairy products...since my time we connected dairy to acne.
I’m the same and can not do dairy
That's because photographers retouched photos.
Oh yeah, we had zits all right! Witch Hazel was an old fashioned astringent that we used to use to treat it, as well as the benzoyl peroxide products that others have mentioned. Girls would usually wear makeup to cover it. It mostly went away by the time I turned 20, I think, but it’s different for everybody.
Lol, witch hazel has made a come back
Have you ever seen pizza without cheese? Many people had acne that bad and in the 80s at least, prescription medication was just coming out.
Acne? What's that? Something else these young whippersnappers invented?
Acne hit me mildly as a teen in the 1970s. Not horribly, but for a few years it was like there was always _one_ pimple I was dealing with. No scarring, but a regular annoyance and for a short while I had to use a prescription topical cream - can’t remember what.
I struggled forever with it. I hated it. Couldn’t find anything that really helped. Went on Accutane and that helped. But a few years later it started to come back again. I found Neostrata glycolic acid face wash. Then a Thayers toner and neutrogena Severe acne Glycolic acid treatment, then serum and moisturizer. I finally figured out what works for me. I put my 21 yr old son on the same stuff I use and he cleared right up too. No more acne issues for either of us.
I just turned 40, and went back to using noexema. It’s been the only thing my skin will tolerate.
Oh I’ve got lots of pics with acne but they are all on paper therefore only I see them.
Same but with my camera role
Zits were there for every important event. Things like Clearasil and Noxema were supposed to help but I honestly don’t think it made much of a difference. Just tried to keep my hands away from my face and kept it as clean as possible. I had back acne as well which made it near impossible for me to feel comfortable in a swimsuit….so I gave up swimming. It absolutely affected my self esteem. Acne eventually went away in my twenties.
I didn't have a lot of zits but once in awhile I would get that third eye. Up near my hairline, a huge cyst would appear, sucker would hurt like he'll and I would put potions on it to bring it to a head, then squeeze until it looked like John belushi, in animal house "what am i?...a zit" and squeeze it all over the mirror.
Best description yet
Put toothpaste on them! It draws out the yuck and then you wash it off in the morning. It has to be one that looks like a paste--not a gel.
I have not tried this thank you !
We did. There was strydex pads, clearasil, different soaps, etc. Half the treatments burned my face. HS photos were retouched. This was 1989 so way before Photoshop and such but I'm sure the photo companies had some sort of editing
I did not know they could edit photos back then
Methods were just different. It probably involved physically doing it and taking a picture of the picture. Of course large photo companies such as ones that do senior pics for graduation and yearbooks likely had more advanced tech that few others had because it was their business
I felt lucky in the 70s regarding 'breakout' treatment. Benzoyl Peroxide was enough for minor breakouts. Inflamed, cystic acne required a Retin-a prescription. My mom was prescribed Retin-a when it first came out for removing brown pigment spots. Back then it was in liquid form and was very very strong. It caused very red skin where it was applied, then as the skin healed and peeled off smooth skin emerged. I don't think it's even available in liquid form any more. Boys were NOT allowed to wear any make up, whatsoever, so I think they suffered more than girls. Girls could at least cover up the redness with foundation.
Aghhh I have non inflamed like comedonal acne and I had to go on a prescription adapelene and now I’m purging and getting cysts
When I was young teens had acne. The girls in particular used foundation makeup to make their entire face the same color (or add some contrasting colors). This hid the acne. An advanced technique was to pat powders on the skin over the makeup to make the result look more like skin than paint. The ultimate technique was to add highlights and shadows to this monochromatic base.
I am going to try this method! Thanks
It's better not to wear any foundation. Your dermatologist will tell you that.
I never wore foundation because I didn't want to clog my pores.
Then? No acne. Noxema in the blue jar to wash and take off makeup. Every morning. Every night. Seabreeze astringent with cotton balls. Baby oil to tan with or Ban de Soleil 🌞
Yes, people had acne and if they had a bad case of course it affected their attractiveness and self-esteem. Today, there exist better medications for severe acne like Accutane.
Yep, it was a thing, we just didn't have a constant stream of photos of ourselves. My mom who was born in 1947 had acne so bad it scarred her face for life. I had much less severe cystic acne, most of my adult life, until I changed my diet.
The same but you guys have better treatment options and the shame is less. People actually are more medically aware now than before.
Airbrushed photos
They had these commercials in the 90s that were hilarious!! Clearasil and such.
zits, taxes and death....3 facts f life....i am 68 and got a zit on my chin right now....
People who had acne had terrible cases, I remember, People had huge pox marks from uncared for acne. Terrible, terrible scars. I remember going to the dermatologist became big in the mid 80s because Sea Breeze, Noxema, Clearasil, Stridex, etc., was stripping the skin and worsening it. I was so lucky that I never had an issue, but my brother had it terribly. To this day, I do not over cleanse my face and I just didn't touch (pick) or lean on it much. Just adds dirt, etc to it! Oldest friend was lucky she didnt have permanent marks because her acne started when she was 8. Regarding attractiveness? it wasnt that unusual and people did cover it. If you were hot, you got a pass for sure!
Everyone had acne. Acne treatment was a multi-billion dollar industry that dried out your face and made the acne worse. Over the years, the focus has been shifted to better cleaning / hygiene products. We didn't have cell phones where our zit days got captured every 3 seconds like you do today. Plus, film cameras were softer and would generally hide defects - like an Instagram filter. Acne is normal.... assuming you're doing what you can to combat it, and have seen a doctor if necessary (there are good medicines available we never had) it's an adolescent right of passage - it'll just take some time.
Thank you
Black & White photos hide acne. I was the yearbook editor and we considered paying extra to have color photos of the senior class. This was in 1986. Across the country, schools were starting to do this, especially in California, it seemed. Our yearbook sales rep ultimately talked us out of it because color pictures show acne.
I learned to use makeup for my acne when I was a teen, there are better treatments now, book an appointment with a dermatologist, if I get a super big one I get it injected and it goes down in a day
I definitely used makeup to cover it whenever i could and showed the camera whatever was the best side that day.
This feels nice to hear! What were some things that helped? Also did it get better with age?
Yeah, time and hormones settling. I am in my late 50s and still get occasional acne. As a teenager i had done everything...watched diet, washed face religiously, toners, benzoyl peroxide. I was on multiple courses of tetracycline, retin A of various strengths, one course of Accutane. Nothing helped but time. It's one of the things I regret most about my teen years...how much I let it rob me of my self confidence.
Yes I am using a prescription adapelene right now but i have not seen progress. I don’t wanna try oral meds but I’ll try to stay confident. It’s nice to know it get better though
Yeah one of my younger daughters tried that. I know people who have had success with it, but she did not. It's all a trial and error situation. It gets better. Just know that the people who matter will still know your heart and mind, no matter what your skin is like...acne or whatever. Hang in there.
I will thank you so much for responding
<3
I grew up in the 80s and many people had moderate to severe acne. Retouching photos was a common thing, especially for studio professional portraits. People didn’t take many photos because you were limited to the film roll. Photo quality was poor too. I think *now* few people have acne. Most parents I know will seek medical help for a kid with moderate or severe acne. This is why Acutane was invented. My kids had only a small amount of acne and your basic skin preparation like Clearasil, plus a good diet, cleared it up the rest of the way. I also bought Proactive for one of my kids and they had no more zits after about two months of use.
I’m currently using a cream from my derm but it feels nice to know it’s not a new age thing. Does acne get better with age. I really don’t want to use any oral pills
I was on doxycycline for roacea, then figured out I was having a reaction.
Most people’s skin calms down with age, yes.