My teen daughter currently has this problem and is embarrassed by it as well. She did some research and I bought something called Bio Oil (found it at Walgreens, also on Amazon where you can read some reviews; some positive, some negative). I can't say if it works yet, it's only been a couple weeks, but it doesn't cost that much, so it may be worth a try.
ETA: If you have scar tissue from the acne, that may take a few years more to even out. Scar tissue typically does not tan.
Being a woman in my 50's the only advice I want to offer is stay out of the sun / tanning booths and then not have to worry about age spots or cancer later in life.
As far as I know there are laser treatments against scarred skin, but I would assume that just like the ones against wrinkles it leaves your skin permanently sensitive to sun. And itsS expensive. By the time woman can usually afford these ( because you really really don't want to just walk into the practice of any kind of low budget quack) the problem has usually diminished quite a bit.
it might be an idea to just take it easy on the tanning. Your 30 and 40 year old self will thank you on her knees for staying out of the sun and wearing sunscreen.
How does it look with fake tan? If that works I'd invest in a decent spray tan once a week.
I know from a friend that while the scar never truly go away they become less obvious - but cosmetics has come far in the past decade, there might be some creams out there that work.
I have a huge scar on my knee and there were creams at the time but I was just wayyyyyy to lazy to rub in the stuff twice a day for months.
Original Post by laurenleser:
I have had strong acne since 3rd grade. Im now in college and it has settled down, though not completely. Its left me with bumps ALL OVER my chest and shoulders. When I tan, its uneven colors and gross. Are there any treatments that can help? Thanks
I've had good luck with uneven skin tone/spots/pigmenty areas with Fraxel laser. It is expensive, and I've had 2 treatments already. I will probably need 2 more before things are evened out enough to make me happy.
My problem are those sun spots and little blotches. I have them basically all over my face, though they are a lot lighter and less noticeable now.
The treatments are worth it, but..still one of those things that will take time and won't be instant.
And of course, I have to exfoliate daily and use my sunblock to help things as much as possible.
Fraxel can be done anywhere, not just the face so it's worth asking about. I see a board certified plastic surgeon for it, which is probably the wisest choice considering it's the face, but there are places that offer laser treatments by a nurse which may or may not be cheaper.
Be careful with those skin bleaching creams..they have icky 'rebound' affects a lot of times that will leave it looking even worse.
I've found Sudocrem to be good for fading scars. I've had a scar on my lip since I was 3 and my Mum used Sudocrem on it and it helped it to fade a lot.
Also I've found aloe vera gel to be very good for healing. I use it for everything.
I dont go the tanner and prefer Not to have any major treatments. Ive heard of a treatment where they like scrape your skin. Anyone els hear of this?
Original Post by laurenleser:
The thing is I dont have trouble spots. EVERY where is a trouble spot. I used to go to a dermatologist and he put me on tons of creams and had me take extremely strong antibiotics from when i was ten to fourteen. Antibiotics sadly no longer work on me like they should... He did it to other young people and now he has been taken out of practice.
I dont go the tanner and prefer Not to have any major treatments. Ive heard of a treatment where they like scrape your skin. Anyone els hear of this?
Well, Fraxel laser does resurface the skin. So does Dermabrasion (not microdermabrasion). They do it under at least some anesthesia, and it involves scraping away the top layers of skin, as you say.
Another option is chemical peel.
These are all procedures though, and would need to be done by a doctor.
They have lesser things at spas and whatnot, but I don't think they would get you the drastic results it sounds like you're wanting.
When you say uneven, do you mean with acne scars (like those pitted scars from acne that was messed with?)? Or do you mean simply skin that is not smooth and has a bad texture.
For the second, what helped me immensely, was getting on birth control (it simply changed the type of skin I had, it cleaned it under for all those blackheads and enlarged pores, even the structure of my body hair has become very fine). Combined with a weekly peeling (I use a natural sea sponge and rub it gently over my face with a face-friendly oil) my skin is sooo smooth. It's like I never had acne ever. I'm still waiting on all of my scars to heal though, and for that I avoid the sun religiously. And it took 6 months for the acne to reduce to simply a zit or two around my period.
Also exercise helps too. A nice session of cardio makes my skin flushed, but the next day it's like I was at a spa, it looks so much better.
Drink TONS of water everyday. All the cellular processes need water, and you can seriously slow down everything, including skin healing, if you're dehidrated.
Also, most people have deficiencies so an equilibrated multivitamin can only help.
