Acne Support Group

Oh man, I am so sorry. I am in my mid twenties and I can totally relate too almost everything you are going through. I have had acne on and off since my early teenage years. For a long time when my skin would clear up, I would still think that it looked nice, but I am afraid acne has left its mark on me now, and though I am glad the scaring is not worse it’s there, and it always will be.
I stopped using hair products a long time ago for that very reason.
I can also relate to just giving into that urge to pop, whether it’s ready or not...as soon as I think I see some puss, it’s like I just want to relieve that pressure. I hate it. And it’s so horrible when it doesn't pop, it makes it so much worse, and so many times I have squeezed and got nothing only to immediately know that it was going to cause me embarrassment for the next few days at least, plus a little scar.
You are not stupid for trying to rid yourself of redness, I have done so many things that have made my skin worse even if only for a time, we do it out of desperation. It is horrible to go out and face a judgmental and superficial world. For me it is hard to face my loved ones.
I don’t have many suggestions for relieving the redness. I have heard that jojoba oil with a little lavender mixed in is good for it, but I don’t know if there is any truth to that at all. Plus that would be a little expensive.
Acne has been kicking my ass lately too. I thought I finally found something that was working, cleared for about two weeks. After a month I was going to come on and let people know what I had been doing (had been doing it for two months daily prior to clearing up and noticing improvements) but I didn’t want to do it prematurely and what happens? I break out big time last week. Shitty.
Hang in there rockandrollguy.

Thanks for the reply, Tricked. It does help to know that it's not just me. It's easy to feel alone when dealing with things like acne because you never see people with skin imperfections in the media, which can really make you feel alienated. I just keep reminding myself that they cover up and conceal whatever imperfections there are (must be nice to have a team of makeup artists around to make you look good).
As for my burn, I've been slathering it with vitamin E cream (and praying a lot), and it looks a lot better than it did when I posted the other day. I appreciate your suggestion, but what I'm doing seems to be working, so I'd better stick with it. I just keep thinking, "It'll look a little better tomorrow." I have a family thing coming up this weekend, and I want to look as clear as possible, so I can relate to your embarrassment to loved ones. The worst part will be facing my niece and nephew, who has apparently hit an inquisitive phase. And, of course, my grandmother, who scares the hell out of Death himself and thinks nothing of pointing out somebody's flaws in front of the entire family.
I have some scarring from my biggest breakout a few years ago, which in hindsight has helped me pin point hair spray as a trigger for me, meaning that I now stick to gels and waxes for my hair. I would feel stupid for not realizing it then and quitting the spray, but I was on a stupefying prescription at the time that makes a really nice scapegoat. As soon as I'm able, financially and dermatologically, I'm planning on having laser resurfacing done. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but I'm sure it will at least reduce the scarring.
It's good to see that other people are going through the same thing, but I hope you get a handle on yours soon. I learned my lesson from this experience and am confining the toothpaste to my mouth from now on. I was getting another bump yesterday, and I managed to shrink it with Avon spot treater. If you've never tried it, you may want to look into it. A few layers of that stuff over night can make a noticeable difference.

Yeah I am strongly considering lazer surgery as well. There was a girl on here about a month back that went ahead and had it, but I don't know how well it worked out because I don't think she has been back on since...maybe it worked. Anyway, I was hoping to find out how much she payed and what type and costs and all of that.
Fortunately for me I am fairly certain that my siblilngs and inlaws have warned the little ones in my family not to mention the red marks on my face because none of them ever have and I am always afraid they are going to. Sweet kids I guess.
One time a few years back, I went to see my gf's (at the time) grandmother in an old folks home, she was senile and at least a dozen times told me I would be so handsome if my face wasn't so gross. Seriously...they kept telling her to stop, apologizing to me, and afterwards told me they admired me for how I handled it...but inside, it was devastating, heartbreaking.

My new roommate has made like 5 comments to me about her skin lately, and I don't understand. I always hated it when I would be out with a group of people in high school or college and some skinny chick would talk about her "weight problem" in front of someone with a real weight problem. It seriously pissed me off when it had nothing to do with something I struggled with, and it pisses me off when it is something I struggle with. Anyway, thanks for the avon tip, I will check it out.

I Googled the average cost of laser surgery a while back, and I think it was something like $2200.
You're lucky that your folks have talked to the kids ahead of time. My face has been clear enough long enough that my brother and sister-in-law wouldn't think about it. My grandmother's not senile, just stubborn, and you can't tell her anything. I can imagine how you must have felt when your girlfriend's granny kept pointing out your acne, and you handled it a lot better than I'm afraid I would have (my smart-ass mouth often operates entirely independently of my brain). But the spot looks quite a bit better and we're not getting together until Sunday, so I'm hoping it won't be that noticeable. The vitamin E cream really seems to be helping, so if you've not tried that, you may want to look into it as well. The stuff I use is called Gene's Vitamin E Cream, and I get it at Sam's Club.
I obviously don't know your roomie or your situation, but maybe she's trying to make you feel more comfortable by showing she empathizes with you, although I understand where you're coming from too.