Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Globutron]

[brakattack]

When it comes to acne everyone is different and one thing that might have worked for you will likely not work for the next Joe Shmoe. So while I don't feel comfortable giving my suggestions on what to do to someone else I do feel very confident in giving a recommendation to see a dermatologist.

They are trained doctors who know way more about acne treatment than 99.99% of people on the internet do. I had an acne problem for many years and my parents unfortunately never considered sending me to the dermatologist for it. Finally after doing some research I went myself and it was one of the best decisions I've made in my life. It may take some trial and error to find what works for you but believe me they will be able to help you out in a major way. Sadly there is no miracle cure out there but given some time you likely will be able to get things back under control and looking like everyone else again.

The flip side to that is I don't know what derms in Korea are like since I arrived not too long ago. I will need to visit one soon since my prescriptions are running out so if anyone knows of any good dermatologists in or near Anyang in Gyeonggi-do that would be fantastic.

[AsiaESLbound]

I notice I'm getting the occasional acne infection near my mouth or nose once every 2 weeks. I haven't had acne in 20 years. The difference now is they are not on the surface as pimples like when I was a teen, but deep in my mouth and face tissue though still making a red bump on the surface. Good thing the sore ones only come one at a time and only once or twice a month.

[DorkothyParker]

Just an update: I stopped using my facial moisturizer and my skin has mostly cleared up. I think it was just too heavy with my BB cream.

[ktkates87]

I used to have the same problem. I was always looking for this that and the next solution that had more chemicals and crap to fix it, thinking I needed something to "kill" the acne. Lol. Anyway, I ended up trying some hypo-allergenic stuff or products that have less chemicals and fragrances and have found my skin has been in a lot better shape. I think products with all the salysic (sp?) acid were really aggravating my skin. I did go on birth control which helped, but then I've been off it for a while and haven't had any problems really at all. My husband had acne pretty bad and did the whole accutane thing and it worked amazing. He has better skin than I do now and he never went crazy or anything despite the rumours.

My favourite products:

Lush: The "Fresh Pharmacy" is really great, as is "angels on bare skin." Mega expensive though.

Clinique: This is what I like best. I use the face wash and toner, and then use a different mositurizer.

Dior rinse-off cleansing foam: I thought i'd stock up on clinique at the airport so I didnt get any before leaving for Korea. Got to Chicago airport (had a connecting flight from toronto-- where I usually stock up) and found there was zero clinique. I ended up paying like 30$ for the dior but it works awesome and I think the bottle may last the whole year. You need like the tip of a pin's worth and it foams right up and smells really nice and fresh. My skin's been really great in Korea so far and I was pretty sure with the change in climate and everything it would be different.

[ATM SPIDERTAO]

some people just have problem skin... my gf has pretty pretty bad skin... compared to the other girls i've dated which had nice clean healthy skin

i've also been complimented on my quality of my skin. i'm a chinese-canadian so i look pretty fuckin' korean and most people say my skin looks like a child's skin. i teach elementary so i look at the skin of my students and i must say, theirs is like 100X better than mine, so i dunno wtf the older folks are saying, my skin is just clear but certainly not like gorgeous

anyway

what kinda pimples do you have? do they hurt? i find that once in a while, i get one that hurts and i use a 2% salicylic acne cream i bought from canada and i put it on my skin for a long time. i do this for a few times until the pimple is ready to pop. then i pop it! the skin becomes a bit red for a few days but within a week, it's completely gone

once i had a pimple like a HUUUUUGE one right in the middle of my forehead and it was there for liek a fucking month. that's when i bought my first acne face wash and i just basically kept acne cream there for like 30 minutes until i popped the zit. it got BIGGER and redder but at least it stopped hurting. and when it popped, man it like OOOZED and squirted the mirror in front of my face haha like a volcano and then same time next week, it had completely healed over

make sure you don't SCRATCH the zit off but pop the sucker. the white ooze comes out of the pore which may enlarge but it'll return to its normal size soon afterwards.

i've had a few zits that were red and you couldn't pop it cuz either it was too deep down or there wasn't enough crap under the skin to pop and they disappeared after a while but they aren't as fun as the poppers!

[dory]

post your daily food intake so we can see what you're eating.
post what you use to wash.
post where exactly you have the most acne.

[JulieAnne81]

I completely understand what you're dealing with. I was 21 when I started getting pimples, and now I'm 29. It's starting to get ridiculous. I've tried almost everything on the market and nothing seems to work.

My skin's never completely clear, but since coming back to Korea 2 weeks ago, it's gotten really bad. I don't feel particularly stressed, so I'm thinking it has more to do with the climate change/pollution than anything else. While I'm sure it will settle eventually I know I'll still get new pimples consistently. I'm starting to think Accutane might be the best option for me. I know people who've used it and the results were amazing.

Would any doctor at a general clinic prescribe it? Or should I see a dermatologist? If so, can anyone recommend a dermatologist in Suwon? Anywhere in Suwon works for me, but near Suwon Station would be ideal.