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I feel you, I'be had very angry acne all my life, and benzoyl peroxide is way too harsh for my skin. Going for regular facials has helped but that can be cost-prohibitive. I found this fantastic face mask for cystic acne around my skin, I use it twice a week after a hot shower when my pores are nice and wide. It has worked much more quickly than what a dermatologist prescribed, and for much cheaper!

Also, drinking more water has made a noticeable difference. It doesn't clear away acne but it does rehydrate your skin and make your skin glow.

There's an all natural line of skincare through Mary Kay called botanicals. I use that. I have the exact same problem as you and it's helped me immensely! I don't break out and it's not super heavy nor does it dry you out.

Dermalogica adult acne line. And i use the origins 10 minutes rescue mask every few days & Drink lots of water! I have the same issue with hormonal acne and these 3 things have really helped. And if you can get a Clarisonic or something similar off of amazon! Hope this helps

I set up appointments for facials at 6 weeks apart to have 3 done before the wedding. After the first one I noticed such a difference. They would also be able to recommend products tailored to your skin.

Dermalogica products. I use ultra calming because I have eczema but they have a breakout line

I know a couple girls who use Franklin & Whitman and absolutely swear by it!! I have yet to try it, and it's a little pricey, but everything I've heard about it is nothing but good!

Whole Foods has charcoal soap bars for $1. I would use that daily at least.

The creators of proactiv have a new skin care line, Rodan & Fields, and their acne regimen is sulfer-based. Many people respond better to that. They also have a "soothe" line, which many people with acne use with good results. If you are on facebook, odds are you have a friend or relative who sells it. I am telling you, it is worth every penny.

I’ve been oil cleansing for 4 years now. It’s great and easy and I always get compliments on my skin.

I deal with the same troubles...

Some things that have helped include: increasing water intake, taking makeup off before bed & mint facial mask twice a week.

HATE Proactiv! And all products all the dermatologists I saw in my teens and 20s prescribed to me. The amount of money I spent of prescriptions that made my acne worse just kills me.

Anyway, I am currently using lots, so here goes: I'm using Ole Henriksen's find your balance oil control cleanser and balancing force oil control toner and LOVE them. I also LOVE Fresh's lotus youth preserve face cream for my nighttime moisturizer. My daytime moisturizer is Murad's oil-control mattifier SPF 15 PA++. I have always struggled to find a good daytime moisturizer with SPF, but this one does the trick. Now for the more natural products (vitamins): I also take the Ritual Essential for Women vitamin and I swear I have better skin and more energy because of this vitamin (and I was a HUGE skeptic at first). I also drink apple cider vinegar diluted in water every morning, which I think helps keep my skin clear. And I also take some products from Hum Nutrition: their probiotic Gut Instinct (because beauty starts from within and a good gut means good skin), their Daily Cleanse (totally helps keep me regular, but I only take 1 pill a day instead of 2), and their Raw Beauty superfood powder (either in a smoothie and mixed in with some almond milk).

Haha! I take a lot of stuff! For about three months, I switched out my nighttime moisturizer with raw organic coconut oil. It seemed to really help clear my skin (literally no pimples for two months! unheard of with my skin!), but then I read that people with acne prone skin shouldn't put it directly on their faces because it could clog pores. I also started noticing red bumps (I think it was the start of Rosacea) on my cheeks that were never there before, so I stopped. If you want to try coconut oil, use with caution and you might be better off just cooking with it or putting it in smoothies.

Please don't forget what works for some women may not work for you, even if you all have similar skin. I too get hormonal and stress related acne and tried so many products over the years that women swore by, but they just killed my skin. Sorry the Proactiv is no longer working for you. It's so hard when you find a product you love and then they change it on you. Happens to me with SPF moisturizers all the time.

Good luck and congrats on the upcoming wedding!!

I have curology! It's a prescription topical cream. You take pictures of your face and your skin goals and concerns. It works great for me!

Juice Beauty has 100% saved my skin. I don't necessarily have sensitive skin but i do use their sensitive skin products. I too breakout due to hormones and stress. that along with drinking A TON of water daily has helped me and I've never had skin this clear.

I have seborrheic dermatitis, which is a condition that causes red sometimes rashy skin that can flake off to the point of bleeding. On top of that I also have oily skin and am guaranteed a breakout around my period. So I feel ya! Having said that...

You just have to try, try, and try again because what works for one person may not work for another. I have a couple go to products I use. But I would work on the low stress stuff that isn't skin care related. Like essential oils that help with stress relief. We all know this is such an intense stressful time of life, so that should be a big focus.

For my skin I use CeraVe for a face wash. It does a great job of getting the make-up build up off my skin without drying me out or adding to the oil. It is a great balance. For lotion, I use a mix of Aveeno Eczema Therapy (for dry days) and then Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré for every day use. It doesn't add extra oil or buildup and calms my skin.

While these products are not specifically for acne, if it is stress related acne, they could be helpful for your skin.

I have been using proactive for 4 years and it has always worked really well for me. Sorry to hear that you got a chemical burn from it, my Fiance can't use it either because it gives him a chemical burn when he uses it.

I would really recommend going to see a dermatologist in this case and getting something of prescription strength.

For acne, my go to has been Mario Badescu buffering lotion. https://www.ulta.com/buffering-lotion?productId=xlsImpprod6200677&sku=2209805

I like sone of the other products in that line too.

I have the same problem, I use the murad skin products and vitamins.

Proactive didn’t work for me either. I had/have??? cystic, hormonal acne. I stopped eating and drinking so much dairy products and that helped significantly. The cysts are definitely triggered by that. And before I started going to a med spa for chemical peels (I actually just got one a couple hours ago lol) I was using The Body Shops tea tree line. It worked veryyyyy well.

I use St. Ives Pear face wash. It works really good.
I've tried a lot of face cleansers and a lot of them either didn't work at all or only worked a few times. I've been using this one for a few years and it consistently works.
It isn't specifically used for acne but it has helped me a lot through my stress break outs.

I’ve dealt with the same issues and I have finally gotten my stress and hormonal (I stopped my pill = face nightmare!!) acne under control!

My tips:
Drink at least a gallon of water a day, be mindful of the food you’re eating, if you can afford chemical peels I would highly reccomend getting those weekly. Also keep your skincare simple and nourishing. My reccomendations are dermalogica which is a little pricey or derma-e which is a little more cost friendly. Also I’m amazed at how much my skin has improved since adding in drunk elephants glycolic night serum. It’s AMAZING! Worth every penny!

Also adding in vitamins and supplements can help immensely. So all the ones I would recommend taking if you don’t already are: probiotic, vitex, zinc, fish oil, evening primrose oil, and a multivitamin!