However, I'm glad to report that my acne days are over for the most part. This is due to past treatments and ongoing skin regimens that I still adhere to today.

Well, I am here to tell you my story, what worked, what didn't, and let you know that there are many of us out there battling acne.

Just remember that we all have different skin types, tones, etc. that will play an important role in your skin care treatments, but it's always nice to read when something actually works and doesn't before spending gobs of money on stuff just to play guinea pig.

I was plagued from the get go. My parents both had acne and I was destined to inherit this problem. What I thought was something I could control was a dream that didn't come true. As soon as I realized that this problem wouldn't just go away I started trying different over the counter remedies.

Unfortunately my skin was very oily and the over the counter soaps, creams, and washes really dried me up. Oftentimes this would make my acne worse as it tightened and dried up my skin so badly that the little red bumps that would become my worst enemy would flare up worse.

Around the time I learned to drive, I began breaking out tremendously bad on my back and shoulders. Now I was pretty self-conscious about my face (which some days were ok and others not so good), but now I couldn't even take off my shirt and show off my manly pecs (just kidding) more like man breasts and flabby arms).

The hit you take on your confidence is probably the worst part of all. And all I would continue to hear growing up is oh you'll get through it, it will go away, etc. My parents didn't realize the affect this has on a young man.

My senior year in high school, I began tanning. Surprisingly this worked quite well. Now it didn't clear up my skin completely, but did make a tremendous difference.

Of course I couldn't use any lotions or oily products to protect my skin (I would now recommend protecting from rays of sun and light due to cancers and other skin issues).

Not to bore you as this problem will persist for another few years. Finally, entering my junior year of college and no end in sight I was fed up with living with acne. I needed a treatment now!!

I looked up a dermatologist, found out insurance covers it (my parents told me it didn't), and made an appointment. At this point, I had been utilizing proactive as it had recently came out as a 3-step system to fight acne. It was working quite well, but I needed something for my back as well as fully treating my face.

Throughout the years I had tried Retin-A, Differin, and other treatments, but they all had no affect on my skin. Many times they had made it worse. I was so desperate that I took part in a study to test a new product. I would try anything to get rid of this crap.

As I explained all this to the Doctor, he was tempted to try me on Accutane. He explained the risks, side effects, and how the treatment works. It was a long few months process to attack the skin inside and out.

He also explained the types of acne I had and they differed on my back and face. I had cystic acne on my back which caused scarring. Luckily I did not have that on my face.

Anyhow, due to the redness, dry skin, and continual break outs during this time, I tried to combine proactiv solution with the accutane.

This worked wonders. It added the moisture my skin needed and treated it on top while the accutane worked from the inside out.

We worked hard on this as the Doctor had me up the highest dosage I could take at my body weight. Over the 6-month period, my skin finally cleared up and the acne was more or less controlled. I still had occasional breakouts, but they certainly weren't anything I worried about any longer.

To this day I still use proactiv solution and have added some of their additional products like the moisturizers and more. I stick with what works for me.

I have also added water filtration in my home that improved my entire skin and body by 100 percent. On top of that, my skin regimen, healthy eating and exercise, I am proud to say that my acne days are behind me!!