DR. WALLACE: I'm having a terrible time with acne and I've tried talking to my parents and many of my close friends at my school. I'm hearing a lot of conflicting advice and conflicting issues when it comes to dealing with this problem.

I'm trying desperately to save up money to see a dermatologist as soon as possible. I know from reading your previous columns that you always recommend this as a first step. — Dealing With Acne, via email

DEALING WITH ACNE: You are absolutely doing the right thing to go to a licensed dermatologist as soon as possible. If you haven't saved up enough money yet, see if your parents or any of your aunts or uncles or grandparents might provide you a small loan so that you can get to a dermatologist as soon as possible. Then, do some babysitting, some chores for your neighbors or any other possible way to do some part-time work to pay these relatives back as soon as possible.

Trust me, seeing a dermatologist directly will be the best way to cut through all of the noise and get the direct facts and suggestions for your particular individual treatment plan.

To give you some reading material for now, I'll include here my tried-and-true list of acne myths:

The myth: Acne will always go away — eventually.

The fact: Some pimples leave scars, especially hormonal cysts. If your acne was serious enough to leave a scar in the past, seek professional help from a dermatologist.

The myth: When you start a new acne treatment, your skin has to get worse before it gets better.

The fact: If your treatment causes redness, that is normal, but it's not required to have irritation in order to get positive effects.

The myth: The black in a blackhead is just plain dirt.

The fact: The black is oxidized oil and it has darkened with exposure to air.

The myth: Women with oily skin should avoid products with oil.

The fact: Oil isn't bad. We need the oil in products to give skin a healthy glow.

MY PARENTS MAKE SNIDE COMMENTS TO ME

DR. WALLACE: How do I get my parents to accept me for being overweight? I've done everything I can to adjust my diet to healthier foods and I'm also taking up an exercise program.

But despite the changes I've been making, I've only seen marginal progress. Worst of all, I still receive a lot of snide comments from both of my parents, especially my mother. What can I do at this point? — Trying My Best, via email

TRYING MY BEST: I'm very sorry to hear this, and can tell you that your parents, of all people, should provide you with support and encouragement at this time. It's admirable that you are studying your diet and making changes to eat in a healthier manner, and you're absolutely doing the right thing sticking to an exercise program at the same time.

I suggest you seek out some other adults, perhaps even a high school counselor or member of the nursing staff, and explain what you were doing. Seek out their encouragement, and I trust one or more of these adults will tell you honestly that you're doing the right thing and taking the best steps you can at this point in your life to keep your weight under control and to be as healthy as possible.

From there, the next time one of your parents makes a comment, you can mention that you spoke to these other adults who provided you with honest, encouraging comments. Pause for a few seconds and let that sink in, and then look your parents directly in the eyes and ask them to give you a little encouragement here and there because it would mean a lot to you. Hopefully this could be the start of them interacting with you in a more compassionate and realistic manner on this topic.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Christian Mackie at Unsplash