ADULT ACNE - help!!

[Rose2006]

Hi,
Desperately hoping for some good advice.
I'm mid thirties, and since having my children my skin has never settled. I suffered from acne as a teenager, in my twenties I was prescribed dianette contraception which was a miracle pill for my skin! When I got married I stopped hormonal contraceptives and everything was ok, even after my firstborn. After my last child my skin got worse, and now 4 years laters it's the worst it's been since I was a teenager. The gp prescribed me tetracycline (the first time it sort of worked) it hasn't had an effect this time round. I feel like it's got so bad I don't want to go outside! I don't want to go back to contraceptives as I don't need to take it anymore, but I don't know there is an alternative. He also recommended sacylic acid as a spot on. I currently use eucerin face wash, witch hazel or clearasil spot on and oil free moisturiser. I use bare minerals make up, and prefer light make up for work rather than heavy foundation.

I'm convinced the acne is hormonal. Does anyone have similar experiences? What medication do you use? What products do you use? What works for you?

Literally any advice appreciated!!!
Thanks

[iamreginaphalange]

Hi
Same problem here.... literally tried everything even contemplated roacutane... I am now pregnant and I have to say it's settled now, still get breakouts but not anywhere near what it used to be... i used to get horrible cystic pimples that never seemed to clear.... they're were worst around my periods.. hormones!

anyway have you looked At your diet?
What do you eat on day to day basis? Do you drink enough water? Look into alkaline diet too.


I really do believe it's a lot to do with food.

[mycavitiesareempty]

Exactly same issue here, totally hormonal, been through the full gamut of antibiotics, topical treatments, bloody everything..

And then last year if found my holy grail. 12% glycolic acid face cream applied at least twice a day, 3 times if poss. Amazing results.

I get mine off amazon, think it comes from the US. I'may always wary of naming brands as conscious I might sound like a peddler of woo but hey ho, it's Alpha skincare enhanced revitalising cream 12% aha. Bloody brilliant stuff. Advertised as for normal to dry skin but mine is very greasy and it does a great job.

Just looked for it on amazon and it's out of stock. I stockpile it when it'should available.

I buy almost no other beauty products but this is my essential.

[Rose2006]

I have started to look at my diet more recently. I'm vegetarian, but my diet is carb heavy, and I have a sweet tooth. I'm tying to cut down on sugar and dairy. So I'll see how it goes. Just feel at the end of tether with it.

Thanks for the face cream recommendation, I'll defo look it up. I'm always a bit wary of sourcing creams and tablets from amazon, cos you're never sure what you're getting. But at this point I'll try anything!

[smellsofelderberries]

My acne is hormonal. Huge boil type pimples that are painful and can last for weeks. Purely by accident I discovered that taking 500-1000mgs of vitamin C daily gives me AMAZING skin. I'm 5 months PP right now and my acne had started coming back. If I drop back to 500mg and have a sore spot coming up, I take an extra dose of 500mg and it's calmed down by the morning. I generally take one in the AM, one in the PM. Might now work for you but worth the £5 or whatever the high-dose Vit C tablets from Boots cost?

[mycavitiesareempty]

Personally I don't believe diet has any impact on acne unless you are suffering from malnutrition or iron deficiency anaemia.

[ForeverHopeful21]

Hope no ones minds me jumping in on this thread. I'm a beauty therapist and have struggled with acne in the past.

Diet can most definitely impact a persons skin, especially as what you eat can trigger hormonal fluctuations. Also, on a seperate note, many people have mind allergies to certain food types which may only present as a small reaction ...one of which would be their skin. This can be anything from eczema to spots etc.

One of the best treatments I've found for acne is Microdermabrasion. Obviously this doesn't change your skin type ...so if you have oily / spot prone skin, this treatment won't change that but it can significantly decrease outbreaks. I've had some great results with microderm.
I also prefer to use natural facial products for oily skin. I have used the stuff prescribed by the GP and it did nothing for me! Where as I found that organic or natural / aromatherapy based products with better ingredients really helped over time (can take up to 3 months to have any impact). One of the worst things people with acne can do is try to completely dry out their skin. The skin is a very clever organ - if it feels that it is being dried out, it can overcompensate with the amount of sebum it produces, making the skin even more oily and therefore more prone to spots. Vicious cycle.

Sorry, I've started to ramble. Skin care is a passion and fascination of mine, so apologies if I've babbled on. xx

[Polarbearflavour]

The only thing that works for me is Skinoren cream on prescription!

[Kikikaakaa]

I just posted about mine. It's made my whole adult life miserable. I wish I could afford laser treatment

[Kikikaakaa]

I'm going to glycolic peel my back I think. I have literally nothing to lose because it's pretty disgusting as it is, with scarring!

[Thedaffodilsarecoming]

Duac gel on prescription. Amazing stuff and doesn't even dry your skin out. I used to get loads of little spots but used it everyday and they stopped coming. Reminds me I should probably get some more as I'm starting to get them again.

[Kikikaakaa]

Used that for years, doesn't tackle the internal problems only the external - if you are having cystic acne, all this cream does is dry out the top layer of the skin, whilst the cyst continues to grow from deep down. Duac is good for surface bacteria - so will stop pores getting clogged up, blackheads and whiteheads.
This isn't what happens with a cyst, it doesn't start on the surface as any one with cystic acne will tell you it starts very deep down, fills up and expands. I would not even be able to squeeze a lot of mine (not that I would want to) because they are so hard large and deep. You wait for them to go away. Unfortunately the scarring occurs when they damage the skin so extensively (because they are large) and frequently mine will burst of their own accord and this damages many many layers of the skin and in my case, once the 'damage' spot has been the site of a cyst it never heals well as it is prone to refilling with fluid. The fluid isn't even pus it's clear liquid and blood. In the U.K. You can't easily get a referral to a derm, in the US people use dermatology extractions/injections with cysts but it doesn't seem to work like that here

[4seasons]

I started having adult acne at about the same age as you. I tried various creams / gels etc and saw consultants at the hospital too. My " spots" weren't really spots as such , they were large , painful red lumps which never came to a head .... so no squeezing possible , even had I wanted to. They were all on my nose so very noticeable. I tried various types of covering make up but was getting very depressed about the way I looked. My GP put me on low dose oxytetracycline tablets , taken twice a day. I have been taking them for nearly 30 years now and they keep my skin totally clear. Every now and then I come off them to see if I can do without them but within about 4/ 5 weeks the painful lumps return

My daughter has had exactly the same experience. Apparently ( according to good old Dr Google ) many people take Oxytetracycline long term with no ill effects. When you start taking the pills it does take 3/4 weeks to see any difference.

[Thedaffodilsarecoming]

Kikikaakaa I was replying to OP who doesn't mention what sort of spots she's getting. I've never had the cystic type of acne so probably duac wouldn't work for that. I've only suffered the more superficial acne and it works wonders for that.

[Soozikinzii]

My husband has had rosacea for years and we have recently paid for Hifu treatment not as expensive these days it was £ 45 seemed to be working so far .Its very intense ultra sound and gets quite hot at the time of the pulses takes about 15 minutes well worth it xx

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Rose

I would try and establish the root cause of your acne; it may well be a condition called polycystic ovaries. I note that you were also prescribed Dianette; its anti androgenic qualities would have helped here no end. Again that is sometimes prescribed to women with polycystic ovaries.

[Aquamarine1029]

Too much sugar in your diet is a leading cause of acne. I think you should overhaul your diet ASAP.