Teenage DD skin

[musicteacheriz]

My DD (16) is having a hard time with spots at the moment. Today her face has broken out in huge painful spots, she says it hurts to move her face She stopped wearing foundation about 2 months ago and it helped a bit but now she's more self conscious about her skin on bad days.
She hasn't tried anything new to trigger it and she cleanses her face every night with an M&S face wash and moisturises with aveeno. We've tried topical lotions (freederm etc) would a visit to doctor/ pharmacist be beneficial??

[Freddorika]

Gp. In the meantime try the clearsil advantage cleansers

Aveeno sounds too rich for acne imo

Dd took accutane at 15 it was a miracle

[Groovee]

I took Dd to the dr and got a great cream for her.

[musicteacheriz]

Free what would you recommend? We tried other moisturisers but her skin went flaky due to not enough moisture

[Freddorika]

A light oil free moisturiser. That won't clog her pores

[Freddorika]

Dd loves eucerin dermopurifyer bit it's quite expensive

[Cassimin]

My son and daughter took roaccutane. It was fabulous.
They both attended the dr for nearly 2 years before they were referred to dermatologist to get it. In this time they were prescribed various pills and creams, some worked for a bit but the acne returned.
Within 2 months of taking roaccutane their skin was clear. Over 18 months later they get the odd pimple but nothing like it was before.
They both had very little in the way of side effects (dry lips, slight pains in legs)
It was a pain as they had to go for regular blood tests and my daughter had to have a pregnancy test the day before she got her prescription.
All worth it in the long run as they were acne free by the time they were 17.

[UnexplainedOnHerCollar]

Definitely GP, I have Duac cream on prescription and it really works - if this is successful she can avoid the accutane. (Though accutane is worth it if necessary - my friend had it and it stopped the spots for good.)

I think with moisturisers etc it's a case of finding what works for the individual. I like the garnier Pure Active one and I use a superdrug anti-spot gel under that.

Also OP can I say I wish I'd had a mum who helped like you, acne made my life hell as a teen.

[UnexplainedOnHerCollar]

BTW I did not put that superdrug link in... it did it automatically! Scary...

[TheGirlWithTheArabStrap]

Have a look at acne.org . It really helped me. One of the things it talks about is how the strong creams that you need to zap the spots cause skin dryness. So it suggests using a non-pore clogging oil like jojoba to mix with a light moisturizer to reduce the flakyness. It made a big difference to me. Hope your DD feels better soon.

[musicteacheriz]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Think I will try the pharmacist before the doctor as doctor appointments are like gold dust here! (Where aren't they?!) we've just counted and she has 34 spots on her face at the moment (oh the fun things you do on a Saturday night 😂)

[Poppins2016]

Yes. Definitely take DD to the GP.

I had severe acne as a teenager and still have spot prone skin, however I took a course of roaccutane in my twenties which cleared up most of the acne.
Other things that helped were the pill (Dianette) as my acne is worsened by hormones (I can track my cycle by looking at my face!) and keeping my diet as dairy free as possible. Antibiotics helped a little.

I have oily, yet dry/sensitive skin. The best routine for me is:

1. Wash face with water and any 'sensitive skin' face wash, twice a day.
   
   
2. Exfoliate in the shower, including neck, shoulders, back and chest.
   I currently like Boots Botanics (www.boots.com/botanics-all-bright-purifying-face-scrub-75ml-10139911) as their scrub doesn't use plastic microbeads and is therefore better for the environment.
   
   
3. After face wash/shower, moisturise using Simple oil balancing moisturiser (www.boots.com/simple-clear-skin-oil-balancing-moisturiser-75ml-10020479). Sometimes this is a little drying, so I top up with some hydrating moisturiser from the same range.
   
   Revlon foundation for oily/combination skin covers well and doesn't seem to cause flare ups (www.boots.com/revlon-colorstay-makeup-for-combination-oily-skin-10212689).
   
   A friend has similar skin and swears by La Roche-Posay products, however I can't justify the expense!
   
   One final tip... Beware of 'teenage' products marketed for spot prone skin, especially if DD struggles with flakiness. I used to find they stripped my skin of any oil/moisture and sent it into overdrive (producing more sebum, which blocks pores), causing further breakouts and awful redness/flakiness.

[Cassimin]

I would suggest that you just make an appointment and wait.
My partner told us to wait as 'everyone gets spots' but I decided to take them. By the time we had tried all the pills and creams the dr prescribed it was well over a year.
Your DD may be going through this unnecessarily.
With my children I wanted it all sorted out before they were 18 and their social lives really kicked in. I would have hated for them to be suffering emotionally if it could have been sorted out.
My daughters memory of her prom is of sitting infront of the mirror with a beautiful dress on, lovely hair and tons of make up on trying to cover her spots, crying

[Poppins2016]

P.S. Duac is pretty god stuff, however it will bleach clothes. Don't let your daughter do as I did and forget... I ruined pyjamas and a new Laura Ashley duvet set and I'm still gutted to this day!

[Poppins2016]

*good!

[Cassimin]

Oh yes I remember the duac.
We went through loads of towels!

[DancesWithPenguins]

Hi music, I used to suffer with terrible acne, massive, painful, embarrassing oily spots.

Two things helped, stopping using aggressive cleansers, I think stripping the natural oil from the face makes the skin produce even more and makes things worse! I literally only use water now.

Second thing is a vegan diet.. it has worked amazing for me, I have actually had comments on having such clear skin now (I never wear make up) which would never have happened before. Animal protein and dairy especially do weird things to our bodies..

This is an interesting video worth a watch. Best of luck.

[loinnir]

GP is the way to go and that can still take a lot of time. GP prescribed son Epiduo (which irritated his skin but really helps some kids depending on type of acne) and then a few months later Lymecycline which helped a bit. After 6 months GP said we were now "allowed" to be referred to dermatologist - took 4 months to get to top of list for an appointment. Saw the dermatologist 2 weeks ago -now have some different moisturiser/cleanser called Dermol 500 which is helping and a short course of a different antibiotic added to the Lymecycline which really helped - almost cleared his skin -but was only for a week and now his skin is getting worse again - what do I do - go to GP? Dermatologist told us to make appointment to be seen again in 6 weeks to discuss Roccutane again but the nearest appointment receptionist had is 4 months away! In the meantime my son's skin is getting worse again and there is a bad risk of scarring (dermatologist thinks he already has some). Wish I had pushed for referral sooner - thinking of selling some stuff to go private.

[Cassimin]

Our son was the same, roaccutane worked for him.
When I took our daughter the dermatologist waiting list was nearly a year. She was referred to a neighbouring hospital trust. It was a pain doing all the travelling but she had treatment and face was clear before she would have been seen in our local hospital.

[DramaAlpaca]

A course of antibiotics together with a prescription topical cream worked wonders for my son's acne, his skin was completely clear within a few weeks and the spots never came back. I'd strongly recommend a visit to the GP.

[LexieLulu]

Doctors for medication and for foundation Vichy dermablend (can get on feel unique) or Clinique anti blemish.

I know not wearing foundation helps, but I wouldn't want to be without, especially at that age for self consciousness

[tobecontinued2000]

I agree wth taking your daughter to the GP.

I have acne (I'm in my 30s) and the only thing that works for me is lush angels on bare skin. It's all natural and it moisturises without clogging pores. It could be an option for her while she waits for her Drs appointment.

When at the GP, ask for a referral to dermatology.

[UnexplainedOnHerCollar]

Also re the diet thing below, I know diet definitely does help some people, but others not. I've tried everything diet-wise and it makes no difference. Stress and sleep do make a difference, but not what I eat. I suppose I would just be wary with a teenager of trying special diets, at least until you've tried the medical route, because that's a lot of extra pressure and teenage girls especially really need the right nutrients. She could end up very tired if she switches to a vegan diet at this point (though I'm not dissing it generally).

[Freddorika]

Dd1 ended up with an eating issue after EVERYONE had advice about diet to help her skin. She wouldn't let anyone outside the house see her eat anything dairy, sugary and fatty. In case they thought she was causing it herself through what she was eating.

I do actually think sugar isn't helpful, an iron supplement is good and drinking water helps. Now dds skin is pretty clear, we notice if she eats loads of crap she gets a few spots, ditto stress and rest. Before the accutane nothing made a difference.

[JustDanceAddict]

Take her to go. My DD started with bad spots, mostly on her back, and I took her to the gp who prescribed a cream which was ok for a bit but then she went on antibiotics for 6 months & it made a big difference. I couldn't - and wouldn't - want to control her diet. She eats reasonably well for a teen and it's hormonal anyway.

[Applepieandcheese]

My DS (15) was suffering from quite bad breakouts. He now uses Cetaphil cleanser and moisturiser (Boots) which is very mild and benzoyl peroxide cream (pharmacy). This combination has worked for him. I would change her cleansing routine to something very mild and see the GP (especially as her spots are hurting).