Acne - insecure and don’t know what to do

[Mysticaltay]

So the past year I have really struggled with me skin. I’m in my late 20s and put it down to hormones however my hormones have all settled down, blood tests showed everything completely normal etc.

dont get me wrong, my skin is not extremely bad. I see some women with cystic acne all over their cheeks and face that go on accutane and mine is not on that level. I was on accutane as a teenager as it was very bad, it worked amazingly but I still have some acne scarring/texture on my forehead.

there is not a single day that I don’t come up with a new spot. Usually only around my chin but has spread onto my cheeks now. They’re usually large lumps full of puss. Once eventually popped/gone I’m left with red pigmentation which has caused red marks all over my cheeks.

I have tried absolutely every skincare routine, gp prescribed multiple different antibiotics, I’ve tried benzoyl peroxide and differin and everything recommended by dermatologists but my skin is not getting any better. I completely stopped everything and now only wash my face morning and night, moisturise and apply Vaseline at night (as my skin became very dry). I also cut out sugar for 3 weeks and that in conjunction with the Vaseline seemed to do wonders. I didn’t have an active spot for 2/3 weeks. Last week I ate some chocolate/sweets and now I am paying for it! I assume it is from the sugar anyway.

im feeling so insecure and down about it. Today my skin just looks horrible and honestly I just want to have clear smooth skin and I’d be so happy! After showering this evening my dp literally analysed my skin and said ‘this looks terrible’ was his exact words. Along with telling me exactly how he thinks my skincare routine should be, what he ‘believes’ I’m doing wrong etc etc. he honestly doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about but I just burst into tears because I’m now so insecure and really didn’t want him to even look at me. I just want to feel pretty and for him to look at me and tell me I’m beautiful not that my skin is terrible.

I contacted the gp who said my skin situation is suitable for accutane again and referred me to dermatology. However I waited 4 months and the appointment was rescheduled. It has now been rescheduled 3 times and I still need to wait another 3 months… let’s not forget that treatment takes a few months to work anyway.

im really tired of waiting, it’s really bothering me and the acne hurts when it appears. I don’t want to wait months more but equally I can’t afford to go to a dermatologist privately. I also didn’t want to rely on medication as clearly there’s something going on in the inside but I have a clean diet and drink specific smoothies that are good for the skin everyday and nothings working. Even when I didn’t have a spot for 2/3 weeks I still had the red marks over my cheeks that looked horrible.

does anyone have any advice?

Solidarity. I am 36 and my skin is awful and I try everything. I've had bad acne for the last 15 years.

Can I just say though your DP was so out of line and it isn't ok for him to say stuff like that.

I’m so sorry if you’ve already tried it and feel free to ignore me, but have you tried cutting our dairy?

It transformed my skin.

I had awful acne for years and antibiotics did nothing for it. I later found out it was fungal acne. Stopped using products that feed the fungus (Google it, sadly they are in most products) and used ketoconazole on my skin and it was completely clear for the first time ever. Used bar of sulphur soap to wash with and a gentle moisturiser.

Just had to go on a course of antibiotics for a separate reason and after 10 years of clear skin the fungal acne has returned! It's slowly going away with ketoconazole again but so annoying, sore and itchy.

I o ow you say you've tried everything but may be helpful to list what you have used.

My skin sounds like yours, my changing experience was using a combination of cerave wash with salycilic acid, niacinamide serum and adding in a retinol toner alternate days. Once or twice a week I use a bha toner. I use hyaluronic acid as a moisturiser once or twice a week ( I have combination skin so doesn't need a lot of moisture) .
Has smoothed and cleared my skin within weeks of use, 2years in and I will not go back to all the harsh products I used. I used to scrub my face silly with grainy "clearing" scrubs but don't need to with the products I used now.

All products I use available in Superdrug or boots and pretty inexpensive in comparison to what I was spending on lots of products that weren't working.

Thanks all.

I have used 2 different antibiotics from the gp - can’t remember the exact names atm but neither worked. Also used the duac gel which didn’t work.

I’ve tried different routines including salicylic acid toner, niamcinimide, salicylic acid cerave face wash, cerave moisturiser, most of the ‘ordinary’ products and so much more.

I went on an online dermatology plan which gave me tretinoin which didn’t work at all (waited a year with no results!) and they changed up my prescription to different retinoids but still nothing worked (actually made my skin so much worse).

that’s when I decided to cut right back and be completely simple. I usually have a very oily nose area, I get a ridiculous amount of blackheads/subaceous filaments but no matter what I do (including salicylic acid) nothing helps that.

now cutting out of the sugar for 3 weeks and having no new spot appear in those 3 weeks made me think maybe it’s the sugar? I can’t say 100% though as this may just be coincidence? But I’m going to cut it out again and see what happens.

I haven’t tried cutting out dairy but in all honestly I don’t drink any milk products, don’t eat any cheese at all. The only dairy product I eat would be yoghurt however I doubt that would be causing this?

yes dp really hurt my feelings. It makes me feel so ugly and I just want to sort it out now! I’m considering paying the £250+ consultation fee for a private dermatologist and then hopefully they will prescribe the acutane for me?

Thanks for this! Had a look into it and I don’t think mine is fungal.

it’s only my chin area mainly and now my cheeks that get the acne. The chin comes up in large boil looking bumps with lots of puss inside. It sounds more like hormonal acne but I’m really not sure!

although I will look into the sulphur soap as I have heard about that too

Roaccutane- it will solve your problem once and for all. You name it I tried it and the only thing that worked and as kept my skin clear for years is roaccutane. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Honestly I had acne since early twenties. Dianette was wonderful for me but when I turned 37 they stopped prescribing it and then my skin was horrible. Tried all sorts including antibiotics and I was on the verge of roaccutane but started taking 200mg dim supplements and my skin completely cleared over night from quite severe cystic acne all around my chin, neck and cheeks. Miracle for me

This is what I’m hoping the dermatologist will prescribe me! I was on it as a teen and it worked amazing but my side effects were extreme dry skin to the point my lips were like raw meat and I went weeks without needing to wash my hair!

what were your side effects like? I’m scared for the extreme dryness again

Thank you!

I have heard about dim before but now you’ve mentioned it I’m definitely going to try it out!

Best things I’ve used - get a LED mask use red and blue light
boots do a one percent retinol (I get retinol burn but worth it for a few days to get a couple of weeks decent skin)
microneedling is brilliant (do it yourself if it works but dr pen).
charcoal facials help a little but pricey for what they are.

@Mysticaltay i went on a low dose regime in my early 40s.10mg a day for a while then I only only took about 20-40mg a week for about 2 years. I could have stayed on it because it was such a low dose that the dermatologist wasn’t at all concerned about long term affects. I stopped taking it about 5 years ago and it as completely solved the problem. I had no side affects at all, barely had dry lips. My blood tests were fine and the only thing I had to be careful of was sun protection. Ask your doctor if it’s an option for you? I would have taken it conventionally ie larger dose over a smaller time frame if required. Anything is better than bloody acne! It’s miserable 😩

@Mysticaltay forgot to say the dermatologist I saw said anything other than roaccutane is a waste of time for cystic acne. Antibiotics works for a while but all other treatments cannot get deep enough into the skin to make a difference, in fact they irritate the skins barrier making it more likely you will get cystic spots.

If you know cutting out sugar made such a difference then why are you not pursuing that? Sugar is incredibly bad for the body anyway.

For years I tried cutting out various foods / ingredients before I finally realised it was cheese!!! I love cheese but finally got to the point where I love clear skin more.

When I say sugar I particularly mean chocolate.

I love chocolate it’s my only weakness with food so cutting it out for 3 weeks was hard but worth it! I decided to let myself have a treat for Halloween with the dc and had some chocolate but I guess I’m paying the price!

im cutting it out again starting now to see if it makes a difference again. I’m only assuming it was the sugar that made a difference but I’m not 100%

If you can afford to see a private dermatologist I would look into that, they may be able to transfer you to their NHS list after the initial consultation

But honestly, your DP sounds absolutely awful. Why would he do that to you? I've never had great skin (acne, rosacea, sebhoric dermatitis etc etc) and my DH never mentions it at all except if I've scratched a spot and it's bleeding or something. He'd never say it looks awful (even when it honestly has). Your DP sounds nasty.

Another adult acne sufferer here.

A GP once told me that all acne is hormonal. Skincare routines/ food elimination have very little impact on most acne.

I finally believed this advice when I got pregnant- after years of bad skin, I had skin as smooth as glass when I was pregnant. Both times. Obviously it was the impact of the different hormones. Acne back once the baby was out!

HOWEVER... one thing I cannot recommend enough is cleaning your make up brushes regularly (at least once a week). Since I started doing this, I get far less big, angry, pussy spots. I alway wear make up to cover the bad skin, but obviously this spreads the bacteria... have learned not be lazy with keeping my brushes clean now, because it really makes a difference to the number of spots for me.

Duac cream (prescription needed) is also really good for keeping the acne at bay. It doesn't cure it, but helps reduce it.

I’ve had acne all my life. It was particularly bad in my 30s.

I have tried lots of things over the years and I now just wash my face morning and evening with warm water that has pink salt dissolved into it. It has balanced out my oily skin for the first time in my adult life. My skin isn’t flaky, oily, dry or sore.

I have stopped wearing any sort of foundation as it almost always triggers a break out.

Sugar and dairy trigger break outs too so I try my best to keep my blood sugar even and eat very little dairy.

My husband suffers from terrible body acne and he was prescribed Doxycline and Erythmycin and it didnt work for him.

The only thing that seemed to work and reduce the acne by 80% was a body wash called Tea Tree Oil Body Wash which is about £15 and sold in The Body Shop.

I believe they do a facial one too.

Best of luck!