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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to be fed up of my skin?!

26 replies

JackkieJ · 01/06/2014 22:08

I've had moderate acne and sensitive skin for as long as I can remember.

I am still fortunate in that the acne is not constant and that it isn't all over my face. But it does happen and during those times it's painful and annoying. :(

My biggest problem is how careful I have to be with the products I use on my face! I love make-up and I can only use very limited products because most of them make me break out. It started with MAC which made me break out into terrible acne, and ever since I have been scared to try out new products.

Whether it's moisturisers or makeup, I feel very restricted in what I can put on my face and this annoys me no end.

I guess I just wanted to moan about it here and ask you ladies if any of you have suggestions on how to deal with this problem.

OP posts:

stopgap · 01/06/2014 22:13

You need to find out why you have acne. For me, it's a hormonal imbalance, dictated by my thyroid being off, which then throws off my sex hormones. If everything is in balance, I have flawless skin. If not, major acne breakouts.

For you it could be food sensitivities, it could be product allergies, or your hormones. Get to the root of the problem before you spend a fortune (like I did over the years) on so-called miracle acne products.

And YANBU. Acne is hugely damaging to self-esteem.

Back2Two · 01/06/2014 22:16

This reply has been withdrawn

This post has been withdrawn due to privacy concerns

Original poster

JackkieJ · 01/06/2014 22:16

Well, I have symptoms of PCOD and the cysts showed up in a scan as well. Strangely the hormone tests for thyroid, insulin, testosterone etc. were all normal

OP posts:

Original poster

JackkieJ · 01/06/2014 22:18

Diet-wise, I avoid white sugar and white carbs almost entirely. I stick to wholewheat carbs and I rarely eat things like cake and chocolate.

I don't have oily and fried foods either except on occasion.

I try to eat vegetables and proteins as well. My biggest failing was not drinking enough water but I am fixing that now.

OP posts:

OhTheHugeManatee · 01/06/2014 22:20

YANBU

I have rosaeca which responds well to treatment but the treatment isn't suitable when pregnant or breastfeeding so I've been off it for over a year and will be for some time to come. I look awful.

It really affects your confidence, doesn't it?

teaandthorazine · 01/06/2014 22:27

I had absolutely shocking skin for about 8 years after ds was born. I went from perfect skin (never had spots as a teenager, even) to lumpy, flaming, bleeding acne all over my face. It was awful.

Tried everything short of roaccutane - long-term antibiotics, facials, diet etc etc. Nothing worked. Googling in desperation I found acne.org and started using benzoyl peroxide on my skin which was quite harsh at first but totally did the trick. Now I use oil cleansing with jojoba oil everyday and benzoyl peroxide gel at night (around totm only) and have really good skin again. I don't use any other products. Honestly, it was a bloody lifesaver.

Avoiding sugar does help as well, and plenty of water. But if it's really getting you down I would say give oil cleansing and benzoyl a go. You don't have to buy it off that site - I think I got mine off ebay in a job lot!

stopgap · 01/06/2014 22:31

JakkieJ, I have PCOS, too, and in all honesty, cutting out grains (Paleo diet) has helped me more than anything.

SelfRighteousPrissyPants · 01/06/2014 22:32

Mine was fine till I moved from Wales to Northumberland. I thought it was my imagination but I went back to Wales last year on holiday and it cleared up. A week or 2 later back to spotty and red. I figure it's the water. I tried washing my face in distilled water which did make it less dry but didn't get rid of the spots. Maybe I need to drink acidic water too!

Diet made no difference- mine on holiday last year was appalling

Alisvolatpropiis · 01/06/2014 22:33

Yanbu

I have problem skin which only really kicked off in my early 20's.

Really knocks my confidence sometimes.

monkeyharris · 01/06/2014 22:43

I sympathise JackkieJ as my skin is the same. I hardly had a spot as a teenager but when I hit my 20's it went downhill from there! I have recently been diagnosed with PCOS though which goes some way to explaining it. I too had normal results on the thyroid, insulin and testosterone, which I was a bit about. I haven't really found a solution yet either, I just make sure I use a face wash/gel for spot prone skin and wash my face twice a day. It has been so bad in the past that I have been prescribed an antibiotic roll-on, which did the trick. Bizarrely, I mostly just get them on my chin, which a Beauty Therapist once told me (before my PCOS diagnosis) that this is a problem area for people with ovary issues

Kundry · 01/06/2014 22:49

Mumsnet has had some Q&As with Dr Sam Bunting which changed my skin forever. I've got combination skin, ageing and acne together - nice!

Following her advice I now use Cetaphil cleanser, a BHA leave on exfoliant and an oil-free moisturiser with retinol at night (SPF30 for the day). It does limit you always picking things non-comedogenic and oil-free but at least I know the breakouts are gone.

The spots have vanished and I wish I'd known this years ago.

Blondie1984 · 01/06/2014 22:52

I have this too - I started using a cleanser called Cetaphil which a friend told me about (I get it in boots) and Bare Minerals - hasn't gotte mridangam of it completely but better than it was

CerealMom · 01/06/2014 23:01

Dec of last year my skin went into melt down. I'd been suffering on/off for years with spots but never so bad that I felt I could go to gp. However, dec/Jan I had a spectacular outbreak - face, neck and back. I self refered to a dermatologist.

I'm now on Roaccutane and a course of antibiotics. I wish I'd gone years ago. All that time and money faffing with products that didn't work.

callamia · 01/06/2014 23:03

I'm with you. I'm just looking at new foundations to cover up my simultaneously dry, red and spotty skin - almost all on my right cheek. What's that about? I have no idea what to get, probably something mineral based again, but I think I've tried everything.

I'm now wondering whether a private dermatologist would be helpful.

PhaedraIsMyName · 01/06/2014 23:05

I didn't find anything worked except tetracycline. I have a long standing private prescription where I pay for the drugs from a private gp which I use when I need it.

I was a bit worried about antibiotic resistance but it's bacteria not the patient who becomes resistant.

There is a pill (Dianette?)which helped but the effects wore off after 3 years or so.

CoffeeTea103 · 01/06/2014 23:05

I've been on roaccutane and it's a miracle treatment. After suffering with acne, it's as if I had a new layer of skin. YY to cetaphil, its the best for problem skin.

PhaedraIsMyName · 01/06/2014 23:11

CerealMom me too re waste of time/money etc.

I did have the odd NHS prescription but they wouldn't repeat prescribe. When I eventually went private the private ones explained that it can be a long haul,explained the risks, do blood tests and monitor. They were right, it has been a long haul but I'm now at the stage I only get the very occasional break-out and only take pills as and when needed.

DomesticSlobbess · 01/06/2014 23:16

I have acne and rosacea. MAC absolutely fucks with my skin like no other make-up. Yes, it makes it looks nice but as soon as I take it off a billion spots pop up. I use Estee Lauder religiously now and it doesn't harm my skin at all.

A few months ago I went to my GP because my acne had turned my face into a pizza. I've been on Oxytetracycline since and I'm now spot free at last! My rosacea is still there but it's really light and not too noticeable so I can be really sparse with foundation now rather than paint it on.

doughballdoughballdoughball · 02/06/2014 02:11

YANBU

FidelineandFumblin · 02/06/2014 02:21

SnookyPooky · 02/06/2014 06:36

Roaccutane, wish I had done it 20 years ago. Would have saved me a hell of a lot of money and misery. Now I only get 1 or 2 small spots around TOTM. Also I use Quinoderm once a day if I remember.

Acne need to be killed off inside, all the cleansing, eating well and super duper products in the world can't fight a cysts the size on a 20p piece like I had.

I am very bitter about this, my skin has been ruined by spots and now scars.

paxtecum · 02/06/2014 07:21

After 20 years of acne I had food allergy testing, dairy and citrus were the main problems.
I also had a hormone imbalance which was corrected by a herbalist.

Roaccutane can have some very serious side effects.

WeBelieveInLove · 02/06/2014 07:39

I've a similar problem and solved by stop using makeup on my skin. Just mascara and eye pen occasionally. Not for everybody I know, but I have always throughout that any kind of colored base look obvious and unnatural, especially when I do it on myself. :) So not a hard decision to make.

Onetwothreeoops · 02/06/2014 07:47

paxtecum can you tell me more about how a herbalist corrects a hormone imbalance? That sounds like something that could help me with my skin.

paxtecum · 02/06/2014 08:09

After doing blood tests the herbalist to determine the imbalance, the herbalist makes up a liquid concotion of herbs which you take daily.

I had a sluggish liver and adrenal glands. The herbal mixture is designed to stimulate the glands to work properly thereby fixing the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms.

Sorry I need to rush to work and I'm not the good with words.

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