Aibu to be so pissed of about having really bad spots in my 30s?

[mmmgoats]

All around my chin and jaw line and now just above my lip on one side
Bloody horrible painful ones that are really red, get proper white heads on them and seem to bleed and scab

I’ve not changed anything skincare wise i stopped wearing make up for bit but no joy. A witch hazel stick seemed to be killing them off a little but i think it’s also spreading them :(
I’ve also got a random white head I think - little white spot on my cheek that just will not go.

I’m feeling really down about it :(
Clearly we were lied to as teenagers - “when you grow up you won’t get spots and will have lovely clear skin”

LIES!!!

You need to see a dermatologist. As soon as possible.

Late-onset acne is a thing, so it might be an idea to get a course of antbiotics.

I never had a spot in my life until I was about 35, then had really severe acne which lasted till the menopause. Hope you have better luck!

Iv been wanting to start this exact thread.

Iv got more spots now than I ever did as a teen

Me too! Spots since I turned 40 can't get rid! Following with interest x

This happened to me and I suffered for almost a year messing around with skincare stuff that didn’t work. The only thing that cleared it up was a few months of industrial strength antibiotics from the gp.

The only time I’m ever spot free is when my asthma is so bad the GP puts me on steroids. All other times I’m so spotty it’s unreal. Chin, nose, forehead, cheekbones, behind ears and along the ridge of the skull on my scalp. It’s bloody painful at times.

Acne is a medical condition so see a doctor and if they don't help push for a referral to a dermatologist. Don't waste money on over the counter products.

This happened to me too and got worse with pregnancy. After I gave birth I saw the GP and tried a gel/cream (useless), one of the contraceptive pills (also useless) and now antibiotics which I've been taking for about a month

My skin has now cleared up a lot but I'm not sure if it's the antibiotics or a change in skincare - I now use a moisturiser without oil (Algenist Splash) and Sunday Riley Martian toner. Both ££££ but worth it if they've had an effect. Need to see what happens when the antibiotics run out though.

It's so depressing. I was convinced I'd have clear, glowing skin by this age

GP and antibiotics! Every couple of years I need a 12 week course of lymecyline to keep the acme in check.

Is it really something I can see the gp about though?

Iv been avoiding going as I felt the nhs has far bigger things going on right now and I'd be cheeky to take a gp appointment for spots.

Of course you should go to the GP!

Having said that I’ve been putting off going to get help, for my skin issues. I’m 42 Hate the fact that I’m getting grey hair and wrinkles and I’m still getting pimples. Some contraceptive pills work for me (Brenda, Diane and the like) but GP won’t prescribe them to me anymore due to migraines.

I had really awful skin all through my 30s. Only thing I have found that works is liz Earle hot cloth cleanser.

I’m just going to put this out there.

Try keeping a food diary. I had awful spots in my 20s and it took years to work out that it was my mild Cadbury’s addiction . I can eat just one Cadbury’s button and get a spot within a day or two. Every single time. Tiny amounts will do it.

Don’t have the same reaction to other chocolate. Haven’t been bothered to actually work out which ingredient it is but it could help to see if there’s a pattern.

Hope you get some help for them soon OP, it’s pretty miserable

Research inositol. I have completely flawless skin because of it, after several battles with cystic acne over the years. It’s essentially vitamin B8 and works wonders for women with adult hormonal acne.

Same here. I’ve got one more antibiotic to try before I have roaccutane.

This website is really helpful:

www.cosdna.com

Type your skincare and makeup products into the search bar and it will tell you how likely it is to cause acne. I did this with everything I owned and since switching to products with a low comedogenic rating, it’s helped a lot. It’s surprising how many products that claim to help acne actually make it worse.

Bioderma’s ‘sebium mat’ moisturiser is safe. And L’Oreal’s true match foundation. La Roche-Posay’s Effaklar BB cream is excellent too. FYI. (Took me ages to find truly non-comedogenic products).

@stopgap
Thanks for that information. Do you use the capsules?

Before I was pregnant (not suitable then) I was as using acnecide.... it’s pretty potent and you can get it from the pharmacist. Not cheap either but I found just every other day worked on the area that was affected. Eventually I only used it when I felt a blemish coming. Worked a treat but will stain your towels and bedding so be careful!

Mine were due to my pill I think as barely any spots whilst pregnant!

L-lysine tablets are brilliant for clearing spots up. May take a couple of weeks to see a difference but they really work! Only about a fiver for a bottle of them so it’s worth a go.

I had terrible skin from 14 to 23.

I tried everything. The pill, antibiotics, all of the topical treatments and gels etc. The pill worked for a while, the antibiotics also but nothing kept it at bay for long. A couple of years ago, I realised that I had developed a reaction to fish oil tablets, which I had been taking with no problem for years, and when I stopped taking them, my skin cleared up immensely apart from on my chin and jaw which still broke out. It just goes to show that anything, even things which are supposedly "good" for your skin, can break you out.

Ultimately, I do not know what helped my skin. I went for a month long holiday to the other side of the world and didn't get a single spot the entire time I was there, nor did I ever get any when I came back. I can't make sense of that. Some have suggested it might have been that I was less stressed, but that wasn't true as I was anxious the entire time about my dogs at home. Surely it couldn't be the air quality as British air quality is far worse than Australian. Couldn't be dietary, as produce was far sparser and poorer in quality, and I was eating a lot of convenience food. It's a mystery.

Please do see a dermatologist though. There will be a reason why your skin is breaking out.

@stopgap there's so many different types of Inositol on amazon can you recommend one in particular to try? (Uk)

Ractify I prefer to use the powder. I started off on a quarter teaspoon once a day. It has been an absolute blessing for me. I haven’t worn any concealer now for about a year.

And over the years I have tried six kinds of the pill, multiple courses of antibiotics, prescription topicals galore, Retin A, low-carb, dairy-free, drugstore products up to $$$. I want to shout about it from the rooftops it’s so good.

Failingat40 I’m a Brit in the US, so likely it’ll be a different product, but 90 percent of Inositol on the market is myo inositol, while D Chiro inositol makes up the rest and is harder to obtain.

Myo is the one that’s been cited in medical studies as doing wonderful things for women with PCOS (which is why it works so well for acne) and it’s the one I take. I prefer to use powder, as it’s easier to tweak the dose.

A word of warning that it did make me bloated the first week I took it, but I do have a sensitive stomach, and that feeling quickly went away.

RedDwarves fish oils are generally thought of as being good for acne, but you have to be careful when supplementing with omegas, as you have to get the ratio of 3/6/9 spot on, otherwise acne-prone skin types will break out. The same thing happened to me when taking Evening Primrose Oil (Omega 6), which gave me horrendous cystic acne. (It gave me lovely thick hair, though!)