To be bloody depressed about adult acne?

[NTHEN]

Posting here for traffic as I'm desperate, apologies.

I'm 26 and until this past year have never suffered with acne but I now have it horribly. It seems to have coincided with me having a baby 18 months ago and is getting worse.

I wash my face daily, use a mild facial cleanser from clearasil and never sleep in make up. I use a light moisturiser.9

I've been using acnecide which has slightly reduced some of the bigger spots but I still have new ones popping up every other day.

I don't wear make up unless I'm going out somewhere where I'll need to make an effort (2-3 times per month) so I'm not clogging my pores on a regular basis.

I applied tanning lotion last night which has only made it look 10 x worse.

I feel unattractive, unclean and insecure. I don't mean to sound so vain but it's starting to impact my daily life and I'm not wanting to go out.

PLEASE could you suggest anything that will help me / has helped you or others you know?

I definitely don't want roaccutane if I can avoid it.

@Moltenpink: thank you very much! I wasn't sure which would be the best to try.

Another vote for cutting dairy out of your diet. I got acne in my early twenties and the spots would just linger on and on. UK doctors advised topical creams, no benefit at all, all they did was dry/burn my skin. I moved to Hong Kong with work and ended up seeing a local doctor who advised giving up dairy. Within days my spots began to dry up and that basically sorted me out. I substituted milk in tea and coffee with coffee mate, and stopped having cereal. Definitely worked for me.

@NTHEN

Thank you all for the continued replies, I appreciate all of the suggestions and advice.

To the few people who've asked, no I haven't been to my GP about this yet. I called a few weeks ago and asked for a telephone consultation (no f2f because of covid) and nobody called me back. I then felt a bit embarrassed to be wasting their time with everything else going on and didn't try again.

I'm also not on the Pill (of any sort)

I reacted badly to the injection some years ago and it put me off trying any other artificial hormones.

I'm one of the unlucky ones who seems to have strong negative side effects to most medications, from antibiotics to anything hormonal. I couldn't tell you why.

In an ideal world a topical cream would be perfect

In an ideal world I’d have bigger boobs but this is real life.

It might not get as far as tablets but you need to chase that dr for a plan. It’s not unusual for pregnancy to cause acne so you won’t be the first patient to present like this.

They won’t be that busy, they aren’t visiting care homes, lots of people have just died & more are avoiding the drs because they don’t want to catch covid.

I’m very passionate about this because I suffered from 16-42 & tried every fad diet, skincare regimes from Chanel to dermalogica, facials 🙄 where even the therapist said see the dr & now I have red scars on my face that have been there for 3 years. I’m having to pay for dermatica but it’s going to take months & months to undo preventable damage.

I always had nice skin until I became pregnant and overnight I came out in sore spots mostly on my cheeks and nose. In desperation after 10 years of a sore red face I joined Roscea in English site on facebook and it was there that the following was suggested...
When I was pregnant my skin became more greasy and was an ideal breeding ground for skin mites. Demodex mites.I googled it and it seemed that what was written was exactly what I had. Ten years this had been going on. Someone directed me to the Demodex solutions site and I bought ZZ cream. I was dubious because there are no ingredients but I was desperate. I put a small amount on each night as it smells strongly and moisturised in the morning as it was quite drying. The results were practically instant but as recommended I used it for at least 130 days to break the life cycle of the mites. The tub is small but lasts longer than the treatment. It was amazing! 10 years I had this and it went in a matter of weeks! I’ve told loads of women about this, it can be bought in a number of places on line. Here is where I got it from.

Iv just ordered some of these the reviews are amazing.

My brother has acne (18) he was referred to dermatologist by GP years ago and he is on medication. It's the only thing that clears is. Personally I can't see how over the counter solutions will work at all. It's a severe thing acne. You need medication. You are not wasting time. This causes pain, upset, low confidence. Get help with it

www.lumie.com/products/clear
I've been using this since the start of lockdown for my menopausal acne and it has improved. Can't say for certain that's what did it but it might be worth trying.

Another vote for regular use of acnecide. I used the face wash. I also tried Duac but couldn't bear it staining every single towel and pillowcase I had so ended up changing to something called Zineryt, which is also topical. Between that and the acnecide, my horrific cystic ance pretty much disappeared and now only flares up occasionally and not to the same degree.

Dianette was only thing that really worked - if reacted badly to every other hormonal contraceptive. Dalacin T topical solution also works well for me.

My question (sorry to hijack your thread, OP!) is about acne scars. Has anyone come up with a good way to get rid of them?

What kind of scar? Red mark or pock mark.

OP you sound very similar to myself at your age.

I cut our dairy and increased my water intake. I also used Devils Claw tincture - a few drops in water if I did slip up with dairy. It cleared up. A few years later I became lax with my regime, but the acne didn’t come back.

You have my sympathy, at one point my face was completely covered, I got so depressed. Oh if you need to dry out a big juicy zit dab on surgical spirit - it makes them dry out faster.

I'm 30 and I feel you! What's worked for me, mostly (though hormone flare ups mean monthly break outs anyway):

• drinking spearmint tea (it lowers androgens, which relieves some PCOS symptoms including hormonal acne). Be careful if you've got any other conditions as it can be dangerous for your liver and kidneys if so.

• proper skincare routine - Clearasil etc probably won't be helping. A proper cleanser, La Roche Posay's Cicaplast for really red sore skin, The Ordinary's niacinamide for reducing acne, retinol once you know what you're doing

• clean towels, flannels, and pillowcases every day.

@Pizzatoast

I agree with what *@Teensandfuture* is saying. It was a huge change and I knew it was a hormonal thing.

However I was unable to keep to a strict diet. Some days were good eating days and others were bad ones.

My face went up the shit creek from 28 and I lived with bad skin for a year. It was after my 29th birthday I decided to invest in my skin and two months on from 29 with still an unstable diet, I saw the huge change the Facial products made for me.

This is really interesting. I clicked on this thread as I used to really struggle with acne but I've been clear for about 5 years now.

Which coincides roughly with me moving in with DP who is coeliac and therefore I don't have a huge amount of gluten in my diet anymore.

@Fluffycloudland77

Little pock marks, little holes. I never had trouble until my late 20s and I think it was partly due to medicine I was taking.

I'm using a lactic acidosis peel twice a week right now, and really want to get them gone.

Look up dermarolling but you can only safely use them once then you need a new one. There’s a derm on YouTube does a video on it & explains why you never use anything over 0.5mm. I’ll look up his channel tm.

My skin is only ok (and still V oily) when I'm on the pill. I'm dreading"the" menopause.

Sorry to hear you’re suffering with acne. I notice a few posters have recommended Accutane. My advice would be to try anything but this drug. My perfectly normal daughter took her own life whilst taking this drug. It can cause suicidal ideation. Those who say don’t believe the horror stories have been lucky. It is a very dangerous, toxic drug which can affect your mental state so very very badly including after you have completed the course. It is also linked to bowed problems, sexual dysfunction among others. Just don’t take the risk. Do not trust a dermatologist. They will tell you it’s safe. IT IS NOT. Nobody knows who will be ok on this drug and who won’t. Please don’t take the risk. Look at the FB sites for side effects and you will see how many people have had their lives ruined by this drug.

Thank you @Fluffycloudland77!!

I feel your pain OP. I am almost thirty with the skin of a teenager.
At least, with oily skin, I'll not get as many wrinkles when I'm old...or so I tell myself.

I found cleansing my skin using Hibiscrub

(www.boots.com/hibiscrub-skin-cleanser-250ml-1-bottle-10086267)

and using The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (theordinary.deciem.com/product/rdn-niacinamide-10pct-zinc-1pct-30ml?redir=1) effective.

YANBU.

At the start of lockdown I felt insecure about my skin so I ordered tablets and gel from Superdrug Online.
You have to fill out a quesrionnaire, send photos of your acne and a qualified doctor will look at the information and prescribe for you (if appropriate)
You can have them delivered to your house, its really quick and easy.

I feel so much better since starting my treatment.

I have found cleansing my skin with Hibiscrub and using The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% effective. I tried them after seeing them recommended here on Mumsnet on another Acne thread.

Good luck x