Acne and how can I reduce it .

[Bedsheets4knickers]

My husband and his sisters had terrible acne through their teens . My son is 11 and has started to have breakouts . He's not even at secondary school yet but he's constantly spotty . We've not yet sort professional advice but I was just wondering if their is any new products on the market that I can buy to help these breakouts . I never really had acne so it's a new world to me .

Roaccutane! Trust me nothing else works. Take him to see a GP first and make it clear you want to see a specialist if it doesn’t clear up. Riaccutane can only be prescribed by a consultant dermatologist- and it really isn’t the scary drug it’s made out to be. Best thing I ever did

Honestly I would just go straight to GP and get on the Dermatologists books. Over the counter topical are often not effective.

Cassandra Bankson is good on YouTube if you watch some of her acne videos for basic care

My 9 yr old has started to get spots. I have bought her Cerave face wash (the one for oily skin, although her skin isn’t oily) and it is helping a lot. Also encouraging her not to touch her face.

If that isn’t enough the next step would be Acnecide cream which is weak benzoyl peroxide. If that isn’t enough the next step is GP - probably for stronger benzoyl or possibly Epiduo (mix of benzoyl and retinoid).

I would not give an 11 year old Roaccutane!
If he gets it badly in later teens I agree it’s one to bear in mind.

@Clarabe1

Roaccutane! Trust me nothing else works. Take him to see a GP first and make it clear you want to see a specialist if it doesn’t clear up. Riaccutane can only be prescribed by a consultant dermatologist- and it really isn’t the scary drug it’s made out to be. Best thing I ever did

Roaccutane is not the first line treatment for acne - and definitely not for an 11 year old! And it does have some potentially serious side effects.

OP just see your GP, they can prescribe effective treatments. If something more intense is needed further down the line then see a Dermatologist.

Ok taking this onboard thank you . He does have it quite bad and none of his friends have it yet .

DD uses Nip and Fab teen day and night face washes - her skin cleared right up. She gets the odd one now but nowhere like what she used to.

I've bought tea tree and pepper mint wipes for him to use in the morning and night and then a tea tree gel to use of the effected areas : it's tricky because he doesn't really care right now but I know he'l care at secondary . I also do not want to make a big deal of it but I've got a feeling that if he's getting it in primary he's going to suffer with it pretty bad through the teenage years .

Sorry but I don't think those products would be best though I'm not a dermatologist.
Wipes aren't very effective and that's likely way too harsh with so much tea tree - it can be very aggravating. I would use cerave Cleanser with salysillic acid as that's proven to help acne. Remove with warm water and clean flannel then add the cerave moisturiser.

@MissyB1 sorry I have just seen the boy in question is 11 not 17! I need new glasses evidently. Yes you are right that is too young. Roaccutane is a good option later on if you do not grow out of it. Yes GP is the best bet and take it from there. Personally I don’t think drugstore products help- if anything they irritate it.

Dermatologist here recommends Cerave Oil Free wash. Get an early referral, my teen has been seeing a consultant since she was 12, at 16 it is much improved but she's been on antibiotics for four years (often changed), Epiduo, a clinical trial and had laser treatment several times.

I was prescribed Epiduo a few years ago for hormonal acne and it helped massively.

hygiene - aka flannel & warm water to start with. sometimes that's enough although with the family history I suspect it's more than sweatyness and blocked pores.

next step up is salycylic acid face wash, salycylic spot cream and the ordinary (or other brand) niaciamide&zinc serum.

if no improvement off to gp for dermatology referral.

I’d go to the GP but in the meantime get a salicylic acid face wash and a toner too. Effaclar by LRP is good.
And use a clay mask weekly.
Wipes don’t clear out pores as well as water and a cleanser.

Thank you all so much xxx

Can anyone recommend a face wash

Cerave ! Honestly

www.boots.com/cerave-sa-smoothing-cleanser-236ml-10272454

@Bedsheets4knickers

Can anyone recommend a face wash

Agree 100% with Cerave

I found the La Rochelle posay effaclar range fantastic . Brilliant face wash and didn’t aggravate my acne at all

Needs to be the Oil Free Cerave Foaming wash imo.

LRP was very drying on my skin and gave me really odd eczema patches in my eyebrows, it almost felt burnt.

@Clarabe1

Roaccutane! Trust me nothing else works. Take him to see a GP first and make it clear you want to see a specialist if it doesn’t clear up. Riaccutane can only be prescribed by a consultant dermatologist- and it really isn’t the scary drug it’s made out to be. Best thing I ever did

This

But oh you can try topical roaccutane first which has virtually no side effects and can be extremely effective

Roaccutane is never a first line of defence! Quite rightly so. The potential side effects on a growing teen and their organs is concerning! Trust me, we’ve been seeing a consultant since 11 and every possible option has been explored, for more than five years! Skin is massively improved and roaccutane has not been prescribed but has been mentioned, always as an absolute last resort post 16.