Adult acne - what works (other than Dianette?)

[baggypipes]

At age of 25 I started getting late onset hormonal induced acne - 1 or 2 awful huge boil like spots in the week before my period. They never come to 'a head' sorry tmi! They just get massive (and very painful) and glow red and persist for at least 2 weeks then takes ages to heal completely and finally leave a really obvious red mark on my chin (always my chin -no where else). Litterally a few days after that my next cycle is upon me.

Before DV I used Dianette and it was fab. Since having DC I went back on it and had terrible side effects (moods/headaches). Have since tried Marvelon (same prob). I don#t need to be on a pill as I have the coil- I'm dying to know if anyone else suffers from these type of spots and how they deal with them/prevent them (although I know that is impossible so my GP tells me)

I've tried zapping them at the very 1st tingle with witch hazel but nothing stops them. I have to just accept that each month my face becomes more and more scarred and it's really getting me down now.

Any advice greatly received.

I had the same problem with dianette so the doctor changed me to cilest which did a good job at clearing my spots (i get them on face, back and chest area). I have also been on one called yasmin too although back in sept they wanted to review me on it as it was giving ppl some side effects. Didn't happen to me and I'm not on pill at mo anyway as TTC.
A good thing for draning boils is magnesium sulphate but I've never used on face so check with pharmasist first.

zineryt is a lotion with zinc,doctor will prescribe.
has a shelf life of a month once opened which is a nuisace but it does help those boil types you feel brewing before they appear

pleased baggypipes posted this - have seem prob and will def look into advice above - Thanks!

Doctor is best bet, if they can't help they can refer you to someone who can, for a start. A couple of ideas from me...

Oil Cleansing Method - Google search for it!
It sounds counter-intuitive but trust me IT WORKS! Washes and soaps strip skin of natural oils meaning that oil isn't working to keep skin healthy or cleanse pores, it also means skin overcompensates creating more oil that clogs skin. OCM washing is far healthier for skin, I use EVOO:CO 70:30 mix, sometimes with tea tree oil. It won't counter-act hormonal factors, but for acne and skin in general it's awesome.

Help your hormones - black cohosh, evening primrose oil, both can be bought in capsule form, but better would be chaste tree tincture; a few drops in water once a day - these will help regulate hormones to help with hormonal break-outs.

Sulphur - my mother has boil-type spots, she swears by sulphur tablets to help with this.