12yr old DD started getting a few spots - product advice please?

[GrimmaTheNome]

Not the biggest problem in the world except I had bloody awful acne from teens onward so really want to help her escape the worst...

at the moment just the odd little spot on the nose. What is the best OTC treatment available to prevent/treat at this stage please?

Bump... I don't believe none of you have dealt with spot-prone youngsters!

My 10 year old's skin looks threatening, she's struggling with lots of hormones, I keep planning to get to the chemist but I have no idea what to buy either, probably just get whatever has been advertised on TV provided its suitable from that age?

Try la Roche posay effeclar duo cream and face wash from boots. I had acne for years tried everything this has been my magic cream. Hope it works for you.

'Face wash' of any sort would of course be a good start!

What about something for thoses little surface pimples> The tiny ones on the forehead? DD seems to get them.

Quinoderm. I always keep a tube for emergencies. Make sure you only get the 5% strength, 10% feels like it could take varnish off wood!

If she uses it along with this regimen the spots that she has now will be gone in a week.

Clinique worked for me a long time ago! Not sure how suitable it is for a 12 year old though. Dermalogica is also meant to be a good one...again, not sure for a 12 year old but worth checking out.

Gentle cleanser and a decent moisturiser with SPF is essential and need to be used daily.

As for treatments. You could go for a cream with benzoyl peroxide (look for around 2.5%). This is antibacterial and can cause dryness if overused. Warning - it will bleach clothing and towels if she isn't careful about washing her hands.

Or you could get a cream/toner with salicylic acid which makes the skin shed faster, stopping the pores from becoming blocked (also good for ingrown hair)

Both are found in over the counter products, it just takes a glance at the back of the bottle.

If they don't work and it gets worse, take her straight to the doctor for a topical antibiotic or a cream like differin. I wish my mum did, it would of prevented years of acne suffering :(

Thanks for the ideas - though I can't help feeling Chuff doesn't know many 12 year olds if she thinks there's a hope in hell of my DD following that regimen twice a day!

the clearasil ultra deep clensing facial scrub has worked well for us -with a moisturiser.

Haha, guilty as charged!

I think as long as she keeps her hands clean when she puts the cream on twice a day, and doesn't touch her face during the day she should be alright. Performs miracles that stuff, I tells ya!

Neutrogena foaming wash, the blue one. I use the regimen too, but it can be a bit harsh and drying, so unless she has bad acne I wouldn't recommend it. Maybe putting quinoderm just on the spots not all over would be better. If she does get bad, then the regimen will work, otherwise take her to the doctor. HTH:)

My DD (11) has had spots appearing for about a year. In the summer they did get quite bad, we bought some superdrug tea tree face wash, scrub and moisturiser.

She washes her face with the face wash and a flannel, the flannel helps exfoiliate, then applies the moisturiser. Within 2-3 days her skin had cleared up totally.

We also have a pamper night 1 evening every fortnight, where I give her a mini facial and hair treatment. The mini facial is a proper face scrub using the tea tree scrub then I apply a plain clay mask.

This routine seems to keep her face clear, and you do notice a few spots appearing if she misses the tea tree out of the routine, for a few days( she run out of the wash and moisturiser) so we now make sure we have a good supply in.

She also has a good supply of flannels so 1 is used for a day only and then go in the wash.

Tea tree is very gentle on the skin, but great at treating spots. I would be loathe to use anything more harsh on her skin at the moment ie proper spot treatments.

My DD has quite a few spots sadly! I try to get her to reguarly cleanse tone and moisturise with various products but its lack of continuity of persuing this on her part.

She also has long hair that gets very greasy quickly, so I have found that by washing it every other day it stops her touching greasy heair with hands then her face and keeps the oily hair away from her face which helps too.

Freederm as a spot cream works well.

If you havd ££££ and are comitted to regualr facial skin care then Dermalogica do a range for "young adults" aimed at teen problem skin. It is pricey so not worth investing in unless you intend to follow a scrupulous skin care regime.

DDs hair isn't too greasy yet and her school insists on it being properly tied back fortunately. No, I can't see her doing any sort of consistent cleanse/tone/moisturise routine any time soon so at the moment so I'll start off with one of the milder spot treatments.
Thanks for all the advice so far

Hi GrimmaTheNome. DD is 12 and has had acne and blackheads since she was 6. Was always giving her over the counter stuff to try which didn't work and just ended up giving her face a burnt look and was sore. Kept taking dd to doctor as she was getting smelly armpits like proper b.o - even straight after bath and a good scrub i could still smell it. :( She has always been big for her age (she looks like and adult) and has always had greasy hair and started her periods at primary school. Male doctors we saw would never give out anything on prescription. Was told to "squeeze the blackheads" out so they never turned to spots and was told it was teenage spots. At age 6. Was forever going back to docs and managed to see a lovely female doctor who said yes it is acne and she is just unlucky to get them early. Was given a prescription for Zineryt lotion which is an antibiotic i think and the results were amazing. Dd's face was covered with red angry spots at primary school and even after a week it looked much better. Will probably have to keep using this for life i was told by pharmacist but face is brilliant now. Can't do much about smelly armpits or greasy hair though! Good luck with your dd. x

My spotty 12 yr old uses Clearasil. It works wonders whenever she gets somewhere close to the bathroom .........

Quinoderm definitely!! We spent a FORTUNE buying the most expensive treatments/creams for our youngest, turned out the cream costing a couple of quid did the trick.

Thanks all. Quinoderm seems like the best bet - simple and quick. Was thinking of getting DD some new bedding for xmas, will make sure its pale - I used benzoyl peroxide creams many years ago and remember what it does to pillowcases!