Sick of acne - any suggestions?

[Anondonkey]

I first started suffering with acne when I was about 9 years old... way before anyone in my class. I had proper “teenage” acne for the next 10 years and tried all sorts of things to improve it but to little or no avail.

I had hoped I would grow out of it but at 29 years old I have continued to suffer over the last 10 years, albeit it is not as bad as my teenage years. I’ve spent most of those 10 years on the pill so that might have helped. I definitely have monthly breakouts which last about 10 days so I’m sure it is mostly hormone related. Outside of monthly breakouts (usually on my chin) I have about one or two new blemishes a day, usually around the chin or jaw line and occasionally near my nose. They are sometimes just small whiteheads which will come away easily or they can be huge and sore. I also have a compulsion to pick them which I know is bad but 20 years of this and I can’t seem to stop.

I can probably count with both hands how many days I’ve had over the last decade where I’ve been completely “spot free”.

I don’t really bother trying anything new to tackle it now. I have started to believe I will never grow out of this or ever find a solution for it. I currently just wash my face twice a day with a gentle cleanser. I don’t use moisturiser or any other products as they seemed to make it worse. I don’t wear any make up.

I am 11 weeks pregnant and I’m still suffering.

Has anyone out there got ANY suggestions? Especially less common ideas/practices/products? Being pregnant I am not going to go to the GP for any strong medicated creams or meds which I would like to avoid any way, but any ideas you might have that are less medicated and more practical would be useful (I saw someone on a different thread about something else suggest a new pillowcase a day, for example).

I have fair skin with freckles, plenty of scars 😔 and an oily t-zone. Any help is much appreciated!

I use acnecide. You can buy it from the pharmacist. It really works for me. But I don't know if you can take it in pregnancy

I don’t know what prescription lotions and tablets you’ve already tried are but there are several things safe to use in pregnancy.
Acnecide (benzoyl peroxide is one of them and available otc), there are also topical antibacterials the gp can prescribe, topical azelaic acid, and erythromycin oral antibiotics.
I had to use all of these during pregnancy. I too have suffered acne for years and am currently on my second round of roaccutane (definitely can’t take if pregnant!)

I'm spot prone and had to come off prescribed Differin gel when I got pregnant last year (DD is now nearly 7 months). I haven't gone back on Differin as I discovered a new regimen during pregnancy which has had positive results overall (touch wood!). I use Cetaphil Oily Skin wash to wash my face, which is nice and gentle. I then use Nip and Fab Gentle Exfoliating Pads to decongest my skin, and a gentle cream called Sebopure which you can buy online. I also use benzoyl peroxide cream on my chin, as it is prone to hormonal breakouts. I still get spots now and again, but not as many. It might be worth visiting the GP to see what your options are during pregnancy. A friend of mine had very positive results using a product called Zineryt (not sure if that spelling is correct!) and she definitely used it throughout pregnancy.

Completely cutting out all diary made a difference for me

LED light therapy.

Acnecide works