Dd11 has a really spotty nose

[Darksideofthemoon19]

Dd11 suffers with greasy hair and seems like a greasy nose. We’ve been tackling the hair with clay shampoo but no idea about the nose? She’s started getting really self conscious about it. They seem like little pimples instead of full blown white heads. I’m guessing it’s all hormonal, but what can I do for her?

You could try a face wash, then apply a hot cloth, then dab tea tree oil on before bed. That's what I used to do with my teenage spots!

Clay hair products are good for greasy hair. I also use a clay face mask on my greasy skin once or twice a week. I think the ones that harden as they dry work best.

I put a thick layer over my nose. Wait until it dries completely before washing off. Sometimes it takes a few minutes longer than recommended in the instructions. You can see where the mask has absorbed oil when it is dry. Once it's washed off, I actually feel like there is less pressure and soreness around the spots, and reduced redness too. The skin is less greasy and looks more matte.

Other than that, use a spot-fighting cleanser, toner and moisturiser. These are products you can pick up in the supermarket. If you want something a bit stronger, the pharmacy can give something like Panoxyl or Acnecide, which is benzoyl peroxide, but start at the lowest strength (2.5%?).

Sudocrem - leave a layer on over night

My dd is also 11 and we got a foaming facewash in boots that is tea tree and witch hazel. She only uses it a couple of times a week and also does the sudocream and there has been a dramatic improvement. She also now washes her face with a cloth religiously morning and night with just water. Keeping it clean has definitely helped.

Oh I forgot about Sudocrem!
Yes, a thin layer at night (on clean skin) works really well.

Do not leave layers of products like sudocrem on it overnight. If she's having these issues then her pores are blocked and need time to breathe. Have you tried pore strips? I would thoroughly cleanse twice a day, try and buy a facial brush to really scrub the dirt out.

Try Acnecide it contains benzoyl peroxide and is good for moderate acne. If you can't see results after a few weeks go to the gp.

Nip and Fab salicylic acid

Do you know if she is washing properly? Any residue left from products can cause build up and exacerbate any hormonal side effects like spots and excess oil.
Also diet can have a huge effect, particularly dairy and meats as they contain hormones from the cow so maybe keep these to a minimum or cut them out if you can - you will only see changes after 2 weeks if you do this as will need to come out of the body.
I went through this, it's a tough time, if she is determind she can sort it

I would be wary cutting out a vital source of calcium and iron from the diet of a still growing child. If you do it you need to know how to replace calcium and iron.

DD uses facial washes daily and a peeling/mask weekly. She has a charcol one as well when the spots get too much. It is a bit of trial and error, she uses products which didn't work for her friends and vice versa.

Clean wash cloth and a proper wash every day,makes a massive difference. Ime they can miss out the actual washing bit when they stand under the shower

Do be careful not to strip the skin and stress it out with harsh products - you could make the problem worse. Her skin may just get oilier in a desperate attempt to find balance.

It needs gentle nurturing in addition to the spots being tackled. Most foaming washes and pore strips are a waste of money, imho.

I would look up Sali Hughes’ advice for teenage skin. She has done at least one Guardian column on it, and although she sometimes recommends high-end stuff she is also perfectly sensible about recommendations that fall into normal people’s budgets. Definitely worth Googling.