What are your tips for building confidence in your teenagers who experience acne and breakouts? - £200 voucher to be won

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Created for Acnecide + Purifide

Acne is a common condition faced by many teenagers, however it can often be a cause of distress and embarrassment. As a parent, there are steps you can take to help make this time less stressful. Acnecide + Purifide would love you to share any tips you have for building confidence in your teenagers who experience acne and breakouts.

• Post your /tips in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice.

Here’s what Acnecide has to say:

“Our mission is to help teenagers navigate the challenges of caring for acne and blemish-prone skin, whilst shattering the stigma of experiencing acne and spots. With so many hacks around, it's hard to separate the facts from the fiction, so we’re here to debunk the myths and champion teenagers on their skincare journey.”

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

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Encourage a good skin care regime & diet. If this is failing review skin care regime & trip to the GO/dermatologist. Long term scarring needs to be avoided & there's a distinction between confidence but validating feelings and the upset acne can cause.

Top tip? See a dermatologist.

My nephew went through this phase and, as a family, we were all very encouraging and open about our own insecurities. Having a laugh and a joke, digging out old photos and reminiscing, the attention soon shifted to ridiculous hairstyles, fashions and crazes of the time.
Taking the mickey out of ourselves helped him feel better.

Also, dug out old Jackie/Oh Boy!/My Guy annuals where the most famous pop stars and photo models of the time were similarly going through this phase. 🙂

If you have encouraged a good skincare routine from pre teen, and have given your DC the tools they need for inner love and self confidence, and you want to buy a product to help - I'd see a pharmacist for advice

I know how debilitating acne can be - and how teasing can affect your mental health - forever - my tips are to talk, encourage that they tell you if they are unhappy with anything, encourage good skincare by researching products proven to give results, try to cook food which is low in saturated fat- and try to lower their intake of sweets and chocolate if the acne gets bad - I'd also recommend seeing your GP as a good product may be cheaper on prescription

Establishing a great skin care routine is key. If they're suffering a breakout, it can be hard on their self image. So, lots of encouragement about how fantastic they are and that a few spots doesn't take away from that!

And buy dots for spots to help with any biggies that they want to deal with gently!

From my own experience with ds(19) I would say don't spend a fortune, or waste time on expensive branded products and complex routines. Most don't help hormonal teen acne much.

If they are going to work the basic cheaper antiseptic ones, such as acnecide (Benzoyl peroxide) and a basic, light moisturiser (acnecide also do a good one) to counteract the dryness will work.

If they don't work after a few weeks (8-10 weeks) of consistent use, get to the Dr for something such as DUAC which is the same as acnecide, but with added antibiotics. If that doesn't work the Dr can move them onto something else that might.

Building confidence starts from birth - telling them they are beautiful, praising - however this can be destroyed by acne - puberty and bullying - my tips are to promote good skincare and diet, when breakouts occur tell them they are short lived, offer a good skincare/acne treatment - a good concealer worked for me - so I would recommend that also - they are so good nowadays - as long as you cleanse and use products before bedtime.

I wish my parents had just got me proper medication. I used all sorts of products, none of which worked at all, and I had a good diet. Acne had an awful probably permanent affect on my confidence and no amount of my parents telling me I was pretty (which I was under spots, braces and glasses) would have made me believe it.

Being taught to do my makeup properly would also have helped me.

My tips would be buy good products to help with the symptoms, buy concealers which help with bad breakouts, understand what it is like for them, and give them support, love and ask them to talk about how is it affecting their life and is there anything they need from me - if they feel loved, confident and have the correct support - they will cope easier with this stage in their life.

Having suffered from acne throughout my teens and into my twenties, only sorted by a course of roaccutane, I steer clear of any 'you will grow out of it' reassurance, as they may well not for a long time.
Also it's very hard to focus on 'inner beauty' when your back spots are painful under your schoolbag and you don't want to ask your friends to help you apply sunscreen.
So my best tips are to acknowledge the pain and the insecurity and to promise you will do everything you can to help them solve it.
Spots may be a typical teenage affliction but soreness, infection and scarring doesn't have to be.

Focussing on their inner person and listening to their concerns. Taking it seriously from the early stages and having them know they are well supported. Another vote for acnecide.

I WAS one of those teens - I remember the gut wrenching pain of looking at the mirror & just hating my face because of my skin. I had perfect baby skin until I turned 15 & then it was horrendous - the only thought which carried me through was that by the time I hit 18.. it would be better.. it wasn't!
I'm now 39 & my skin is still pretty bad - but I care a LOT less. I spent so many hours crying in frustration & it was all just wasted time. The best change I have ever seen in my skin is to cut down on dairy & sugar - it doesn't make my skin perfect (far from it!) but it does make it brighter & the breakouts less.
I wish I could go back & tell my teen self there is so much more to life than your skin - it's awful that we are made to feel ugly if we are less than perfect, hopefully that will change in time.
We are born with the skin we're in & we need to learn to love it <3

Holding my space.

i echo the advice about speaking to the GP and requesting a dermatologist referral. My son had 18 months of antibiotics and benzoyl peroxide, which unfortunately didn’t work for him, then 6 months on isotretinoin (roaccutane) at age 14 which completely cleared his skin. Two years later and his skin is still clear and his confidence has blossomed.

Benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid are something which worked for us. Salicylic acid is commonly found in body washes, face washes, and astringents - so look out for it when buying acne products. You can sometimes find it in moisturizers, too. The purpose of salicylic acid is to get rid of the dead skin cells that can lead to non-inflammatory acne — again, these include whiteheads and blackheads.
On the other hand, benzoyl peroxide is a stronger treatment for more severe breakouts, including inflammatory acne lesions. Not only does it dry up dead skin cells, but it can also help fight excess sebum and kill acne-causing bacteria, too.

My other advice - don't pick your spots or scabs - I know it's difficult, you will see less scarring.

Get them out in fresh air, drinking plenty of water, and showering/hair wash every day. My D's used to get acne on his forehead but cutting his hair and styling it back.iver his head so no longer flopping on his forehead helped to clear it up.

Visit the doctor. I wish I had done so earlier than I did. Also, spend time developing self confidence and ensuring that they are kind to themselves

My tips would be cleanse with a good product - Acnecide + Purifide is one we've used in the past, use a good moisturiser, don't pick, if you have a bad break out - use a concealer for self confidence - but CLEANSE

I would not make a big deal about it - it's more likely to make them more self conscious if you make a big thing of their acne. Most teens are able to cope with this transition - I'd buy the products if they ask, and seem to be looking in the mirror more and becoming withdrawn. If you have a good relationship with your teen - they will come to you. It's something we all go through - and is a right of passage to adulthood.

My tips are buy them good proven products which help, instigate a good cleansing routine -I have boys and it's not easy to keep this up, plus there a a great range of concealers for the bad days - I found a trip to my pharmacy helped too

Tell them every day you love them, they are gorgeous, you are so proud of them.

Remind them it doesn't last forever. There are also lots of body positive instagram accounts out there these days that are so inspirational by being honest about acne. I think that is the good side of social media when it can help people feel less alone with something they are going through.

Take then to a doctor to get proper medication to sort the problem.

My tips are don't over dramatise, they may not be as bothered about is as you think - particularly if their peer group are going through similar. As them if they need anything above their normal soap and cleansers - let them lead, and if it gets bad see the pharmacist for advice on an appropriate product.