Help! ugly, disfiguring , painful spots on jawline

[lololizzy]

Have had these re occurring over the last few weeks. I am 41 for heaven's sake! I've always had quite oily skin, but not spots (apart from if I'm doing a major detox. Or , the odd blemish due to PMS) and quite good apart from some redness and sensitivity.
I read that spots on chin relate to hormones. Anyone know about jawline?
They're not like the cysts my partner gets on jawline, from ingrown hairs.
They are like proper zits, but come from really deep. They get a head on them so you'd think 'aha squeezing time' but the buggers don't budge! Incredibly, almost seeing stars type of painful if I try to squeeze (I've been able to remove the stubbornest blackheads and whiteheads in the past without even wincing - even with sterilised needles...this is not those though), and I've now got bad scarring from recent failed squeezing. Bad idea, as I already have thin, sensitive skin.
Also..the odd thing is, only one side of jaw. Any ideas?
It's embarrassing and I'm customer facing at work! Hard to cover up especially as my jawline is now bumpy

I'd say you might need antibiotics for those, possible it could be skin infection. Especially as it's out of the ordinary for you, I would see the doctor.

yeah I think I do. Hate, loathe antibiotics but I also hate painful ugly spots!

while I'm at it...best heavy duty, stay putting, but not too obvious, concealer? I'm using Dermablend at moment but the so called natural shade is quite orange on me and I don't find it hugely concealing.
What one does Angelina Jolie use on her tattoos for filming? anyone tried? too heavy for face?????

Try taking Vitamin B6 if they are around your jawline or chin. I was advised this by a dermatologist and I saw a definite improvement when I had my spotty phase a few years ago.

I found dermalogica to be the best products for shifting really deep painful spots. Book a facial with them and then you will get told the right products for your skin. Definitely worth it as they are strong enough to get rid of the spots but don't dry your skin out.

If you get really desperate the laser light therapy is fantastic. I had it and it got rid of all my spots and have never had any since ( apart from the odd small one after going to bed with make up on )

Hth

I used to get these years ago. I had to leave well alone. They stopped after a while. That's not very helpful is it!

Topical antibiotics and lots of moisturiser - q10 is good, try Wilko's if you don't want to spend silly money on it. I'm currently using a lovely one i got in a pound shop!!

Mine are caused by stress and dry skin. I've had to ditch the anti-b's because I'm pg but moisturiser keeps them from being too painful. I'm also considering switching to fragrance free shampoo like Dove or Simple - regular soaps are incredibly drying.

Prob professional camouflage make up I would imagine. Try going to a make up counter to help them match colour?
Taking antibiotics is a pain, but hey, if they work, they work! I take probiotics, and I believe they help keep me right when I have to take antibiotics.

ooh I do have vit B6 and keep forgetting to take. Yes I do take a lot of probiotics so would probably be ok.
I have been under a lot of stress lately and probably a bit rundown. But in the past that always manifested in mouth ulcers (which have had recently) not spots.
I thought zits were a thing of the past in your 40s!?? These don't seem to be normal zits though.

Iggly, I should've left alone, in terms of squeezing. The scarring is livid. I put lavender oil on the first batch and they dried up...but came back

I've had them constantly for 20 years now in various forms (am 30)

I've given up on hiding them it looks like shit and makes them worse!!

Do you shower and wash your hair daily? and have you changed any shampoo or conditioner recently?
I get a whole host of the spots you describe on my neck, head and down my back if I use certain products. I keep testing the theory every few months and after about 4 tries, I'm convinced it's this as it is also at different times of the month.

I recently had my hair cut into a bob which just comes to below the jawline. I have since noticed that I now get a lot of spots on both sides of my face around the jawline. My hair was previously tied back most of the time. I have not changed my shampoo/conditioner and I am convinced it is the fact that my hair now covers my jawline. Trouble is I really like my new hair style. I just apply a bit sudocreme on at night and this seems to dry them up.

It sounds like you have boils, or infection of hair follicles. Nothing happens when you squeeze them and you scar because the infection is so deep. The more you touch it, the more you spread the infection.

Wash with soap, dry, disinfect with disinfectant solution, then put antiseptic cream on them and leave them alone.

i am scrupulous about skin care and touching face with clean hands. I work in a dirty, dusty environment and don 't touch my face. Wash hair every two days. Bath once a day (I don't get face wet in bath). Shampoo and conditioner don't trickle down my face , i bend over bath and wash hair in the bath taps (no shower). Interesting what Jack' says as I now have blunt layers and some of the layers end at my jawline...but have always had long hair. Hmmmm hair ends covered with moroccanhair light oil??? touching my jawline? but that's good for skin????

can you get infection of hair follicles if you are not a hairy person? i could understand this if had thick coarse hairs (like some friends with PCOS have) but i have underactive thyroid and fairly unhairy. (don't need to shave legs that often, can't wax most places as hairs never grow long enough...lucky in some ways i guess) I do have one mole though that occasionally gets ingrown hairs. I use stuff on this but its too harsh and drying on jawline (have tried)

so can the minute little hairs (that are like fine down) cause infection ever?

Do you spray perfume there? That can cause them too

I get horrible cystic acne from all skin oils.

Tried a new Guerlain primer this week - it looks and feels lovely but broke out my jawline.

Yes, this is also infection of the minute facial hairs.

In fact, if you look closely and pull the hair out with tweezers, you will see the infection at its base. (I have had this problem before, if you can't tell )

I would recommend going to your GP and asking for referral to a dermatologist. When I was getting divorced I was under huge amounts of stress and, almost overnight, I developed cystic acne on my jawline - both sides. Huge pustular, deep spots that took ages to come to a head then ages to go down. It was awful. They were so big they were painful and sometimes I couldn't even lie on my side in bed as they were so large and inflamed. I spent hours every morning covering them up and felt so ugly, so I really sympathize.

In the end, I paid to go and see a dermatologist privately. He explained that when the body is under stress the adrenal glands release lots of androgens e.g. testosterone, which can cause acne in the male 'beard' area (because they are male hormones). I was prescribed oral antibiotics as well as applying a topical antibiotic cream. The two medications did make the spots better ? smaller, fewer and quicker to clear up ? but I still kept on getting them. And I was getting every horrible infection possible - cystitis, thrush, conjunctivitis etc - due to the oral antibiotics bashing my immune system. So I gave up on them and the derm suggested that I try a very low dose of roaccutane. But at pretty much the same time, and before I had time to decide about the roaccutane, my divorce hearing took place, and afterwards, almost instantaneously, in the course of about 3 weeks my spots all healed up and no more came. So the whole outburst was definitely stress-related. I wonder if yours could be too?

A couple of years later I started to get a few spots and went straight to my GP and asked for something to manage them. She prescribed Dalacin T topical solution and I still use it now, twice a week or so.

Definitely seek medical help, especially if the spots are causing scarring.

arggghhhh belledejour you could be right. My days got cut at work , there's a lot of stress and a lot of change, not to mention the financial side of it. Exactly the same time as this started happening, my jawline broke out. Funny you should mention the adrenals as mine broke down when i was in my 20s, due to stress (being bullied at work) and undiagnosed thyroid problems. This didnt affect my skin but i had five solid years of extreme insomnia (and thyroid still didnt get diagnosed correctly)

I got these every time I should have got my period when i had the Mirena coil fitted they stopped once it was removed

They are bloody horrible but luckily the marks have gone

I have thia too. Big flare up after dd2 that never calmed down. Waited a year for hormones to settle and saw my gp. She changed my pill, gave me topical gel and reccomended gentle skin care range. They certainly reduced over 3 months. I've since changed off that pill as it made me a bit panicky and sick but skin on jaw is getting bad again so will probably go back. They are like boils at their worst, but nothing to pop

Go to doc...I got the same only on chin...hormones. Really horrible at our age!!

I now take a water retention tablet each day because it has a slight hormonal effect on the body, and a topical cream to put on at night (Differin).

Took two weeks and pretty much sorted it out. Now just take the pills and use the cream twice a week

I agree about getting referred to a dermatologist. I get spots like this when not pregnant/bf'ing and spent years going to the GP and facing about with lotions that didn't work.

One trip to the dermatologist and a month later, they were history.