Adult acne - help me!

[ruthyroo]

So I had spotty skin as a teenager, and was prescribed ABs and various lotions and potions at the time. Then it was okay for many years... I turned 40 this year and my skin has just been awful! I never had real acne before, just lots of teenage zits, but now I have the real deal - hard red cysts, scarring that leaves purple marks on my skin and take ages to heal, and lots of spots and redness on my forehead, and the lower half of my face and jawline. I've read what I can online and since it flares up much worse when my period is due, I can only assume it's all hormonally driven.

I'm going to go the the Dr soon and probably a dermatologist. But are there any fellow sufferers out there using over the counter products successfully? Or other non-medical approaches like cutting out sugar etc?

Help me - it's really bringing me down, just as I'm starting to get a bit of post-baby social life back!

Feel for you, I have always had bad skin, I've tried diets, cutting out dairy, then reducing carbs, adding in vitamins etc, nothing worked maybe was an improvement for a couple of weeks but would then return. Have had antibiotics, oral and cream, saw the dermatologist because I want retinoids but she wouldn't give them to me because of the side effects and the fact that they are very dangerous if you get pregnant, she asked me to take dianette which does have some effect I just hate taking it, it's not a very safe drug and makes me feel sick all the time. If youve got scarring you've probably got more chance of retinoids but they will want to try everything else first. Hope you go on ok.

I have suffered from acne since I was 10 I am now late 20's and have tried everything and I can honestly say dianette was the best thing for me I would definitely recommend trying it.

I started suffering from hormonal jawline cysts after my pregnancies (with purple scarring on very pale skin). I've found that salicylates (the LRP Effaclar line) really work: the foaming face wash and AI applied twice a day where the breakouts/cysts are.

Lots of cosmetics aggravate breakouts - I have to be very careful with makeup (oil-free - Revlon Colorstay is a great coverup, as is the LRP ultra-workable corrective fluid foundation) and moisturizers (they have to be noncomedogenic - Eucerin and LRP are good) and sunscreen (LRP Anthelios is the best I've found). Lots of high-end cosmetics cause me to break out - the creams are too rich and the foundations contain oils and a lot of silicones. The oil-cleaning method was toxic too - it caused boil-like cysts that took months to heal. I have mild rosacea too, and therefore avoid scrubs, peels and toners.

My skin is in great shape now - I get away with tinted sunscreen instead of full coverage foundation and the scars are fading.

I don't believe in diets (I try to have a heathy balanced Mediterranean diet with added calcium for bone health - this with moderate exercise has allowed me to go back to my pre-preg weight and maintain it for over a year) but oil-skin contact (bread dunked in olive oil, vaseline on lips) seems to cause extra breakouts.

Good luck! I know how demoralizing it can feel but there are lots of things that can help!

Having tried AB lotions and all sorts of more potent prescription treatments, including isotretinoin gel for 18 months non-stop, the one thing I have found that works for me is green tea.

I boiled the kettle to make 2 mugs of the stuff and used one for drinking and one to decant into a small spray bottle to use as a toner. After a week, any GT left in the spray bottle is thrown away and the bottle rinsed out ready for the next lot. The toner is mild enough, for me, to use twice daily and has definitely made a difference.

I do have the very odd break out, but far less that when I was using the prescription lotions and potions. I still have enlarged pores and scarring from previous years of acne either bursting or from being scratched (was very itchy while using some of the topical ointments).