Why is my skin so relentlessly shit?

[boredofdinosaurs]

I'm 33 FFS. I currently have 2 horrible spots you can see from space, but it seems to have been a never ending cycle of them recently.

What are my options? Can the GP wave a magic wand?

I know it's obvious, but do you eat well and drink lots of water? clean your face regularly? I often watch people eating crap food and notice large blemishes on their jawlines

Get thee to a GP. They can prescribe the stuff that helps.

What is you diet like? Give us a typical day or so....

What's your skincare routine? I'd try to tweak that and your diet before going to the GP which seems a bit excessive for 2 spots!

Probably hormonal - are you overweight? Do you have PCOS? Mind you I have similar, a couple of volcanoes on my chin - and it's because I have run out of my usual light oil free moisturiser and used a richer moisturiser for a week. Gah.

Anyway your skin is a window to your digestion and your hormones, so check them and fix if necessary first. Eg if you're constipated, so will your pores be. Hormones - starflower oil, iron, sleep, and pregnancy will all help

Your diet is key.

Re be spots - Are they hard? Do they hurt? If so, it may be an infection. Regularly wash with soap, disinfect, then apply antibiotic cream.

How is your general health? Do you eat properly, get enough sleep and relaxation time? Your skin will reflect your general health and being under/overweight, poorly nourished or chronically tired will not help at all.

I really rate a Clarisonic cleansing brush for getting skin properly clean.

I have this problem as part of the monthly cycle. If there is some supplement or something i should take regularly I would really like to know about it.

I really don't think it's diet related for me definitely hormonal!

Currently I'm using freederm twice a day as soon as they start and most of the time can prevent them from reaching a head but not always.

I'll watch this thread for much needed advice too

I have always had greasy skin, I make myself feel better with the fact that I might take me longer to get wrinkles. I used to get spots until someone suggested an aspirin face mask. I now use one twice a week while in the bath ( clarification: I don't just have a bath twice a week )
When in the bath wash and dry your face then get 4 dispersible aspirin and add a few drops of water until they make a paste. Apply the paste to your face and lie back for 5 minutes, taking the chance to relax and unwind. The mask will harden slightly but easily washes off with warm water. Finish off by slashing your face with cold water. I honestly haven't had a spot since and the aspirins cost approx 24p every few weeks ( make sure to buy dispersible aspirin or it won't work as well )

Diet has a massive effect on your hormones onetwothree. Especially sugar....the number of people who cut out sugar right down and find all pms issues simply disappear is astonishing. If you eat a lot of sugar and/or processed carbohydrates then I'd start by minimising those and see what happens. The other big thing is good fat, skin needs plenty of that - raw nuts, avocados, cold pressed oils, oily fish, nut butter....then sleep and water though I'm not sure we need as much water as many people think.

Sometimes you can have a good diet and still have shit skin. I don't claim to have the perfect diet but it's pretty good, probably better than most people I know. I have friends who eat the most awful shite and have skin like the proverbial peach. It does make me want to wail. Pcos is in my family but I got tested a while back and all looked ok; have had no issues getting pregnant. I'm slim, not particularly hirsute. And yet.
I think extreme sensitivity is my biggest problem. I'm 30.

Pregnancy will not always help! I'm nearly 15 weeks pregnant and at 10 weeks exploded with the worst acne I've had in years. It's beginning to clear but Argh.

Re skincare - you need to do a proper clean with a product suitable for your skin type. No wipes. Wash off properly with a warm flannel.

This single step made a huge difference to my 36yo skin when I started a year ago. I've had one spot in a whole year - significantly better than before - and my skin is much fresher.

Then other products suited to your skin type. The routine is more important than the price. Super drug do some great products.

Then lots and lots of water, minimal sugar.

Try that for a month and you should see a huge difference I think.

It's possibly hormonal! Hate crap people speak about spots and diet sometimes. I had a very virtuous diet and nothing but hormonal contraception helped. Basically people saying it's your own fault for your cleaning program or diet most people I know with spots or acne as adults have tried everything and are v strict about diet.
Also b-complex and zinc helped. Try a few different spot washes the gentler the better.

It's not crap andcake, ... It doesn't always correlate and medical help is necessary but very often diet can make a huge difference and it's the easiest place to look first.

And just to say again, diet dramatically affects hormones. And a 'virtuous' diet doesn't necessarily translate to what your body/skin actually needs - see my point about EFA deficiency above.

I know what you're saying, Sleep, but why do so many people with terrible diets have exquisite skin? It does gall a bit when you've suffered for 16 ish years, tried every product going, and eat really well the vast majority of the time.
Dianette helped for a while OP but it's a bad drug tbh although I was ok on it. People rave about Roaccutane but I've heard it's far more effective on men - lots of women I know have had it work for a while and then the problem comes back. I don't know what the answer is.

For me diet is the big thing. I usually eat really well, up to about 10 portions of fruit and veg a day and loads of water but if I have a big weekend my skin goes mad the next week.

How does the asprin face mask work Durham, I'm intrigued?

I think it's because one of the main ingredients is salicylic acid, this is also put into lots of skin are products but in much lower doses. I'm never without a packet of aspirin now, it's such an effective facemask and so very cheap.

aspirin contains salicylic acid which is used to treat spots. That's why the face mask works. If its too harsh for you on its own mix in a little bit of honey. Your skin will feel really zingy afterwards.

My diet isn't too bad, not overweight, eat my fruit and veg, etc. My 2 vices are tea and sugar so would be willing to give them up for any improvement.

Reading someone say 'infection' is making me ponder. It does feel like an infection - it's not just little zits, at the moment it's huge ones that hurt, and persistently around the same side of my face.

I've tried most the products in my price range. I had some success a while back switching to a non-oiled based moisturiser but this past couple of months nothing has made any difference.

I need to register with a GP (just moved house)! Are there any over the counter medicines I can get from Boots today?

Or yes, might try the aspirin mask first!

I've read about lemon and honey as well. Is that the same principle?

diet does play a part in some cases though. I could always tell when my ex had been eating cheeseburgers by the huge zits on his back

Good luck, hope it makes a difference for you. I noticed a difference straight away but it took a few masks to clear up my skin completely. I continue to use the masks twice a week as maintenance....plus too scared to stop in case I have a break out.

Let us know if it works for you too

I think its genes tbh.

I refuse to spend good money on skincare, and have always had good skin (don't worry-I have other crossed to bear...).

Mine does just fine on wadhing with water, a bit of nivea soft, and hardly ever wesring make up.