13 Yo DD's skin!

[JasonOgg]

My 13yo DD started her periods about 4 months ago and as if by magic her skin has gone seriously downhill! For context she has never been into make up and doing her hair but we have never had to battle over washing.
She has started getting a few pimples on her forehead, chin and nose, which we have been tackling with a very plain face wash (boots own which I have used for years) and an oil free moisturiser. However what concerns me is she is getting lots of little bumps across the bridge of her nose (think of where you might see freckles) that extend out a bit onto her cheeks. As well as this she is getting very sore looking skin around the creases of her nostrils and her cheeks are looking very flushed. To make matters worse e poor thing is getting a little noticeable facial hair on her upper lip which she hasn't commented on yet!

I had to persuade her to start using a face wash to start with and she doesn't like using moisturiser in general so I can't say she is always following a good routine but I do try and remind her. I had not brilliant skin as a teen (still have breakouts at 45!) which my parents refused to help me with, so I know I'm getting anxious due to my own past.

Can anyone offer any advice what might be the problem and any how I can best help her?

Trip to the GP? I recently started a combination of oral antibiotics and topical retinoids and my skin looks the best it ever has. I wish my Mum had taken me to the doc when I was a teenager and that I'd sorted my skin out earlier. On the other hand, if she's not that bothered about it at the moment, then try not to transfer your own worries about it onto her - in a way if it's not bothering her at the moment then it's not a huge issue. As for the lip - maybe wait until she says something to convey it's concerning her - and then suggest bleaching perhaps?

Thanks for the response Daisy. She hasn't expressed a concern yet but that doesn't mean she isn't thinking about it! Out of the blue she insisted she HAD to learn how to shave her legs, which were fine really!
I am trying to be very casual about the whole thing with a "let's try a few different things" but I am def going to take her to the doc if we haven't got some improvement by the summer hols. I was hoping a warm sunny spring and summer might help as it always did with mine.

Please take her to the doctor! My mum did and it meant I got help early - whilst my skin was not perfect it was a lot better than it might have been (even though I never took the tablets).

I had antibiotics (but rarely took them), retin-A, and eventually the contraceptive pill (not sure it's still available - dianette? Sure I read somewhere it's been taken off the market).

There's lots that can be done but start early before it starts scarring.

The thing to remember is that all treatments are long term ones, so whilst it might improve in summer it will get worse again in autumn so it's best to start ASAP.

I have a 13 year old too. She's had periods for about 13 months and has started to get some spots in the last few months and some top lip hair. I noticed she went spotty on her top lip then realised she'd shaved it (badly). So I taught her how to do it properly and offered to take her for a waxing (but at that age they're not prepared to suffer in the name of beauty). For her skin she tried Boots simply sensitive and neutrogena pink face washes (both ok I suppose) but about a month ago I got her LRP Effaclar and her skin is much better. I feel she doesn't have bad enough skin to warrant antibiotics a GP trip at this age.

Redness in nose creases and cheeks just might indicate seborrheic dermatitis ( same cause as cradle cap in babies)rather than spots. You probably need to visit the dr. Just to make sure.

Jolen cream bleach for upper lip until she is old enough for laser treatment.

I know my DD won't be prepared for waxing either Angie!
Thanks for the suggestion Slip, I'm off to google that one! Might need to show it to DD to persuade her to go to the GP. I'm struggling to get her to deal with blackheads so a trip to the doc will take some persuading!

Wow Slip, I think you might have cracked it! I have googled and looked at the images as well as there are some that look exactly like DD!

Hope it is easily sorted. :)

We had this thread recently. Go to thd doctors. Seriously. No teen needs to put up with this