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Original poster

Teen daughter acne

122 replies

M48294Y · 06/04/2016 20:47

Hello, have name changed for this to protect dd's privacy.

She is 15 and has quite bad acne. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say she is about a 7. Her skin is bumpy and she has loads of whiteheads and blackheads, and a few big red spots. It gets worse when she is premenstrual but atm doesn't really clear up between periods either.

She washes her face twice a day with a witch hazel foaming wash, then uses a deep pore cleansing toner on cotton wool, and uses a scrub wash every couple of days. She uses a facepack once pw. We have tried steaming her face and a blackhead remover to extract the blackheads, but some of them are very deep!

What else could she do? I am loathe to take her to the GP for a prescription because a) she has to take quite a lot of medication for another chronic health condition and b) a teen I know fairly well has developed jaundice from her acne medication!

We are comfortably off and I would be happy to pay for deep cleansing facials for her, whilst at the same time not wanting to give the message that her skin is a problem that needs to be solved and that beauty is anything more than skin deep.

Sorry that was absolutely epic! Thanks for reading and wwyd?

OP posts:
parissont · 09/04/2016 16:55

Cetaphil is very expensive and even on accutane dd found the moisturiser too greasy. The cheapest plainest is best while on Roaccutane. Dd used nivea sensitive.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 09/04/2016 17:03

I bought Cetaphil wash for a fiver, so not expensive. I agree the plainer the better though.
I'm not actually convinced by face washes I think they can irritate skin, a flannel and warm water did wonders for ds's skin but he didn't have full blown acne.

Fatrascals · 09/04/2016 20:55

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Fatrascals · 09/04/2016 20:57

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parissont · 09/04/2016 21:00

It's not wrong and dangerous, don't be ridiculous. All acne is different and most acne can't be cleared by fricking Witch hazel. My poor dd tried everything and nothing helped her. Cetaphil is 15 quid in boots here.

VulcanWoman · 09/04/2016 21:04

Or fricking diet, it doesn't make a blind bit of difference to most sufferers, just makes them feel shit about eating some chips or chocolate.

Fatrascals · 09/04/2016 21:07

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parissont · 09/04/2016 21:07

Yes vulcanwoman! Dd wouldn't eat anything sweet or fatty in front of anyone Sad she doesn't eat dairy anyway for other reasons so the no dairy thing is bollocks imo.

parissont · 09/04/2016 21:10

I think it's pretty obvious that products don't work if you've tried all the snake oil out there for 4 years with no improvement. So not wrong to say they do NOT work.

Can't wait for someone to come on and say they washed their pillowcases in coconut oil and took vitamin x and washed with manatee tears and it all went away.

VenusRising · 09/04/2016 21:10

Bring the poor girl to the GP and stop fannying about second guessing about drug interactions OP.

Cystic and scarring acne has HUGE knock on effects physically and psychologically and isn't to be brushed aside fo fears about "what ifs" about others who may have had problems with any medications they were prescribed.

Having such cystic acne for a protracted time in your youth can really stay with you later no matter if it clears up or not.

Get an appointment with the GP and ask for a dermatologist referral. Your dd has ongoing and deep grained cystic acne and it needs to be treated by professionals.

Cystic acne is a serious condition and it won't be cured with fancy soap/ cream/ lotion, no matter what the feng shui of your bathroom is, and she needs medical help to get rid of it.

Fatrascals · 09/04/2016 21:11

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parissont · 09/04/2016 21:11

And my NHS consultant dermatologist told me that exact thing - no products work and only hormones or accutane works. So take it up with them!

parissont · 09/04/2016 21:13

None of us liked cetaphil. It stinks and is really greasy.

Fatrascals · 09/04/2016 21:15

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SomeDayMyPrinceMightCome · 09/04/2016 21:22

Another vote in favour of roaccutane.

Took it at 21 and then again at 30 when wedding stress brought out appalling cystic acne for the second time.

Now 40 and never had a single spot (literally) since.

It gets a bad press in some quarters but it saved me two nervous breakdowns. Had tried everything else by that stage and nothing worked.

Good luck, your DD is lucky to have you!! My mum just kept bemoaning how dreadful it looked!

Daydreambelievers · 09/04/2016 21:24

I would take her to the G.P.,my nephew went and was put on antibiotics which worked for a while.He was then put on Roaccuatane which worked wonders.His confidence improved ,even his school work went up.I would take her asap.Good luck

parissont · 09/04/2016 21:27

I am sorry fatrascals, I understand you don't want a row but it's an emotive subject and your comment:
Products can and do work if you know the right ones and you use them properly.

Is insulting.

mrwalkensir · 09/04/2016 21:28

Worth trying lactose free milk now that it's readily available - our middle one was getting acne just abut the time we linked her stomach pains to being lactose intolerant. Both cleared up pretty fast. In her case it definitely was diet related

JackandDiane · 09/04/2016 21:30

GO TO THE DOCTOR

GO TO THE DOCTOR

omg i wish people on mn would STOP STOP STOP recommending face washes for acne
My son has been on meds for a couple of years for acne. Drs are VERY sympathetic to it these days and say that what you need to do is start before it becomes that scarring type

GO TO THE DOCTOR

mrsmugoo · 09/04/2016 21:34

Having been through it myself I know what I will do when/if my children have to suffer it in their teenage years.

I was in and out of the doctors my entire teenage years and beyond - I tried every topical lotion and potion and all sorts of combinations of anti biotics and dianette pill. Each one needs at least 3 months to work so years would go by with absolutely zero progress until I finally got roaccutane from a dermatologist.

I would certainly push for that dermatologist referral and not be fobbed off!!

Advice about not using harsh products is sound though - it won't cure your acne but it could stop making it worse!

SomeDayMyPrinceMightCome · 09/04/2016 21:39

Yep I agree with you mrsmugoo, if my DD came out with cystic acne like mine in her teens I wouldn't hesitate to get her to a derm and push for roaccutane (after the obligatory round of antibiotics obv)

I couldn't agree more with pp that for nasty cystic acne there is honestly nothing else that will work. My dermatologist made it v clear she thought this and in my case at least she was proven right.

VulcanWoman · 09/04/2016 21:41

This type of cystic acne IMO can not be cured by diet/creams, I don't care what some of you say. I think the problem is everyone has a different definition of what acne is.

ILikeUranus · 09/04/2016 21:41

They can prescribe topical treatments if she doesn't want to take tablets. She needs to sort this with the GP. There are cosmetic treatments like microdermabrasion or dermapen, but that's probably treating the symptom rather than the cause. Washes and such are great for maintenance but they won't treat the problem.

parissont · 09/04/2016 21:45

vulcanwoman is that you Flowers

I am actually really proud that I fought for dd to have Roaccutane. It's one of the best things I've ever done as a mum. My own mother told me to drink cabbage cooking water for my own acne Sad

beesarethebest · 09/04/2016 21:48

I had that sort of acne as seen in the photo above. It developed at age 18. Whilst all my girlfriends had the usual pimply forehead that you'd use clearasil on and came about at aged 13 or so, I didn't have that. At 18 when everyone had boyfriends and no spots, I had the angry cystic ones. Very very painful too.

Roaccutane worked a treat. My brother also took it. We both have scars (bad) but no more spots. My dad has them (the scars) as do his brothers.

If it's as bad as the picture or similar to that, changing diets will not make a difference. Go to the dermatologist.

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