Adult acne - help me!

[MrsHandles]

I came off the pill (Yasmin) in January. Since then, my skin has erupted around my jawline and going down onto my neck. It looks horrendous, exactly as I looked when I was 15 and the reason I was put onto the pill in the first place.

Lovely Style and Beauty people, please help me find a way of at least settling the acne down as it looks so angry and red and is beginning to upset me as nothing seems to be working. I'm a teacher and feel very self-conscious of it (more so since a couple of children have commented on it) thank you.

Have you visited your GP? They have various things they can prescribe.

I've used (with success) la Roche posay effaclar duo as a serum, bravura salicylic acid and Azulene moisturiser amongst other things.

You are best treating it gently with regards to skincare. What do you use at the moment?

Ok, so I'm still trying to figure out how to totally conquer mine, but so far I've learned:

• don't scrub at it - with anything - it will aggravate it.
• use clean face towel every couple of days for drying your face. Turn & use a clean section each time. I bought half a dozen from the local homewares bargain section so I always have at least a couple of clean ones available. Pat it dry, do not rub.
• don't try to "degrease" your skin too aggressively- it will only respond by producing more.

This has helped me. Roaccutane (on prescription from the dermatologist) helped but was very unpleasant to take.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come along soon.

I've been trying to use natural things, so sulphur soap, tea tree etc, however I'm becoming desperate.

I actually have an appointment for my doctor on Wednesday, I'll see what they say too. In the meantime, thanks for your recommendations

Also (if you're up for the scientific side of it) this thread is worth reading, I've made some changes based on recommendations by the very helpful Nabootique & Botemp & have seen an improvement in the last few days.

Take a look at www.acne.org

I used to have similar acne and it cleared up when I started using the glycolic acid cream they mention in the regimen.

If it's hormonal, which it clearly is, start with your gp. But it can take up to six months for your body to adapt to the change of hormones. I remember that taking starflower oil supplement helped a bit, and acne products from La Roche Posey.

Thank you all very much! It's depressing seeing my 30 year old face with acne; I thought I'd left it behind in my teenage years. If I'd have known it would return when coming off the pill, I'd have never taken it in the first place.

I'll definitely speak to my doctor when I see them, but I'll also look into all of your suggestions.

Again, thank you lovely Mumsnet!

I have had acne for about 40 years (!) off (whilst pregnant and bf) and on and the best products I have ever used are Aknicare, mail order. Really work for me.

Fumanchu, 40 years is awful, you poor thing. As a teenager I was bullied horribly and having acne was another thing they could get at me for. Taking the pill was a godsend, however at the start of they year my DH and I decided we wanted to try for a baby. I stopped taking pill and the acne returned, so now, 11 months on, I have no baby but lots of spots!

Following! I have the same problem. Came off dianette to ttc in May and all my spots came back with a vengeance within a month or two. I'm now pregnant so they're completely awful and I'm miserable and self conscious. Hoping there are some safe suggestions I can try whilst pregnant!

Moonlight, how long did it take you to get pregnant? Congratulations btw! DH was deployed in June, so we've had to put things on hold until he returns in December.

Acne is just the work of the devil, I really hope I find something amongst the suggestions above.

Melstarrynight, I've looked at acne.org, very interesting thanks!

Evening primrose oil capsules helped both settle my hormones and my spots.

Thanks! It didn't take us long thankfully 2 months first time but I had a mc, now 9 weeks pregnant again (3rd cycle since mc).

I took evening primrose oil when ttc to try and help increase ewcm and unfortunately it made no difference to me (in ewcm or acne that I noticed!)

I've just been prescribed Zineryt - hoping this works... I'm 39 and have been fed up with my spots for about 25 years. Does anyone have experience of this?

I find diet helps balance my hormones. I've seen a huge improvement since I stopped eating sugar. Have a look at www.iquitsugar.com
I also noticed a difference in pms symptoms once I got over the initial withdrawal from sugar.

Quick update: I've just seen my doctor and she has prescribed me benzoyl peroxide 3% cream. Should start seeing results in 6-8 weeks. Fingers crossed for a spot-free me!

Didn't do anything for me personally op but fx it does work for you.. used to be able to buy it over the counter (panoxyl) and I tried on and off for years but just made my skin so sore :(. Let us know how you get on and may give it another go.

Please go to the Gp. A topical antipbiotic and a course of aural ones sorted mine - my skin is clear now and was a total mess.

Oral!!

Hi OP, be careful with that cream. I'm in the exact same situation as you (came off Yasmin in Jan..actually thought DP had written this post on behalf of me after me getting upset over weekend!) and I've been prescribed that cream in the past. It really damaged my skin on any bit of skin that didn't have a spot. I tried to be careful, but I could never confine just to spots. It did help clear them, but just want to let you know to be careful when applying.

My routine at the moment is (and is probably all the wrong stuff, but am trying to use up what's in the cupboard):

Morning - scrub with a Garnier scrub with salicylic acid, then ProActive Toner and spot cream.

Evening - clean with Micellar water, then clean again with baby oil (apart from on spots). Toner on spotty areas and ProActive cream again. It's working okay-ish so far, but am gonna have a read above to find something to prevent them coming altogether. This month it has been the worst since Jan!

Thanks, I've got my fingers crossed. Going to collect prescription over the weekend. This is part of my face. Excuse the towel, I've just washed my hair.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely use with caution! If people aren't too bored already, I'd like to post a picture every now and again to see any sort of progress.

Ah you poor thing, it looks so sore. It's miserable isn't it :(

Hope you have some joy with the cream. Would love updates from you!

I have been using a 2.5 benzoyl peroxide cream on spot prone areas for about 18 months now with great results. 2 things i would recommend as its potent stuff - start slowly and build up over time. And after you've applied it wait til its soaked in and dry then apply moistuiser to stop dryness. Hope it works for you!

Zinc supplements!

I came off the pill and got a terrible outbreak in my early 30s. I ordered the skintactix method and the first batch came with zinc pills. I started taking them along with an omega oil supplement and the acne pretty much completely disappeared.

15 years on, I only use the soap from that system (because it is mild and doesn't irritate my sensitive skin), and I am totally clear. But if I slack off on the zinc for too long, I start to get spots again.

As an interesting side effect of (possibly) the zinc (which dh started taking too) I got pg after many years of infertility and having been told it could not happen without ivf...