Adult acne

[Schmoozer]

Hi, I’m late 40s, had horrid teenage spots,
Occasional spots continued with menstrual cycle, but managed to keep on top of it,
Since last summer, I’ve had irregular periods and worsening skin.
I guess I’m menopausal, and it’s hormonal related
Pimples mainly on neck, jaw line and hairline
Take ages to go, leave bad marking, ok probably due to my picking them, but actually when I resist picking they still leave bad bright red marks, and I’ve got fair skin, so it looks horrendous
I’ve been obsessively reading as much as I can online, YouTube tutorials etc etc
I’ve tried tons of different products
I’m baffled and no further forward.
I think I need to go to GP and see what they say
What I’m using currently is clearisil scrub with salicylic acid as the facial wash morning and night
I’m applying benzoyl peroxide directly to spots
Using soft Nivea moisturiser as its always been the one that I’ve got on bed with
My skin especially my neck is quite dry, mainly due to the benzoyl peroxide that I slap on, but that’s the worst area for spots so I need to put it there
I drink lots of water, don’t eat much processed food, exercercise regularly, don’t drink fizzy drinks
It’s so depressing, seeing my ugly horrid skin first thing in the morning, it makes me self conscious and sad.
It makes me feel dirty / ugly and I can’t seem to get on top of it,
I know I need to get to GP, but in meantime, and advise for me ?
Thanks

Hi there,
I feel sorry for you! I know this feeling. I had lot's of doctors appointments until he wanted to give me like really strong pills and I decided to stop going to see him.
For me being more relaxed helped a lot and also I did start making masks out of healing earth und I did use a zinc foam to clean me skin.
Some herbal tees might help as well!
Good luck!!

Could be cystic acne? Really painful large spots that sort of came from underneath and seemed to take weeks to come and go leaving ugly marks that took ages to fade. GP gave me a long courses of antibiotics which worked amazingly.

I've had this, the scrub is very irritating and best avoided.

I use grape seed oil to cleanse, Superdrug glycolic toner, then the ordinary reservation, then factor 50 sunblock.

Same at night but I cleanse twice to get rid of sunblock. Every third night I use alpha lipoid acid from the ordinary instead of reservatrol.

Once a week I use the 30% alpha hydroxy acid peel.

I have a led face mask too and do 20 minutes blue every night to kill bacteria and 30 of red to promote collagen production.

My DD (with teenage acne) has been amazed by the results of Cidal soap on her skin. So cheap so worth a go.

teenage acne is not to compare with adult acne and you shouldn't really use the same products .

I had the acne that goes with Rosacea, it was grim and only isotretinoin got rid of it after all antibiotics failed.
My dd has acne (she's 18) and she uses duac from the Gp to try to keep hers under control.

Clearasil isn’t great for adult skin and won’t be giving it the nourishment it needs, whilst still cleansing. The scrub element will also be too harsh. Avene (available in boots) have a really good range for blemish prone skin that’s worth a look.

The problem of course is that this type of skin also tends to be sensitive to certain products too, so I’ve found that what somebody has sworn by has just made my skin worse. It might be worth a trip to your Gp first, just to check it’s not something they could help with before you spend more money on skincare.

Thank you for all your responses !
I looked up cystic acne, it certainly helped me to count my blessings ! I saw some shocking pictures, what a horrid condition.
I may have a mild case of cystic, as the red deep bumps do look similar, I just have less of them, and they are smaller bumps than many on the images I saw
A few of you have said the clearasil scrub is likely to be too irritating, I do have fairly sensitive skin, and it does sting a bit, so I think you are right !!
I have resorted back to teenage used products, with no success.
I’m going to check out some of the products you mention,
And the LED light, in my youth I always found that sun beds or real sun really helped improve my skin, but don’t use sun beds now for obvious reasons,
Does the LED lamp have the same effect ??
Many thanks

The blue led light is absorbed by the acne causing bacteria but not normal commensal bacteria. It kills them but I forget how. The important thing is their dead.

It's uv free.

The red light encourages collagen and elastin formation which repairs the scars. I've got very pale skin too and the red marks get me down.

The whole thing, with the new products from the ordinary has taken three months to work, with one months break when I was ill and got out of routine.

There's lots of YouTube videos on them and research literature. I got mine off amazon, it's a beauty star one.

Just realised the pictures that come up when you look up cystic acne. Gosh, I was lucky - For me it was one spot, maybe two every other month. It was at its worst in my 30s and I felt really awful. I was lucky enough to have no spots as a teenager. If possible, perhaps ring up in the morning to get a gp appointment on a day when one of the spots is bad. They can then see it. The only thing that worked for me was the antibiotics.

A bit like this, but fewer spots. Maybe two at most. They were really painful.

goo.gl/images/7TCDU5

What works for me is:
LRP Toleraine cream wash off cleanser
The Ordinary Niacinamide and Zinc used as a serum
During the day Bioderma Sebium Hydra moisturiser
At night The Ordinary 2% granactive retinoid in squalene

I'm late 40s and there was definitely a hormonal link to my acne. None of these products are expensive and my skin is now clear of spots and the scars have completely faded.

Kitchen - yes that looks like it, just wider spread, not in a cluster
Off to look at the ordinary !!