Someone please help me fix my terrible skin!

[EnFlique]

It’s really getting me down.
I’m mixed race.
I have some acne which is bad enough but I scar very easily and so my face is covered in dark spots from previous spots.
I get a lot of white/yellow headed spots and some very sore red spots too.

It is the scarring that I am most bothered about, I have tried various serums and creams but nothing seems to help them fade.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated - the more affordable the better!

Have you seen your doctor? There are some prescription strength treatments that work quite well.

Have you tried Elemis cleansing balm? It's totally changed my life. I used to suffer with acne- mainly the big red spots under the skin. It's more or less cleared it.

Also, scarring is less noticeable because my skin has had chance to calm down. I used to get acne on top of acne.

Hope you get lots of good suggestions. It really gets you down.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Proofing Daily Wash. and benzoyl peroxide gel apply at night before. Takes a wee while to get used to it as face feel very dry so better doing it right before bed. And an oil free moisturiser x

I have been to the GP in the past and been prescribed Duac gel and long term antibiotics but neither seemed to help.
I’ll make another appointment though and see if they have a miracle cure for me!

Meanwhile I’ll try the suggestions above, thank you!

I think the pill (dianette) or accutane might be the way to go if you are getting acne on top of acne scars.

Ask the GP to refer you to a dermatologist as they will have more treatment options. Roaccutane cleared up my skin once and for all.

Might not be relevant to you but some people get results after giving up dairy.
I get boils if I have too much dairy! I can only tolerate a bit.

Ds has acne and what helped him was a facial scrub.
Volcano foot scrub from Lush. Not necessarily a facial scrub but it is brilliant used on the face.

I think I had something similar. Following a visit to a private dermatologist after getting nowhere with my GP (including Duac which just felt like it burned my skin) I was diagnosed with saebhorric (aaargh spelling!) dermatitis. Have to wash my face with Nizorol shampoo and then apply a light hydrocortisone cream and it’s got it under control. Worked like a dream - maybe worth going private if you can afford it, conditions that affect your face have such a negative effect of self esteem it’s horrible. Hope it gets sorted soon.

I second giving up dairy and if you can bear it a Paleo diet may help

Roaccutane cleared my skin. Dianette didn’t work, long term antibiotics destroyed my gut flora and didn’t help, topical stuff didn’t deal with the cause

I feel for you, it’s really upsetting having spots

Dermalogica dermal clay cleanser is very good

Have a look at some of Caroline Hirons stuff on either YouTube or her blog. She gives excellent advice on lots of different skin problems and is an expert in the field of skincare.
I’d also go back to your GP - ds2 was referred to the dermatology dept at our hospital for his acne a couple of years ago, and was prescribed roaccuttane. It’s pretty hardcore, but the results have been phenomenal.

Paula's Choice fixed my adult acne. The bha liquid exfoliant in the turquoise blue bottle is a good place to start. It gets rid of post-spot red marks and got rid of my spots entirely.

I think you just have to try different things (the Elemis is raved about but broke me out sadly)

I tried bioderma sebium range on myself after a recommendation here, after what I’d been using effectively for years just STOPPED. WORKING. And brilliantly the cleansing water, akn cream and hydra moisturiser worked for me.

Or ipl or roaccutane. It’s so awful, full sympathy.

My dd has a cream from gp, it's really helped and is also nearly completed six weeks of antibiotics to prevent scarring . If you see a female gp rather than male, they may have more options to give. Also watch nerida joy videos on you tube she treats a lot of American celebs with acne on her channel.

You need roaccutane (not sure thats how you spell it) Very strong drug can only be given under dematologist and wont be prescribed if youve ever suffered from depression as can cause problems. Alternatively dianette which is the pill nit can just ne given for acne. Creams and potions wont fix this. My skin was worse than this in the past its now clear bar the odd menstrual spot

End Zit very expensive (though this is a pretty good price - it's about £60 on amazon), tiny bottle - works absolute miracles. Worth every penny. You can get it in different shades to match your skin tone. You can use it when you feel a spot coming up and the spot will never appear. Or use it once the spot is there and it will disappear very quickly. Stops the scarring as well.

Look up environ it’s done wonders for my skin won’t touch anything else now it’s vitamin A based. They do skin care and vitamins. You can only buy it from trained beauty therapists.

Very reasonably priced too average of £40/£50 for 3/4 months supply

Hi OP

Please check out this blogger. It has some excellent info and advice. Plus this guy has really done his scientific research. (Read through the other pages on acne)

simpleskincarescience.com/pie-pih-acne-scar-treatment

You could also read up on the acne regimen which is based on using benzoyl peroxide. This is the most effective topical treatment for acne but needs to be used in conjunction with lots of moisturiser!

Finally, you need to identify what is causing your acne for the right internal treatment. A derm should be able to do that. If it’s hormonal dianette/Yasmin or an anti androgen blocker (eg spironolactone) can help.

Unfortunately I do suffer with depression so sounds like roaccutane will be a definite no.
Also had lots of problems with every pill I have tried so another dead end with that one.

I’m going to go back to my GP. I have seen him about it before so hopefully he will refer me on to somebody.
It’s awful 😞

I had acne for 10 years until another poster here told me about zz cream (google it). It’s changed my life.

Not true re depression, I was prescribed it four years after coming out of a SIX YEAR highly medicalised depressive interlude! Doc said tbh having very long term bad skin is so fundamentally distressing for people that the roaccutane shows no worse outcomes. But def don’t drink on it or anything.

Hi, I am also mixed race and have had acne since age 11- am already really panicking for my kids.
Anyway, I was on everything from dianette up to roaccutane and nothing worked.
I read talked to a Dr. Haushka racialist and read Caroline Hirons. I decided that I needed to make my skin stronger and healthier. So I went mad on probiotic stuff (kefir, Kombucha, sauerkraut) and did a couple of Wholr 30 type cleanses - so no dairy/soy/fun.
And I started using stuff to help build the protective mantle of the skin- I double cleanse as per Hirons and use 1) balance me oil balm and 2) either Korean salycyclic acid wash or Waitrose pure cream cleanser in evening. Plus mud mask (flavanone? from the ordinary twice a week). Also niaciamide and hydralauronic acid under cream. I can't use spf as I react so don't use retinoids.
I saw a facialists recently and she was surprised how clear my actual skin was (as it still is scarred so looks spotty- aargh). So I think the regime works for me, but am contemplating obagi blue peel or something once I have zero breakouts ever. Would love to have clear looking skin for once in my adult memory.
Good luck and huge sympathy.

I wish as a teen I'd had better advice for my skin. No idea what your skin under the spots is like but, what helped me:

• understanding skin. My skin wasn't oily at all. In fact, I really suffer from dry skin and I think the oiliness was caused by using products to dry it out to help the spots. I got far fewer when I started using the right products - usually combination skin or for dry or, in winter, very dry skin. So, find out what your skin really needs. Do not ask an 'expert' in Boots.
• Cut out products with SLS and stuff like that. Use micellar water to clean skin, never scrub it, use anything harsh at all. I use a moisturiser that is gentle and few ingredients. Basically the more I was faffing with my skin the harder it was to get it to calm down.
• Wash pillow case and bedding weekly as a minimum and in a laundry detergent that doesn't make my skin sensitive. Even now I can tell, if on holiday or something, if the detergent is irritating my face or i know if have missed laundry day as I will get a spot or two
• I cut out dairy. Not for my skin but it was a side effect that it cleared up and the dry patches on my face never happened again after that
• Go easy on any make up products on your skin. Stick to really gentle stuff that is designed for super sensitive skin

Don't know if any of that helps, but I do also send empathy as I spent years with horrid skin on my face and was put on antibiotics, etc. by a GP when really what was needed was help from someone to guide me to the kind of products I needed to look after my skin. I get my skin from my biological father who I wasn't in touch with growing up and my mum's skin is completely different so she wasn't much help and, really, gave terrible advice, but in good faith as she didn't know any different.