Adult acne back with a vengeance and wedding in 4 months

[lilyheather1]

Please help! My wedding is in 4 months time and my skin is breaking out near constantly with small painful red spots some whiteheads too. I thought I'd beaten the adult acne last year but no such luck. My current routine is:
Daily soft exfoliant
Hot muslin face wash
Hydrating serum
Sun lotion
Moisturiser.

Am I doing something wrong? If you've got your adult acne under control what did you do that worked? Looking for any help at all. Thanks all x

Book a dr appointment without delay they will be able to help - I can imagine how upsetting it is for you hope it clears up soon.

I don’t think you are doing anything wrong. I needed antibiotics to clear mine up and it has been so much better since. It returned once but I didn’t wait as long and went back on the antibiotics and they worked a treat again. I got oxytetracycline, I second the above poster and recommend that you get yourself to the doctors. You don’t have to suffer like this. I did for far too long and it got to the point where I didn’t want to leave the house

The sun lotion and moisturiser sounds a bit too much to me, do you have naturally dry or oily skin?

Not advised for long term but a blast with hydrocortisone cream can calm everything down before a big event

Cutting out exfoliating helped me, and then I cut out face oil. I figured that I was confusing my skin: dry, oily, and so best to keep it roughly the same. That worked this time but last time it was also oxytetracycline . Sorry you are suffering.

Have a look at Paula's Choice. I used to have lots of locked pores and painful cystic spots along the jaw so I bought one of the 2-week travel/sample kits and was so impressed I bought the full-size products. After a month my skin was perfect. It's brilliant stuff.

It's just so frustrating. It mostly cleared up last year and now there's practically no rest from it. I'll book a drs appointment for this week and look into your suggestions. I've even been recommended proactiv but the reviews seem very hit and miss. Thank you all 😊

I think you’re doing too much.

Daily exfoliation isn’t recommended is it? Also are you on the UK? I wouldn’t be putting sunscreen on in the winter.

I’ve recently been using La Roshe- Posay cleanser, toner and moisture, it cleared my very spotty skin up in about 5 days.

What worked for me is gentle, low-pH cleansing, hydrating products and bensoyl peroxide if I start to break out.

Your best bet might indeed be to get yourself to a doctor, especially if you want to get better fast.

Exfoliating every day can be aggravating to your skin. If you damage your skin barrier you will get spots. Your skin will be reacting to the over-exfoliation. While you're waiting for a doctors appointment try ditching the exfoliation and hot muslin. Get a documented gentle cleanser, like La Roche-Posay - use it twice maybe in the evenings to get the sunscreen off. There is plenty of great info on the skincare threads, the most recent one is here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/3391400--Fantastic-Skincare-Were-So-Drunk-Were-Seeing-Elephants?pg=1&messages=100

I definitely over-exfoliated my skin when I was listening to Caroline Hirons. Now I oil cleanse with an oil cleanser that rinses off and then foam cleanse, less rubbing.

I've never found a sun cream which doesn't give me spots - are you sure it's not the sun cream or moisturiser?

I think I may well be doing too much going to cut it right back to a gentle cleanser at night and gentle moisturiser in the morning.

Daily exfoliating is a lot, keep to once a week? I find hot cloth cleansers very thick and greasy - maybe stop with that for a week and see if that helps. I do find the cloths themselves are exfoliating actually.

Sun cream - could you switch to a clear oil spray one or a moisturiser with an SPF in it? One product instead of three.

What is anyone putting sunscreen on in the uk, in the winter?

I had a terrible breakout before my wedding and used the witch hazel stick from Superdrug! It was amazing - worked brilliantly.

Hate to say it, but my adult acne improved hugely when I gave up sugar. It sucks to miss out on treats, but worth a try maybe?

Lymecycline
You sound only take it for 3 months though so start about 2 monthsbefore the wedding ( assuming GP will prescribe)

Dermatica is good. Its an online dermatologist thing, £20 a month for acne or anti ageing treatment. I had clundamtcin1% + tretinoin 0.025% gel for a month, then dropped the clindamycin and now just have the tretinoin. You do need to moisture a lot, and wear sunscreen daily, either on top of or instead of moisturiser.

That should say clindamycin!

I have had good success with the supplements zinc 50mg, and vitamin A 800iu per day after online research.
I have previously had antibiotics, but wasn't sure they worked that well.
The whiteheads and pustules left bright red marks, and really left me feeling low.

I also love AHA and BHA (Cosrx and nip + fab), niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and retinoid serums (The Ordinary).
I oil cleanse, and use plant oils for moisture instead of creams, especially hemp, avacado and olive oil at the moment as my skin is dehydrated.

Adult acne is absolutely the pits.

@LizzieSiddal I do because I use retinol, and SPF is the most important thing. I don't wear it if I'm inside all day, that's the only time I don't

OP - benzoyl peroxide, bin the exfoliant and use a bland cleanser like cerave with a flannel to remove. Moisturiser still because the BP dries skin out

I second what everyone else has said about cutting back exfoliating, and seeing a dermatologist if it's really bad. I'd also suggest - and I know this doesn't work for everyone - cutting dairy and sugar if it is part of your diet. While it won't work on serious acne I have managed to minimise the number of random little spots I get by avoiding both as much as possible.

The Neutrogena light mask has helped my daughters' skin alongside a low dose course of antibiotics, hormonal bc, and 5% benzoyl peroxide applied to the spots only. They take the pill for 3 cycles at a time, skipping the sugar pills, as directed by our GP. The light mask has been in use for the past couple of months and they both say that they feel it has definitely shown good results and if they do get the odd pimple it rarely makes it to the surface.
Go see your GP and good luck for your June wedding x

Honestly I’d see a derm
Adult acne is rarely caused by your products/ routine alone. Meanwhile, you could also try cutting out dairy and sugar although it is not effective for all

Perhaps something like benzoyl peroxide, azelaic acid, antibiotics, or spironolactone will be appropriate
Hope you find something that works

Dermalogica gentle cream exfoliant once or twice a week. It’s an exfoliant using lactic acid but works without scrubbing. Brilliant for keeping pores clear and avoiding build up and blockages but is as the name suggests gentle. Use in combination with some other things you suggest. Gentle cleanser and gentle moisturiser I agree. Good luck!

You poor thing, go to a dermatologist urgently and get some retinol and other treatment. I don't suggest you stay on it indefinitely but just so you are clear for the wedding. It can be done!

Watching. Ds1 has bad acne, so taking him to GP this week.