Best acne treatment

[AliyyaJann]

I'm no teenager I'm 26 so why the hell have I suddenly broken out with bad acne?

I have white heads popping up every few hours, my pores are slightly enlarged and I have more blackheads than usual. My skin is much more greasy but can go dry for a few days. I have red patches and scarring and I feel really unattractive.

This happened 2 months ago out of nowhere. I used to have really clear skin and I only used water and soap. I don't wear make up either and still use the same moisturiser.

Is there anything you would recommended for really bad acne within a moderate budget. No surgery/lasers

Get some salicylic acid on it (The Ordinary one is good value) to gently clear the acne but find out the root cause. Dirty or synthetic pillowcase? Using leave-in conditioner on your hair? Recent change in contraception?

Try sacking. Great for calming sudden breakouts.

Sorry Savlon not sacking stupid autocorrect

Do some research on the ordinary. For ex I use 0.5% retinol and 10% azelaic acid. ALWAYS WEAR SUNSCREEN. Yes, even in winter.

You need to be really careful what you're combining from the ordinary because, as an example, you can never use vit c and retinol together.

Other very important things: I know it sounds obvious but don't touch your face. Clean your phone screen. Change your face towel DAILY, and your pillowcase once at 2 days (sleep one night on one side; the other night turn it around)

Best of luck!

Have you recently started the mini pill- or had implant or Mirena? Those can cause/increase oil leading to acne.

I should probably change my pillow cases more often, even so my skin has always been clear mostly.

Been on copper iud with no problems.

Apparently applying a thin layer of sudocrem over night as a mask is suppose to help with spots. I’m trying it tonight, so will report back tomorrow...

I suffer from greasy skin as well, I’ve read it’s because it’s dehydrated. I was going to start using the ordinary products as they get good reviews but I’m skint at the moment so going to try the sudocrem and I have also bought some astral cream as that’s suppose to be good too.

I’ve also read that rosehip oil is suppose to be good for oily/spot prone skin so I might try that too!

Swap normal wash cloths or cotton wool pads for microfibre cloths. They get off every speck of dirt/makeup my skin has never felt so clean.
They are exfoliating so be gentle, and moisturise well. Has been a game changer for me.

My skin has always been a bit greasy and spot prone... however 6 months ago, at the age of 36 (!!) I started to suffer from acne.. red angry sore spots/ cysts and very sensitive skin. The only explanation for mine is going on the mini pill (after previously being fine on the combines pill). Mines eventually settled down a bit but still flares up- I've found Paula's choice to be very good and I also tend to alternate to use a very gentle cleanser such as dr sams or avene. Either my skin I've had to stay away from anything too fragranced such as elemis (which I was sad about as I love elemis).
Oh and as much as I hate to admit it, cutting down on things like bread and pasta helps.hope that helps a bit

If you are scarring you need the gp, I did but not before I got myself 16 scars that have been there since last May. Now I have to go to dermatology next week.

Don't leave it like I did.

Nothing worked for me except Roaccutane

Differin and Derma T worked really well for my acne

Interesting reading. I’ve started hot oil cloth cleansing (like Liz Earle but the Superdrug own one!) which seems to be helping a lot.

My son's skin (he's 17 and while I wouldn't describe it as acne, there is always a couple of spots on the go, as well as sensitive dry areas, but the blackheads and open pores have gone with treatment) responds well to:
Cetalyne gentle face wash (rinse off in the shower rather than wipe off)
Zinc picolate supplement (1 a day - reduces inflammation apparently)
Benzyol peroxide gel for treatment on individual spots/spotty areas (I get this from America because BP seems hard to get OTC here - maybe you need a prescription? Everything available seems to be salycylic acid-based which hasn't worked so well for him )
Moisturiser - non-clogging one, and if you can get one with hylaronic acid/retinol might be good.

Clean pillowcases, clean phone, keep a lid on sugar intake, good sleep habits all help. An ice cube applied to a throbby angry spot can help keep it down and shorten the lifespan. We try not to give into the temptation to remove whiteheads unless they're absolutely ready to go, and if you are prone to scarring you should really leave well alone.

THis website sells products but also has lots of useful advice and different product/regime info on a user forum. www.Acne.org

Any acne that is causing scarring is a trigger to ref to dermatology. The rapid onset of multiple white heads suggests bacterial infection is present.

I’ve been on antibiotics for nearly 4 months now while my dermatology appointment comes through. I was waking with fresh new spots every day for weeks.

My gp said she frequently sits with patients thinking “please ask me about your skin” and they don’t.

I second some of the other responses here- definitely see your doctor. It took a few attempts with various drugs, but personally for me being put on Spironlactone really helped.