Hormonal adult acne

[Lau247]

Hi

Just wondering if anyone can share there tips on how they got rid of adult acne mainly around the chin area/jaw line

I’m nearly 30 and have suffered with chin spots most of my life but usually very minor however when I was about 24 I had a major flare up not just my chin literally everywhere it was awful..

I tried loads of things saw a private derm for about £200 who suggested Roccutine which I wanted to avoid at all costs. I then started dans acne.org regimen and after about 8 months I was fully clear didn’t even need to wear make up was so happy.

Fast forward to about a year ago the spots slowly started creeping back and regimen seemed to not be working but wasn’t anything I couldn’t deal with.. however they are now pretty bad and it seems the regimen does not work at all. At the moment I have 3 huge painful ones on my right side and loads of small under the skin ones on my left..

I started using acnecide 5 weeks ago as it has really good reviews and every other day I exfoliate with Paula’s choice BHA which also has really good reviews.. at first I thought I saw an improvement but tbh my skin is awful right now.. I’ve never used a chemical exfoliant before (BHA) so I don’t know if it’s that.. my skin seems to be worse in the mornings after the night I use the BHA.

Anyone who has used acnecide will know it massively shrinks spots overnight but for me it isn’t stopping new ones coming

The BHA increases skin cell turnover and on her website it said it’s possible to purge for 4-6 weeks I’ve been using it for two and a bit now but I don’t know if I can carry on like this ! It’s awful right now.. luckily hasn’t spread to my cheeks but my chin is very bad.

I don’t want to go on the pill and I’ve taking anti biotics Which have done nothing for my skin before.

All suggestions welcome

Thanks x

Hi, sorry to hear you've suffered like this. I had exactly the same problem when I was 18 and again at 30.

Can I just ask if there's a particular reason you're so keen to avoid Roaccutane? Is it the reported mental health side effects?

My two pence worth (am NOT a medic, am speaking only from personal experience): I took Roaccutane twice, roughly 10 years apart, and have only positive things to say about it. The second time it knocked out my diabolical acne for good (14 years later, I only get the occasional spot; that said as I approach peri-menopause the cystic lumps are getting bigger when my period is due and harder to shift; if they got worse I would not hesitate to go on Roaccutane again).

I have/had a history of depression and anxiety and the Roaccutane did not impact me negatively in that was at all. Not even remotely.

THere may well be other reasons you're keen to avoid but if it's the mental health side effects I thought it might help to hear from someone about it.

FYI the other reportedly dire side effects (dry cracked bleeding skin, nosebleeds etc) didn't happen for me either. Not at all. I used extra lip balm for a few months and that was it.

Obv if you're trying to get pregnant don't go near the stuff!!!

Like you I had tried everything by that point and nothing even touched the acne in the slightest. It was just getting worse until I took the Roaccutane.

Good luck and I hope v much that you find a solution. I hope this hasn't touched a nerve or anything!! I know how distressing adult acne is :( It ruined my wedding day and I can still remember vividly the misery of seeing huge cystic lumps come up on my chin overnight, every night.

@hepburnKnotA sorry to hear you have suffered this too and especially that it effected your wedding day the same thing happaned to my friend beflre her wedding and she was devastated it really does make you feel shit !

I don’t want to try it because of the side effects yes mainly the mental health ones I’ve heard awful things how it’s made ppl suicidal and how their MH was never the same after.. I suffer from anxiety mainly rather than depression and also health anxiety so I’m the type of person that would read up on all the side effects and convince myself I have them. Also I’ve heard you can’t drink alcohol at all on it ? And I drink socially.

I don’t think a derm would prescribe it to me right now as I’ve heard it’s for severe acne and mine is mild/moderate I’d say at the moment depending on where I am in my cycle. Either way it’s really getting me down if it became horrendous I would probably consider it but I don’t think it’s bad enough to right now.

No hasn’t touched a nerve at all good to hear your opinion.. it’s so weird the same thing happaned to my friend too she started getting acne out of nowhere like me and it got worse and worse then it just went away.

I don’t know why the regimen which is benzoyl peroxide doesn’t work anymore as everything I have read has said that your skin can’t become immune to it.

I’m newly single too and it didn’t bother me as much when I was with my ex but meeting new ppl now etc and it’s making me feel so self conscious

Hi there, I get this too.
I’m 41 and in the last year it was really bad, massive cystic lumps under the skin.
Weirdly enough, I’ve come off the Pill in the last month, and my skin has been massively better since!
The only topical products that have worked for me are: Simple Charcoal Cleansing Stick (Like a push up deodorant stick), Body Shop Charcoal Mask, Superdrug Glycolic Liquid.
All total game changers and relatively cheap. Also, on the back of another thread on here - Sudocreme! Seriously, I’ve used it the last few nights and it’s really decreased the redness on my chin.

What are you washing your face with?

Have you tried differin?

At 43 and having suffered difficult skin all my adult life, the only consistency from everything I’ve eve read is that what works for one person doesn’t work for the next person, so it’s really frustrating and not all that helpful to hear what worked for others. I’d recommend seeing a good derm if you can afford it. If not, first thing on the list to try is to cut out sugar and dairy and any perfumed skin products and be fastidious with sheets, towels and anything else that goes near your face

Taking high dose B vitamins makes a massive difference tiny hormonal acne. Something like this: www.amazon.co.uk/Solgar-Vitamin-B-Complex-Vegetable-Capsules/dp/B000RZQNV8/ref=sr_1_5?s=gateway&crid=28ZF4J2P445OR&keywords=high+dose+b+complex&sprefix=High+dose+b%2Caps%2C153&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1559685743&sr=8-5

Although some people seem to swear by high dose B5 (pantothenic Acid) or B6 alone.

Used alongside a combination of freederm treatment gel (actually just a topical vitamin) and acnecide does it for me. Wash face, apply freederm treatment gel and let it settle while you brush your teeth or something, then apply acnecide.

Large spots are then really infrequent and respond well to Zitkilla patches.

To my, not tiny! They are not tiny spots!

If its hormonal acne then putting things on the outside of your body (topical treatments) wont help.

It will need to be treated from the inside out.

I've had acne for years and nothing helped, not even antibiotics.

Turns out I have pcos, but I've been on roaccutane since February and its sorted me right out x

I always feel a bit iffy giving this answer but the only thing that actually cleared mine was going back on the pill and taking it back to back. Literally everything else was a waste of money and time. My 'acne' was described as mild/moderate and I was offered low dose accutane by an NHS dermatologist, however I stopped taking it due to adverse side effects and wouldn't take it again if you paid me. I do think that's me in the minority though, perhaps! The pill isnt ideal for me as it does (I think) affect my mood but so did having bad skin so you have to weigh up the pitfalls don't you. I used to not want to go out on some days.

Make sure you aren't drying out your skin with too many acids OP. If I get lots of spots at all now it tends to be if I'm dehydrated or have overdone it on the dairy. I make sure to use an oil based cleanser and double cleanse which helps.

Thanks for all your suggestions.. idon’t think I have tried differin. I have tried sudacrem but I feel it does nothing tbh..

I wash my face with cetaphil cleanser and always have apart from when I was doing the 3 step acne regimen however as it comes from America they say you can use cetaphil when you run out of their cleanser as it’s just as good.

I did start using the carbon theory charcoal soap from boots as it had amazing reviews but again after a few weeks seemed to stop working.

I’ve been told conflicting information as to wether I have PCOS bloods when I was 24 when the spots were really bad suggested I may have it and would need a scan but I never went as I moved areas . Last year I had blood at all different times in my cycle all were normal had a scan and they saw 1 cyst but said as I had just ovulated this was pretty normal they said PCOS is only diagnosed if several cysts are seen on both ovaries. My cycles are long about 37-43 days on average .

I agree that it hormonal it needs to be treated from the inside and probably the pill is the best thing for this but I don’t like the idea of the pill tbh I never have.. I also had an abormal smear and was told being on the pill can increase chances of cervical cancer so I don’t really want to do that.

@dontgobaconmyheart what side effects did you get on roacctune? Personally I just wouldn’t touch the stuff not unless my face was covered in acne . I think the BHA is causing the break outs as it says it will do this until a new skin cycle is up which is 4-6 weeks. It has such amazing reviews tho I don’t know wether to try and keep it up for 6 weeks. My spots are worse if I’ve been on a night out and I slack on the skin care routine I have noticed too

I have had bad acne for 20 years. I tried the pill, Roaccutane, antibiotics, ALL of it- until a few years ago when I decided to chuck money at the best dermatologist I could find.

3 years later and my skin is entirely clear, glowing and gets compliments from strangers! It was the best money I have ever spent. £250 for first appointment, another £250 for first set of products, then £200 follow-on appts every 6 months or so (plus £100 each time for new prescriptions etc)

Worth. Every. Penny.

If you want details of dermatologist, PM me.

Also an acne sufferer for 20+ years. I tried everything, the only thing that has ever really worked is Roaccutane. I have taken 3 course over 20 years. No side effects apart from dry lips, and I also have a history of anxiety. For me it has been a game changer and I wouldn't hesitate to go on it again (far more effective than several courses of antibiotics that used to upset my stomach and never completed cleared it).

Good luck, it is horrible to be battling this well into adulthood.

@Meetingtoolong, I’ve been offered a course of roaccutane, having first had it 15 years ago but I’m so scared about having a horrendous initial outbreak as at the moment, my acne is bothersome but covetable. How did you find it? Xx

Those who saw a private derm - did you need a GP referral or could you just self refer if paying upfront?

Could just pay Cadburys. My health insurance wouldn't cover it but still the best investment I have ever made.

I'm goin g to do just that for my poor dd

I’m 3.5 months into roaccutane with no mh effects.

Tends to affect men negatively more than women from what I’ve heard.

Also, I’ve got pcos so maybe that’s causing mine but the normal pill didn’t work, dianette worked but gave me migraines which contraindicated me from all combined pills from now on. The mini pill and implant made me worse.

Roaccutane gets a bad rap, more than it deserves. I’m 42, when I went on it I had been on tetracyclines for 3.5 months, I had no breakouts since starting.

I do have multiple post inflammatory hyperpignention scars from leaving it too late before seeing my lovely gp.

I was offered Roaccutane around the age of 29/30 after I had to stop taking dianette but I refused it as I thought it was overkill.