If you have/had acne, what has actually made a difference?

[NothingBreaksLikeAFart]

Really fed up with my skin. No longer get big cystic lumps on my cheeks but lots of big pores, whiteheads on my chin and hormonal sore ones on my jawline (these ones are usually before my period).

What has actually helped?

Cutting out dairy worked for me. I also limit nuts.

coco I think if I was trying to conceive she would have referred me on but otherwise no.

Nothing (and I include 20 years of taking 5 different types of antibiotics on rotation) worked for me except Roaccutane. If acne is that bad, nothing dietary or topical will make a blind bit of difference, I don't think, and long-term antibiotic use often seems to just build up resistance. Roaccutane, on the other hand, is a complete wonder drug.

Antibiotics made no difference to my dds at all despite taking them for years. One took isotretinoin and it did work but spots came back after a year. Then yasmin and she doesnt eat dairy and theyve gone. Other dd started straight away on yasmin when her acne started to take hold and her skin is beautiful.

The side effects of Roaccutane scare me a bit, as my mental health is a little shaky.

Had cystic acne for many years. Once I started earning money, I chucked a whole load at the best dermatologist I could find and now I actually get strangers complimenting my skin and asking me what I use. Derm also recommended a specialist for the rolling scars and she has worked wonders. I now go without foundation or concealer, just some suncream and powder. Am thrilled. Roaccutane, pills, antibiotics etc never worked for me.

Getting older. Since turning 45, I've noticed much fewer spots. Also having thyroid problems, that's dried my skin out massively. I now have dry itchy patches instead of spots. Joy.

Seriously though, I think some of us are just cursed with bad skin whatever we do. My dad still has acne in his 70s.

Has anyone else tried Differin gel with any success? My DD13 is 2 weeks into using it and it has made her skin 100x worse, I'm guessing it gets worse before it gets better We have tried antibiotics with no luck although Dr has just prescribed a different one for the last time (Doxycycline) to go with Differin gel, then if this combo doesn't work she said it would be the pill next, however she is only 13 and not started her periods yet so not sure that's an option?

I would keep badgering your Dr OP, they should take it seriously and keep trying different things until something works. Good luck.

@Sigh81 how did you find a good Derm, and what did they actually do?

Tretinoin. I get mine from dermatica. It has got rid of my acne entirely, including blackheads and closed comedones that I'd been struggling with for years.

What we put on our head effects our face too. Try washing your hair in natural hair products. Vegan, no Parabens no Sulfate no plastics or toxins.
Everything we wash our hair in runs down on to our face and we absorb the chemicals good or bad in less than 30 seconds.
If you need any advice please just ask 😊

@CrowleysBentley thanks, I’ve had a quick look at their website. Is the only option to pay a monthly fee?

OP try calamine lotion!!!! Don’t dab it on with a cotton pad, stick your finger in so your face becomes white/pink....you will notice a difference after the first night with it on, donit for 3 nights

Quitting dairy and drastically cutting down on wheat cured my acne after I'd had spots constantly for almost 20 years. Now I only get a spot (singular) if I eat cheese or ice cream. Soya also seems to set me off, apparently it affects female hormones, so be careful of replacing dairy with soya milk.

I was on Dianette for years when I was younger, but it wasn't a magic cure, I still got some spots, and I didn't want to take hormonal contraception anymore.

Try to use gentle products on your skin too; it's a living thing. I cringe now when I think of all the extreme exfoliation I used to do to my skin in an effort to exfoliate the spots away.

Dianette sorted my back as a teen. My face, at 42, is still a problem if I stop taking Lymecycline and not brilliant when I do take it.

Anyone else have an ice pick scar? I'm really embarrassing by mine but a private clinic locally wants £80 just to discuss treatment

I used dianette and another pill (forgot the name) in my twenties and I’m now mid thirties and only get one or two spots a month on my chin, which I can handle. I used to have a face full of them before starting dianette

Now, to keep it under control without the pill, I have oat milk and cut out dairy. I have quite an extensive skincare regime too. I use glycolic acid toner, clay mask, non comedogenic moisturiser with retinol, salicylic acid to blast the spots when they appear and also niacinamide serum. The moisturiser is Murad and the other products I use are the ordinary. If you want to be spot free without medication then you need to make sacrifices and work a bit harder

First time around roaccutane was transformative, I struggled with the mental health side, you will be offered counselling if you ask, take it. In interests of balance I had a shitty job and boyfriend at the time and my dad had cancer, so I’d prob have felt just as shitty anyway.

Since children my cystic acne has returned, on differin cream at the moment, not sure it’s making much difference, but my facial skin health generally has improved. I’m also using a neutrogena light zappy pen 3x a day which I think is speeding the cysts up, around for days rather than weeks. If you can get roaccutane I’d take it, you start on a low dose, it was only when I was prescribed more than I should have been for my body weight that my mood got really bad. But my skin was flawless! 😂🤣😂

OP, 12 years ago I had similar skin to you. Having never used hormonal contraceptive, I didn't want to take it for my skin and didn't investigate any kind of medication whatsoever.

In fact, I actually have Mumsnet to thank for my lovely skin as it was here in Style & Beauty I first read about oil cleaning and Bravura glycolic acid. Within six months of doing both my skin was totally clear and has been ever since. I don't even wear make-up!

(I also suspect ditching my toxic ex also helped as my stress levels dropped enormously with him gone!)

Just wanted to add that if you go the oil cleaning route, don't use a foaming cleanser. Although I don't follow her any more, Caroline Hirons also has very good cheat sheets on both oil cleansing and ache.

It's not what anyone wants to hear but the only thing that worked for me was the pull - Dianette and am now on Yasmin, if I come off of it, it does just come back. Would prefer not to be on the pill as it affects my mood but on balance is the best option I can find, roaccutane was awful and I stopped as the side effects were unbearable.

My self esteem when I had very bad skin was so low that I struggled to motivate myself to go out, so it's the lesser of two evils for me. Some skincare products are better than others of course but the honest truth for me is that they all were a waste of money in that nothing cleared my skin legitimately that wasn't the pill.

Can I just ask the ladies on Yasmin as question please
Dd14 was prescribed it recently for acne ( tried everything else, lymecycline did help but you can only have 2-3 courses) and had her first break. She took her last pill last Wednesday and woke up at 1 this morning with heavy bleeding (clots apparently), leg pain and was sick.
I managed to get her off to sleep at 3/4 and she does feel better today but says her bleeding is heavier than her usual period and more painful.
My periods were always awful and I went on the pill to help with this but she’s never suffered too badly since she started her periods 2 years ago.
Has anyone experienced anything like this on Yasmin, which hasn’t helped her acne by the way!

@NothingBreaksLikeAFart Yes, dermatica is a monthly prescription. I find that a month's tretinoin lasts me more like 7 weeks though, and I swap my subsciption dates so I get it less often.

I saw a dermatologist who recommended a whole change to my skin care routine (cosmedix products). Also reduced dairy and sugar, increased veggies.

To be fair, I did take a couple of rounds of medication, but it really did seem like the new products made more difference over the longer term. I still get some pimples but no longer the painful blind acne.

Giving up dairy definitely changed my skin for the better

Cutting back on gluten and dairy. It took me 20 years to realise they were affecting my hormone levels. Now I don't even get the monthly hormone pimple.