Cystic Acne - any miracle products?

[SilkyMoonface]

My partner is really suffering with this and I wonder where to start in terms of helping him. He won't go to the doctor. We've tried Dermalex but that's it so far. Thanks for any recommendations!

Has he tried going no dairy? This and the ordinary retinoid has cleared my skin

Why won't he go to the doctors? Acne is a result of what's happening inside, sometimes. Where is the acne? (Ie jaw, forehead etc)

To begin with (some things that might improve it)
-no touching his face
-pillow change- one night on a side, second on the other, change, repeat
-clean his phone daily with antibacterial wipes
-get him a good cleanser to use day & night and only wipe with paper towels
-cut diary & alcohol
-get him a routine from paula's choice. email them with the state of the skin and they'll create one for you. They also have products formulated for men

Hope it helps

Thanks both, will try all of these. He just won't go to the doctor - typical avoidance! If topical solutions don't work I'll have to get my nag on. It's worrying to think there could be something underlying

@SilkyMoonface tbh I know nothing about men's acne but I am sure the tips I gave you should work and the paula's choice consultants are amazing!

I suffer badly with this.... doctor put me on long term antibiotics which played havoc with my stomach and didn’t help anyway so I stopped taking them and googled cystic acne to death, found lots of recommendations for lush ultra bland cleanser.... it’s expensive £30 a pot but I got it in April and only just getting near the end of it and I haven’t had any breakouts since I started using it..., it’s the bollox

Oh wow @Doggotired! Thanks for this recc

Hope it works for him too 🤞🏻

For me, no amount of expensive skincare works. Periodic antibiotics and Skinoren cream on prescription. You need to get him to go to the GP. Cystic acne isn’t something to mess around with. It can scar too.

Is your partner as bothered about it as you are?

I mean, he won't go to the doctors so he obviously doesn't care that much... is he scouring internet forums looking for solutions? And why would you have to 'get your nag on' for him to sort out his skincare problem?

For me, I tried absolutely everything and the only thing that sorted it was completely cutting out dairy and sugar which is really bloody hard, and several visits to a GP/dermatologist for trial and error with medication. Even now one big weekend of drinking alcohol/eating what I like, will probably cause a flare up.

It doesn't sound like he's that bothered or committed to sorting it.

You tend to find everyone has to find what works for them, i.e. what works for me doesn’t work for you.

Products with no perfume and remembering that skin cycles are six weeks long so often spots appearing today were set weeks back. Salicylic acid helps exfoliate skin to stop the cells getting clogged.

But really he needs to see a doctor or dermatologist

You can't force him to see a doctor .... it has to be his choice.

I have three friends who've had cystic acne who tried antibiotics, non dairy, non wheat, loads of different topical solutions and all ended up on Roaccutane which finally cleared it up. Apparently this is a last resort.

My son had horrific cystic acne and the only thing that worked was roaccutane. He had to have it twice over the years . He is terribly scarred now all over his back and torso . Really knocked his confidence

Roaccutane is the only thing that worked for my daughter's cystic acne.
Antibiotics worked for a while initially but then stopped working.

Thanks for all of the helpful comments. Will follow all of this up

Who diagnosed the cystic acne?
My personal experience was that nothing topical made any difference.
I think Roaccutane type drugs are consultant prescription only still - I had it, and my skin cleared for for 13yrs.

acnecide. in boots over the counter, the lotion and the wash 👌

This is what has helped me:

Dairy free
La Roche Posay Effaclar duo

If he feels a cystic spot brewing, put savlon on it morning and night and it stops it coming out in a big angry painful lump.

I agree with the others - nothing topical works . But yes it needs to be diagnosed by a dermatologist. The odd cystic spot is not cystic acne. Savlon may work on the odd spot but not on proper acne.

I tried everything - EVERYTHING - and nothing worked until the miracle drug that is roaccutane

My husband got acne on his chin. Tried dairy free, caffeine free etc etc. Eventually he plucked up courage to go to the gp. One set of AB and it went. It does start to return but not as bad now (think 2 massive boils not 10). He said he had got embarrassed to go to work meetings etc because of it. And he's a big macho never talk about stuff man!

Why can't he just do this himself OP? He's not your DS- going to the GP for a medical issue (which this is) is part of adult life, if he were that bothered he could go and whilst I understand you wanting to help him, he should be helping himself.

Re: recommendations the only thing that has ever really worked for me was going on the pill- so for obvious reasons that isn't suitable. Long term antibiotics also eased it but it's hardly good for your health and they don't work long term.

Can he not deal with an online GP? I'm fairly sure several of them have 'acne clinics' - I believe boots has recently launched one online and there are several others. He will have to fill out a form and likely send images of his acne to confirm that is actually is acne and what kind, and communicate with the doctor if they have questions though- and obviously you have to pay whereas it would be free on the NHS. Personally I found none of the topical treatments did anything.

GP.

Cystic acne is too serious to be cured by creams and face washes.

Unless he really is not that bothered about it. Which is a valid choice.

Another vote for no dairy.

Also, for very sore spots, a hydrocolloid plaster (blister) overnight can work wonders. Not a long term solution but really cuts pain and embarrassment whilst you find a permanent answer.

It can be really embarrassing to have to go to the doctors about something like acne, I got it really bad a few years ago and refused to go to doctors for ages, my confidence suffered dramatically because of my stubbornness! I had tried everything possible to get rid of it, I genuinely believe all the products and scrubs were making it worse, and finally I bit the bullet and dragged myself to doctors, they gave me a cream and within a week it was all cleared up, all that hassle for nothing!

I’ve been allergic to dairy for 14 years, I got cystic acne saw my gp who referred to dermatology & they gave me isotretonoin.

You can piss about with creams & potions all you like but in the end you need the right treatment.