Treatment for spots on 12 year old?

[Dinnertime22]

My Ds has started to have spots mainly around the t zone. He has a Nivea facewash, but is there anything else we could try? He eats well and drinks enough water, so I am taking a guess that it is hormone related.

Not sure which nivea face wash you mean but I'm guessing it's a greasy skin one, if that doesn't make any difference then I'd say try Simple, non fragrance super sensitive kind of cleanser, also a mild exfoliating scrub (not St Ives, something mild again cus you just wanna dislodge the older skin cells as spots are caused by blocked pores whereas St Ives apricot bits will shred his face and could make it worse) a super mild moisturiser will also help with keeping the skin soft and shedding. I find salyric (spelling?) acid face masks really clear up my spots (under the skin, tiny but everywhere kind of spots) you can get it as a stand alone acid as well if he'd rather try that, primark sells a good mask for £2 if he wants to just try one though.

I do understand that is a full skincare regime to suggest to a teenage boy but maybe something could help him even if you just try one thing.

Make sure he's cleansing morning and night and applying a hydrating face cream. It sounds like hormonal and might take some time to balance out.

I am watching this with interest as I have a son who is starting to get the odd spot. I don't want him to go down the path my teenage self went down (through the most drying skincare products known to man at the problem). I am thinking with the Cerave SA wash, or a LRP product. Gentle but effective.

Benzoyl peroxide cream you can buy OTC in chemists. I use it whenever my old teen acne flares up and it helps quickly.

I heard Nadine Baggot talk about this yesterday on BBC Radio London Jo Goods Show. She was on at 3:30 if you can find the podcast on the bbc website. Was listening whilst cooking and not paying too much attention but she said amoung other things;

• Curel cleanser and use with a clean flannel each day, morn and eve cleanse
• Salacylic acid on areas of spots
• she also said she's done a you tube for parents who are tackling this so look it up as it probably has more than what she could say in a couple of mins on the radio

Hope that helps

Great, thank you.

Thanks for the useful post @TroubleNo1 I had a look for the YouTube vid which is really good. Here below for anyone else interested!

My teens both use Dermalogica Clear Start products which are good but expensive!

I had a look too and there are a few spot and acne related ones she's done.

I personally don't have acne but do have blackheads on my nose and have started using in the last week (mainly for very mild pigmentation but mostly for redness) FaceTheory Porebright serum No.10.

I have found my blackheads have all but disappeared. I also use The Ordinary AHA and BHA peel once a week which I think also helps. Not sure if these are suitable for full on acne.

Effaclar duo is the bollocks.
DD is 16 and has the odd breakout- Effaclar works best.
Be careful with the Dermalogica- I bought her the set and it made her skin so angry- it has ginger in it and I think it was that that irritated her skin so much.

If you want to go the exfoliating route, use an acid toner- with salicylic. Acid toners have negated the old scratchy scrubs we all used to use.

I second Nadine Baggott's you tube video that someone has linked to above - she really knows her stuff.

I bought DS charcoal soap from boots. Has made a huge difference.

Benzyl peroxide works well but be aware it'll bleach your towels and pillowcases if he's not careful with it. Ds is seeing good results with a combination of benzyl peroxide (acnecede) and the ordinary niacinamide. If you ask the online help on the ordinarys website they'll suggest a suitable routine.

I have found La Roche Posay’s Effaclar Duo to also be the dog’s bollocks.

That and salicylic acid. Currently using Nip and Fab’s 2% salicylic acid toner plus the above on DS’s just starting to get greasy and blackhead ridden skin and they are surprisingly effective.

Definitely hormone related some teens get them some don't have you thought about a blemish stick ?
I use one to cover and dry out the odd spot and can hide very obvious ones.

Oven- DD just got the nip&fab toner too.

I asked DD what she thinks was most effective and she says:
Effaclar
Lush Magnaminty mask
Clean and Clear gel that you put on individual spots- cheap as chips but she says it's been the most effective thing to dry up offending spots.

my dd14 has been using charcoal soap for the last year or so and her skin is really good. She has also recently started washing her face with an ice cube (no idea! she saw it on you tube!) and her skin is looking really good. Could be worth a try as both are very simple and natural.
Its obviously hard to know if it is nature or the products which help but both me and her dad had terrible acne as teenagers so I was expecting her to get it really badly too, but she seems to be keeping all but occassional small break outs at bay so far

My daughter has been using this and it seems to have helped www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GHNXQXM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_uXO5Eb5FCWTYB?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I really rate glossier solution for my hormonal acne

@TheCanterburyWhales Good to know. I am going to make a note of the other products, to get if/when necessary. Thanks.

I use Effaclar Duo myself for any breakouts. It really, really works. I reckon the 2% salicylic is more effective for blackheads than spots - but good for that. I meant to say I also really rate niacinamide to control oil production on face.

Tea tree stick from boots on spots