skin care junkies! help needed for adult acne!

[kaykkies]

Thanks in advance for any help.

I'm 27 and am experiencing breakouts like NEVER before.. I've tried tracking if its hormonal and from ovulation - period ends seems to be the peak.. which is literally only days of normal skin.

I have naturally dry skin. Breakouts are mostly on my chin with a few between my brows. I am eating (relatively) good and do drink plenty of water.

I use Cerave SA foaming cleanser, Superdrug hydrating mist as toner, embryolisse moisturiser, salicylic acid serum.

Can anyone help me build a routine or advise what products to be using?

ps. an SPF for during the day ofc

Hi OP,

I suffer with breakouts, I’d stop using Cerave SA & see if that makes a difference as that broke me out even more.

Have a look at Face theory I’ve recently discovered them & have been using some of their products which I’m impressed with.

Hey, I went through something similar at about 27/28. I’d had one of two spots pre then but nothing like I had then. My spots was cyst acne and no amount of skin care would help. I went to a dermatologist in the end and eventually went on prescribed drugs. Don’t be afraid to get extra help if needed.often eating healthier/skin care is not at the root cause of acne. Wishing you well OP

@Bringonspring

Hey, I went through something similar at about 27/28. I’d had one of two spots pre then but nothing like I had then. My spots was cyst acne and no amount of skin care would help. I went to a dermatologist in the end and eventually went on prescribed drugs. Don’t be afraid to get extra help if needed.often eating healthier/skin care is not at the root cause of acne. Wishing you well OP

You are a delight 😘

Is it worth trying apple cider vinegar - used as a toner?

If it’s flaring up it might be best to simplify your routine for a while and stick to a gentle face wash and moisturiser (counter intuitive as that seems and painful as it is to do!)

I would also recommend getting a referral to a dermatologist. I’m late 30s and am finally seeing one I’ve been passed on to by my GP. I’ve been told roaccutane is excellent and wish I’d requested it years ago as a teenager. Save yourself the hassle and the scarring and investigate the options now.

Hormonal acne is awful, I recommend going to see your GP for advice, as a lot of over the counter products aren't all that effective on cystic or hormonal acne.

DUAC (prescription cream) worked for me.

You need the drs. Most acne is hormonal isn’t it? Most of us wash properly and don’t live on white bread & marge do we.

Retin a. Also make sure all your products are oil free including spf.

I've managed to clear mine up with a prescription of lymecycline and La Roche Posay effaclar cleanser and moisturiser.

I have discovered that fake tan and salicylic acid give me the most awful skin so I've had to take those out of my routine too, although I know a lot of people swear by Beauty Pie micropeeling drops to help with their acne - but the salicylic in these give me even more.

I've also started using COSRX spot patches and BHA which seem to be drying new ones up quickly and keeping the majority of them away.

@MilkshakeandFries

I've managed to clear mine up with a prescription of lymecycline and La Roche Posay effaclar cleanser and moisturiser.

I have discovered that fake tan and salicylic acid give me the most awful skin so I've had to take those out of my routine too, although I know a lot of people swear by Beauty Pie micropeeling drops to help with their acne - but the salicylic in these give me even more.

I've also started using COSRX spot patches and BHA which seem to be drying new ones up quickly and keeping the majority of them away.

I am deffo guilty of the fake tan! been reading up so much about how salicylic acid helps so have been using it every night as part of my routine.

@kaykkies the salicylic can be drying so you might need extra moisture to counteract this to stop the spots.

How long have you been using it for? It could be your skin purging from it?

Fake tan wise, I now use Eco Sonya Driver face tan water which doesn't give me spots and builds up a glow. I've also been looking at the tan luxe drops which are supposed to be amazing!

Effaclar H cleanser is great. Cerave to moisturise and spf. Benzoyl peroxide wash a few times a week. Of course, you may wish to get advice from your doctor. Some online pharmacies do private prescriptions for acne treatments.

I would also recommend benzoyl peroxide!!
I got really bad acne at 24 - couldn't shift it for months and didn't know what caused it.

I used benzoyl peroxide (brand name was acnecide) and it cleared up very quickly and never returned.

Cannot recommend it enough. I believe it helps with bacterial acne? So may be worth a try to rule that out. It costs less than a tenner I wish I had used it sooner!!

All acne’s bacterial. It’s a pore being infected.

It doesn’t matter what the cause is the treatments the same.

I think the Cerave SA is too harsh. It feels like it should be good at clearing out the pores but in my view just irritates them. Then using more salicylic is too much. The Cerave hydrating is much better.

But I’d also see a doctor. I think people can feel it’s not a big enough issue and if they can just find the right magic combination of products, it will be fine. And this can go on for years. Hormonal acne doesn’t usually improve with topical treatments, although agree Retin A has most potential.

Acnecide. Roughly £10 from larger chemists. Worked wonders when I had a similar issue.

I actually found that moving from a harsh oil-stripping cleanser to a more gentle cream based cleanser helped my skin.