Can you help fix my skin

[MsSquiz]

I used to have lovely clear skin until I had my DD 11 months ago, when I started getting horrendous break outs. I thought it was just hormonal, but it seems to be getting worse, not better.

I try to drink plenty water - I drink about a litre a day, plus a cup of decaf tea on an average day.

My skincare routine:
Morning- dermalogica cleanser, Clinique moisture surge moisturiser, then make up if going out.

Evening- Clinique take the day off balm, decleor toner, and either Clinique moisture surge moisturiser or Elemis superfood oil.

I exfoliate in the morning 3 times a week with either st Ives apricot scrub or dermalogica microfoliant.

Please help me fix my poor face

@Fluffycloudland77 my DM would call them "blind spots" (not sure if they was her term or a technical term - but a spot with no head, but a lump under the skin)

I'll give the skincare route a go first, then I can always go to the GP and say I have already tried x, y, z and nothing has worked

Yes, that’s a deep infection pressing on the nerve ending.

The cosmetic industry has convinced us all it’s something we’re doing wrong if you get acne when really it’s just a bacterial skin infection & responds to antibiotics.

The surge in hormones during pg seems to set a lot of women off on this route though.

Having the implant set my skin off and it very quickly went cystic which hurt and scarred. I took roaccutane & now my skins as oily as ever but I never get a spot as the infections been starved out by the roaccutane reducing the oil for 4 months.

I get bad hormonal acne! Coming off dairy helped me. I used acnecide for a little bit and that helped. And use a water based moisturiser. Mine keeps coming back unfortunately though. I'm inclined to think it's my coil that causes it.

This was 3 weeks apart from using the acnecide cream and a water based moisturiser. An antibacterial face wash helped too! Good luck

If you come off dairy do take calcium and vit d supplements because you miss out those nutrients otherwise.

I’ve been full on allergic for 15 years and cutting it out never helped me, nor alcohol.

Wow @missrks thank you for your post and the pics!
Is it this?

I probably won't come off dairy, I have very little in my diet anyway

A lot of the 'elimination from diet' is spurious - I am very badly lactose intolerant so there is no dairy in my diet and I still get a spotty face! I am fairly sure mine was caused by the implant - I don't have it any more because it caused me so many problems and they're ongoing.
I've used that Acnecide too - pretty good. Not as good as Panoxyl, which they very annoyingly stopped making!

Yeah that's the one!

Use it very sparingly to start with as it's quite strong. You may get some redness and tenderness. Maybe even mix it with a bit of moisturiser and only use on the areas with spots!

'Spurious advice' is very different from 'it didn't work for me', Bobbin.

So many women with no medical qualifications advise giving up entire food groups on the internet, don’t they? Yet you rarely hear of gastroenterologists or dermatologists advisong the same.

@weirdstone, quite.

@weirdstone and @BobbinThreadbare123

Thank GOD you are here to vet the thread!

It's terrible that OP has asked some people for advice, and those very same people are giving advice, based upon their own experiences. And everybody claiming to be medically qualified, and that their opinions are facts, too! What IS the world coming to?!

Yet you rarely hear of gastroenterologists or dermatologists advisong the same

And yet so many skin conditions are related to diet, It's because they don't usually work together as a team, it's a shame.

@Eckhart pretty sure you've read into wayyyy more than I was going for. I just think that testing out a couple of helpful moisturisers/topical creams first, before altering your diet etc, is probably a good idea.
Nobody is vetting anybody, so please chill out. Stress is also not that great for your skin and this is not AIBU!

I think an antibiotic cream would clear those up, I doubt a cosmetic cream will. But you won’t pay, so it’s a win!

If you just drop a note to your GP, they can prescribe

Then you could try taking a herbal antibiotic and see if it helps eg oregano tablets.

Have you started taking a different contraceptive (mini pill, impmat, mirena?). Those can cause skin outbreaks.

Some good advice upthread. I'll add Bravura to the brands to try. I've been using it for a while and my skin is so much better.

@missrks I'll add to the list of things to try, thank you

@Whoooootaminute no, I'm not on any contraception at the moment. I previously had the implant for about 8 years I think, and long before that I was on the pill from age 15 to my mid 20. I wanted to wait until my hormones had settled before going back on contraception, as well as deciding if we will TTC again as I found the implant really worked for me with no ill side effects

@Fluffycloudland77

Yes, that’s a deep infection pressing on the nerve ending.

The cosmetic industry has convinced us all it’s something we’re doing wrong if you get acne when really it’s just a bacterial skin infection & responds to antibiotics.

The surge in hormones during pg seems to set a lot of women off on this route though.

Having the implant set my skin off and it very quickly went cystic which hurt and scarred. I took roaccutane & now my skins as oily as ever but I never get a spot as the infections been starved out by the roaccutane reducing the oil for 4 months.

DD had those underskin bumps for 2+ years. Good products kept them at a moderate level but aged 14, they suddenly fit much worse. A phone consultation with a prescribing practice nurse got her a prescription for zineryt, a topical antibiotic with zinc. It improved overnight and had completely gone within a month. It's not come back. Definitely call your gp. Its an easy appointment.

@BobbinThreadbare123

If you're not vetting, stop vetting. Other people's opinions are just as valid as yours, and I'm sure OP is capable of making a decision without your input about thoughts differing from your own as being 'spurious'. I cleared lifelong acne in my late 30s by reducing the amount of flour I ate. I'll offer that as a potential solution to anybody who seems to be struggling with a similar condition because it was easy, free, quick, and natural. I don't think I need to be a doctor to do so.

I know it's not AIBU, thanks, but I'm still allowed to say stuff, I think

@Eckhart alright, flower!

So, my order has arrived (1st pic)
Should I be using them from left to right, am and pm? Should I be using just these 3 products or others too?

I also already have the products in the 2nd pic. Should I be incorporating any of them with the new 3?

Sorry if these sound like stupid questions, I feel like at 34 I should already know this stuff!

Oo I have skin similar to yours and some of your products. This is what I would do.
Am..
Special cleansing gel
Toner
Effaclar duo
SPF
And then 1 or 2 times a week use the daily microfoliant

Pm
Same as the morning but without the spf
Again add the salicylic serum twice a week to start with.

Don’t over load your skin with chemicals as it will overload your skin. You have cystic acne if it’s just bumps without a head. I have the same and I found dermalogica stuff amazing

@CharlotteRose90 fab, thank you. I'll give that a go

I love Medik8 blemish pads, they are cotton pads with salicylic acid already. Also I use a very simple gel cleanser, as oils tend to clog my pores, eg Avene or Medik 8 gel cleansers work for me.