DS15 face. So spotty and sore

[alwaystrainers]

I really feel for him. We've been using Tropic washing grains alternated with Liz Earle c and plus niacamine (?) serum and charcoal face masks but he's covered in yellow pimples today and so fed up.
So I try GP or any other tips for clearing it or should we leave it alone / pull back in treatments ? I do feel for him
A friend tried skin and me and said it was good but £££
I didn't suffer much - I used good old Aapri scrub and 10-0-6 acid lotion with a basic moisturiser so feel lost and there's so much out there to choose from. Any tips ?

Hi there. I had sore acne as a teenager and got some oral antibiotics from te GP. I would have put germolene on my spots at night to numb the pain it was so bad as I couldn't sleep on that side otherwise! The oral antibiotics didn't work. It was really a combination of clean towel and pillows etc, cutting out dairy and using goats milk in my cereal instead, using a face wash which contains salicylic acid, also drinking plenty of water and doing all these things consistently. I found my acne was worse in my early 20s but I was stresses and tired working long days in hospital wards training to be a nurse. I also found exercise (sweating it out) and steam rooms really helpful too. Hope this helps and it will get better.

Obviously go to the GP. Those products aren’t working. He needs antibiotics such as oxytetracycline or, better still, lymecycline.

Hello - definitely GP as others have mentioned but in the meantime I've found (aged 35 and still get spotty jawline and have very oily skin) that Carbon Theory products are great. You can get it on Amazon or in Boots. The charcoal face wash bar is £6.00 and works wonders for me, I use it twice a day. They also have a medicated spot treatment which is a bit more pricey but also fab.
Other than carbon theory I used Freederm in my teens and found that pretty good too.
Good luck x

Stop with anything abrasive, that will be damaging the skins barrier and making it worse. Check out a skin care guru called Hyram who advocates for no perfume and for investing in products that will protect and calm such as ceramides, antioxidants and centella asiatica.

Secondly. Skin and me will prescribe a tretinoin solution with azelaic acid and niacinamide. These will be excellent in combination with a ceramide moisturiser. Like cult CeraVe.

You could also try the doctor. They'll likely prescribe something with a retinol, salicylic acid or antibiotics. (Tretinoin is a very strong version of retinol, or vitamin A and is known by a few names such as roaccutane. It is excellent for both acne and ageing.

Lastly, skintheory do an amazing pro strength retinol serum with fennel in it thst never fails to stop my spots when they play up.

It’s definitely worth taking him to the GP but in the meantime Nadine Baggot has done a couple of videos on teenage skin. When DS’s skin broke out he used Cerave SA cleanser (don’t pick a foaming cleanser as they’re too harsh and can strip away natural oils) and applied Acnecide cream to the worst spots followed by a gentle moisturiser. Once a week he used my Paula’s Choice exfoliant. Whilst it didn’t get rid of them completely, it made a huge difference.

Using Tret is an option but only if he’d religiously wear sun cream every day.

I have found using sudocrem on spots overnight really helps.

Just wanted to thank you for mentioning 10-0-06 - I have been trying to remember the name of this for months! Dreadful stuff!

Zinc tablets

My Ds has the perfect diet & he still has acne. He's currently on Roaccutane.
He's the third one of my children in roaccutane after trying antibiotics for a while. Acne is often genetic & diet is not a major factor!
So go to the gp in the first instance.

Get the GP to do a blood test for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. I tried everything going antiobiotucs, roaccutane, but what finally solved it was learning I was low in B12, vit D and iron and supplementing those.

Get him into the GP for antibiotics.

Don't faff around with expensive skin products or dairy free diets, get him to the doctor, it's a medical condition with proven medical solutions. They will want to go through various solutions, if you've got the money take him straight to a dermatologist privately who will get him on the good stuff without months or years of hell trying everything else first.

I would ask the GP for oral acne treatment such as antibiotics or possible roaccutane.

Face wash- cerave with salicylic acid
Benzoyl Peroxide
Moisturiser with salicylic acid

www.boots.com/cerave-sa-smoothing-cleanser-236ml-10272454

Your child is suffering from poor gut health. If they were born by c-section and/or formula fed this can increase the risk of poor gut health.

Search lion diet. It's not a permanent solution but can give his body a chance to heal.

Also cod liver oil.

Remove all seed oils from diet.

Acne is a western problem. It's rarely found where there's good soil for plants to grow and great sunlight.

In short term
-wash thoroughly twice a day with foaming face wash - if chest /back affected then shower twice daily
-pat affected areas dry with a fresh clean towel after each wash (terry nappies work well)
-apply a good quality non comedogenic moisturiser like avene or clarins to seal the skin and stop overproduction of oils after washing them off
-exposure to sunlight helps if possible

• discipline of not touching face at all during day - no resting chin on hand etc. wash hands before touching face

-do not pick or squeeze at all - it will scar

But yes definitely GP ASAP

This.

Please don't spend ages faffing around with diets and making him feel like he's to blame for not eating well. I can't describe how soul destroying it is to be a teenager, avoid all junk food when your friends are enjoying it, miss out on social events and still have horrific skin. If his diet is truly that bad, help him improve it but take him to GP first and start prescription treatment

My mum told me to avoid the GP because the treatments didn't help her so I didn't seek treatment until I had suffered for years. I resented her for giving me that advice for a long time

Small but real chance it might be a fungal infection that resembles acne to look at.
Try nyzoral a strong anti dandruff shampoo, fir 10-15 minutes.

If you can afford it take him to a beauty therapist for a teen facial. I find they help break the cycle and get some of the redness out

Take him to the GP. My dd had a topical ointment prescribed which helped a lot (epiduo) but what's really knocked it on the head is the tetracycline antibiotics.

Acne is a western problem. It's rarely found where there's good soil for plants to grow and great sunlight.

Hahahahaha I live in Polynesia (plants growing and year round sun) and the teens here get acne like they do everywhere else. Brown skin hides it better though.

Take him to the GP.

I tried Liz Earle products a few years ago and within a week my face erupted in whiteheads; I stopped all the LE products and my skin started to heal within days. I wonder if your DS is similar and the LE product is actually causing the spots.

We saw a dermatologist privately, £1000 later and a year of treatment it's gone and won't be coming back

www.nhs.uk/medicines/isotretinoin-capsules/

The NHS is reluctant to prescribe this as you need to be monitored with regular consultations. Our view was that our DC could not pay for this themselves. They are very grateful and have minimal scarring

The Gp will send you for photographs and then they may give you a topical cream. This process took six months and it got worse.

Another recommendation for Carbon Theory charcoal soap from Boots. DS tried a lot of things but this was the one that worked.