Does anyone else still get acne at 41? Feel so alone with it all.

[TillyMc]

I’m 41 and had acne since about 12. It only really got better on the pill. I’d say it’s only mild to moderate but makes me so self conscious.

I had my daughter nearly a year ago and it was bad during pregnancy, barely had any for 5 months after, but then it’s been back for the past few months. Not sure if it’ll settle down again as it wasn’t too bad in the couple of years before having her.

Everyone I see my age or younger has perfectly clear skin and I feel like I’m the only one (especially at my age). It’s made me wish for the menopause as maybe that’d put a stop to it!

Not really after treatment recommendations as I’d be unable to take certain things like Roaccutane. I do find Benzoyl Peroxide works quite well but is very drying.

Suppose I just want to hear from others going through similar to make me feel less alone with it.

I had it all of my adult life- for me the pill usually made it worse, but I had it anyway, whether I took the pill or not. Always around my mouth and chin so very typical hormonal acne I think. In my mid-late 30s I also started to get very painful cystic acne on my upper back. I eventually paid privately to see a dermatologist. He suggested Roaccutane which I didn’t want to take because of my existing mental health issues, so he gave me Spironolactone instead. I think it’s not licensed specifically for acne but it can help acne and it worked amazingly well for me. Maybe worth reading about it and asking for it if you think it might help you. I don’t take it anymore as it did its job and I didn’t want to take it long term. I am perimenopausal now and my facial acne has been dormant for quite some time 🤞 I still get the odd cystic one on my upper back but nothing like the frequency I used to get them.

You are not alone, been fighting this for years, now 47. As it's hormonal for me, the only thing that's really helped is the pill and now HRT ( safer than the pill in your forties). I also use tretinoin and niacinamide from Dermatica which I think has helped and I have more clear skin days now than back in my twenties and thirties. Always worse at particular times of the month, don't know if it's better or worse to know what is coming. I agree stress is another trigger, also I suspect some foods, maybe dairy and almost certainly sugar.

If you have good skin you have no idea what it's like, trying to work out if you can clear spots by the time of an important event, piling on concealer, worrying it's going to rub off or melt, hoping the light is flattering, worrying about scarring and the sheer pain of deep cystic spots - my face has been known to swell up.

@TheOGCCL - totally agree with you

Another mid-40s sufferer here. There seems to be lots of us but I never, ever encounter adults with acne (or even spots!) in real life - weird.

Tretinoin from skin and me has really helped me (can post a code if anyone would like). And for the past 6 weeks I’ve been taking a supplement from a company I saw on Dragons Den of all places - Botanycl. It’s supposed to have an anti-androgen effect (like dim, I think?), and touch wood, my skin has been amazing since the first week. Didn’t actually expect it to work!

I’ve had acne all my adult life but now I’m 50 and the peri menopause has been good to me. My skin is the clearest it’s ever been, just the occasional spot but days and days when I can go out without concealer or moisturiser. I’m very pleased. I don’t care about the sagging and the wrinkles, I’m so happy to be spot free!

Do see your GP though. There are things that can help: Duac cream and Differin (Adapalene) have both helped me and I still use the latter.

47, Mine improved in last two years. Might be because am peri, but also use 15% niacinamide and topical tret. Maybe it’s a combo. Still not perfectly clear but don’t get cysts every month, which is had since age 12. Wish I’d discovered combo about 30 years ago.
interested in the DIM and sort of doses that might be needed

@JMAngel1, high frequency is an electrical wand thing that nukes bacteria but you can buy an orange one for ages but I’ve stuck with purple.

An led mask has settings for acne and aging.

Not RTFT but I had bad peri-menopausal acne, and Tretinoin worked like magic. It's also great for anti-aging and wrinkles, so I have continued using it. I suffered all through my teens with acne, but no one sorted it then. I love my skin now.

@FormerlyPathologicallyHappy
I just realise I have this already 😂. I have a Dermawand that is high frequency and produces ozone. I’ve never used the term high frequency before - I think they Dermawand call it radio hence my confusion. But I definitely get the ozone smell from it and the zap so will get it out of the cupboard.
I already have an LED mask - I usually use red or white but the last few weeks have switched to blue - blue does seem to cause some surface dryness but I will persevere and maybe do one day red one day blue. I think my mask may even have a mixed red blue option.
thanks again.

I feel your pain, I’ve always had moderate acne and taken dianette, antibiotics etc. I now use skin&me (dermitaca do similar too) and my skin is better than ever. I have tretinoin, niacinimide and azaleic acid in mine but they will look at your skin and work out a plan for you including gradually increasing dosage. Tret treats both acne and wrinkles so it’s a win win 👍.

I’m 49 and have had bad acne from the age of 11 until about 6 months ago. My skin doesn’t look perfect my any means, but it’s mostly now spot-free. I’d suffer from cystic acne mostly around my chin and jawline.
Things that have worked for me - cutting out dairy and high histamine foods, paring back skin care and not using any products that are creamy or even have a creamy like appearance. Gel/oil/balm cleansers, otherwise clear serums only. Medik8 is great fir those, but also La Roche Posay. Silver Saviour mask from Omorovicza has been incredible. Have also recently started on HRT.
Skin and Me Tret didn’t work for me at all. I have super sensitive skin, and the reaction was just awful, almost like my skin was burned. (I remember being prescribed many, many, topical treatments as a teen, including retinol and they always burned my skin, so foolish to think S&M would be any different. Never used roaccutane as my mental health is very poor.)

My acne has basically been cleared up with the use of retinol! The one I use is very expensive but it lasts months and months so is ok overall - it is called Zo Skin Health retinol skin brightened. Start with low % and work up

I really recommend Dr Sam Bunting's videos for anyone concerned about both acne and aging - I started following her advice a few years ago and have had clear skin ever since.

I had a 3 month course of oral and external antibiotics when I was in my late 20s. That helped a lot and I had very few issues with spots (although forever cursed with blackheads) but since my late 30s my skin is progressively getting worse and the lumps are returning. I'm going to try some of the tips on here. On the plus side with acne and a liking to wearing rucksacks and converse people usually assume I am younger than 40(!)

Not read all but yes. I developed acne at 22 (now 48) and the only thing that’s worked for me is Tretinoin. I know you weren’t looking for recommendations necessarily but it’s worth looking into.

It’s horrible. When mine flares it makes me feel dirty, not to mention how painful it is and I feel like it must be visible from space, it’s that sore and red.

That said, after trying everything over the years, I’ve been using the Tret from Dermatica since Sep 2021 and I hardly ever get spots now. Now and then I’ll get the odd one of course but one on its own is manageable!

Im sorry it really is awful dealing with this for years.
I had acne from 18 until 40.

The only thing that solved it for me was progesterone, turns out I have a imbalance which caused other issues too.

Acne is so often a symptom of a different deeper issue in the body.
I wish it was taken more seriously.
I look back at life and how much I didn’t do and places I didn’t go because I was ashamed, it’s sad.

As much as having acne through adulthood is really awful, I’ve found it comforting to read these posts and be able to relate to other women in the same boat. Like a PP said, I so rarely see people out in public with awful acne (especially adults) so it can begin to feel like you’re some sort of freak. PP said ‘dirty’ and yes, I’ve felt that too. It’s good to talk to other sufferers (though of course I wish none of us had had to suffer it!)

I remember a distant relative once gesturing at my acne and saying: ‘It’s such a shame about that, you’d be so pretty if it weren’t for all that’. It was at least 15 years ago but I can still remember his tone of voice and the expression on his face. It really stung and it stayed with me. Acne has ruined many an occasion for me. I even had an outbreak on my wedding day FFS.

As mentioned upthread, I had great success with Spironolactone (I think this is a drug that is sometimes given to transwomen so assume it reduces testosterone). I also use tretinoin and although it doesn’t seem to be doing a great deal for the wrinkles, it seems to be helping to keep my skin pretty clear, and also helps to fade acne scarring. I have some very deep scars or pockmarks which are definitely becoming softer.

Yep, somewhere along the line my skin decided to double up and throw rosacea into the mix too.

Thanks all. Although I’m really sorry others are going through it, it has helped to hear it’s not just me- which it often feels like.

Yup, I'm 41 and always have at least one spot, and the lumpy remnants of the last break-out. I always get one massive cystic spot just before my period, then a few smaller others throughout the month, all on my jawline. The only times my skin was ever clear was on Dianette (wonderful pill, the only one that ever agreed with me so of course I'm not allowed it anymore), and when I was pregnant - so clearly hormonal acne. I've always suspected I have mild PCOS, but no tests have ever found anything.

My skin wasn't too bad as a teenager (normal spotty) but I developed terrible adult acne in my early 20s which was when I went first on the Dianette. Thankfully it's never got that bad again, but it is a pain to be dealing with acne, wrinkles, and sagging skin all at the same time.

Retinol seems to help reduce the time the spots take to heal, but doesn't prevent them. I also have sensitive skin and can't use retinol too near my mouth or it burns, so sometimes my spots aren't treatable with that. It's such a pain!

I'm intrigued by this DIM supplement, can someone tell me more?

Yep me too. I'm 47 and started with acne at 12 years old. I've tried everything over the years - 2 courses of Roaccutane in my 20s, then in my 30s I was on long term antibiotics. Then after I had my son it came back with a vengeance and I've had 2 more courses of Roaccutane in my 40s.

Mine is predominantly on my chest and neck, and is deep in my skin, so nothing topical has ever really worked.

I'm on HRT and haven't noticed that's made any difference either way.

I am coming to the end of another long and slow course of Roaccutane.

I am hoping once I'm past menopause I might be over the worse, but it seems some people still suffer.

@RavenT Hi. Sorry to hear you’re going through the same. Can I ask how bad the side effects are from the Roaccutane. I’m not sure I’d be prescribed it due to previous mental health problems and the side effects really scare me.

Hi @TillyMc I have been monitored closely. Monthly calls or appts with a dermatology nurse to check my progress and any side effects and regular blood tests. Only given one month of tablets at a time.

I have found the longer and low doses much easier to tolerate, at worse I've had occasional dry lips.

I would say I personally get more side effects and inconvenience from long term antibiotics.

Have had all 4 courses on the NHS, and apart from having to wait a few months (6+)each time, once you get 'in' I have found the dermatology teams very supportive.

Contrast this with a private derm I saw a few years ago who was rude and dismissive and wouldn't prescribe as he felt I shouldn't be going private (am a single parent, low income). Clearly I was desperate at that point, but he told me to wait until the nhs appointment came round and was a bit of an arse!

@RavenT Thank you for replying. To be honest, I’m seriously considering going private and requesting Roaccutane, but then I read about the side effects and talk myself out of it. I’m not even sure I’d be allowed it due to history of depression. The thing that’s making me most depressed though is the acne!

Marking place as I have to run but am also in this depressing club. Had Roaccutane twice, didn’t work.

Will be back to read any suggestions.