Please help my spotty chin (with pics)

[WhenWillItAllGetBetter]

Out of nowhere I’ve started to get a very red/ spotty chin. I’ve never had problems with my skin before and don’t really know how to deal with it.
I have tried CeraVe blemish control gel and CeraVe moisturiser neither of which helped. Niacinamide 10% from the minimalist which I think has reduced redness a bit. Superdrug retinol night cream has made my skin very soft but made no difference to my chin. I was my face morning and evening with Superdrug hot cloth cleanser and use a light moisturiser.

Im thinking of trying salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide but am a bit clueless and don’t want to endlessly buy products. Also both say they are for oily skin and I don’t have oily skin (if anything it’s dry) or large pores, the bumps are kind of under the skin.

I think the cause is hormonal and generally seems worse for the second half of my cycle but I don’t know how to fix it. Please help, it’s starting to get me down!

Looks a bit infected to me. I'd be stopping with the hot cloth cleanser and sticking with water and cervave moisturiser...and seeing the GP . You probably need some fucidin cream or similar.

My chin looked like yours once, this sorted it. Nothing short of a miracle. The face wash isn’t necessary but the toner and spot cream are amazing!
https://www.laroche-posay.co.uk/en_GB/effaclar-3-step-anti-blemish-system-for-blemish-prone-skin/LRP_915.html

Hi
I do feel your pain, I’ve had this on and off over the last few years, really demoralising.
I have a subscription with Dermatica and they tweaked my prescription to include something for the spots and right now it’s working.

I had exactly the same. Doctor prescribed me antibiotics and it cleared up completely but within 2 months of stopping taking them they all came back.

I tried Skin and Me Daily Doser and it took 2-3 months of using but it's cleared them up. I haven't had any spots in about a month so fingers crossed that's it now. It's about £25 a month so not cheap but worth it for how my skin is now.

I think that’s likely perioral dermatitis - I am not a medic, but I’ve had it.

GPs aren’t brilliant at skin problems (I am also a life long eczema sufferer) so get it checked by someone who knows what they are talking about.

I have a good GP but had to see a private dermatologist to get it identified when I had it - the treatment is low dose of antibiotics for a few months. (My GP misdiagnosed it as some kind of eczema and prescribed steroids which make it much worse said my dermatologist)

I would see your GP. I suffer with Rosacea acne and the only thing that clears it is a low dose long course of antibiotics called Limecycline I think & taken for 2 months. Then it’s completely clear until the next flare up. I am not permitted to stay on the antibiotics but as soon as it starts again I go straight back for another course. Before this treatment I tried so many different cleansers from Boots and creams from the GP without success.

I second seeing a dermatologist.

Either try to get a referral via the GP or save your time and money you’d spend on useless over the counter stuff and make a private appointment.

I did this after spending too much time faffing with the treatment ladder via the GP and £££££ with facials and ‘nice’ skincare.

I had cystic acne. Best money I’ve ever spent.

OP, it might be worth asking your local pharmacist what products/routine they'd recommend.

I think your issue is internal rather than external. You need to see a GP/get a referral.

Lymecycline on prescription, Epiduo and Dermol 500

I had the same in perimenopause, La Roche Posay Effaclar range was the only thing that made a difference. It took a couple of years before it stopped completely though so it was hormonal.

Skin and me.
Send this pic in online and they will prescribe a cream usually with some antibacterial stuff in for the forst month but also containing tretoinin which is the best thing ever for spots. It takes a few weeks but it will clear.

Another vote for skin and me - do an online consultion and send pics. They use prescription ingredients. Will clear up in no time.

I think that's perioral dermatitis. Is it also a little itchy sometimes?
Stop all the aggressive treatments immediately (retinol, any strong cleansers, anything really that isn't absolutely gentle). Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of it (for me, anyway) was antibiotics and a special cream from a dermatologist.
I initially thought it was some kind of acne, but my attempts to use anything designed for acne just made it spread and spread (including, eventually, to around my eyes, which was painful as well as unsightly).

looks like acne. you need to go to your GP

Are you using your fingers to apply the gels / cream?

You might just be moving the bacteria around your face.

Buy a new cleanser, use cotton wool balls to apply and don't put a used ball anywhere near the cleanser.

Thanks all, that’s very useful advice. I think I’ll start with the gp and see how it goes. If it takes a very long time I may think about private dermatologist. I’ll stop all the potions for the time being as well.
I’ll also have a look at la Roche Posay as a couple of people mentioned that.

I also think perioral dermatitis. There have been a few threads on here that are very helpful. The only thing that works for me is switching to a non fluoride toothpaste. If I switch back, it flares back up almost immediately. Worth a try.

@WhenWillItAllGetBetter

i agree with others that a private dermatologist is a game changer.

va GPs who can sometimes diagnose the wrong thing and then proscribe something that makes it worse.

I saw one when I had increasingly bad acne in my early 40s during rh pandemic.

he took one look at me, said it was rosacea and proscribed two creams that have changed my life

i didn’t think my symptoms fitted (not a lot of redness and some deep cystic spots)

he said it was all rosacea made worse by lots of mask wearing (too much warm breath on my face) and working in a cold home office where I’d have a heater below me wafting warm dry air around me too much.

he proscribed soolantra and fineca and using one each morning and evening gave me better skin than I’ve ever had

now I alternate one each evening for maintenance and spend a lot less on skincare (which mostly didn’t really help)

i think now I had it for years and it was kept a bay by acids and retinols which gradually stopped working and started being part of the problem

feel a bit sad about all the years I spent with spotty skin and feeling self conscious about it

Thank you, I looked up perioral dermatitis and it seems very likely to me too. I’ll search for the other threads, than you. Interesting about the toothpaste, were you previously able to use fluoride toothpaste?

The only thing is when I looked it up it said there was often a ring around the lips that wasn’t affected whereas I’m getting small painful spots right at the edge of my lips.

Mine looked like this and it was Type 2 rosacea. It too seemed cyclical. I used Soolantra for 4 months and it cleared, that was 4 years ago and it hasn't come back.

I don't know much about perioral dermatitis so if the GP thinks it's that you'll probably get different treatment options but just a head's up that if you get benzoyl peroxide for acne, google 'short contact therapy' - the gist is you only need to leave it on for a few minutes for full effectiveness, & washing it completely off afterwards will lessen side effects (and save bleaching all your towels and pillowcases!) If you already have dry skin it's just something to bear in mind as BP can be very drying.

I get perioral dermatitis and Lymecycline clears it up for me. I have tried fluoride free toothpaste (health food shops and Boots do one) but it doesn’t make a difference.

See what your GP says. Hope you get it sorted, it’s miserable feeling self conscious.

It sounds like it's something that requires the GP. But if you do discover it's just spots, my son uses this and it seems to bring them right down overnight:

I would also say perioral dermatitis. Whatever you do, don't let your GP give you steroid creams. Yes they work like a miracle, but short term only and it will come back with vengeance. Either metronidazole cream, soolantra or if those won't work, oral antibiotics.