Benzoyl peroxide for acne. Does it get worse before it gets better? What foundation/moisturiser is best?

[Sunbeckons]

DD has started using benzoyl peroxide for her mild-moderate acne. She has moved onto this after using Differin for 3 months and it not appearing to have much impact. I'm not sure if she should have tried it longer. Her skin seemed to purge and then stayed the same for 6 weeks. Not as bad as when it purged but worse than when she started.

Anyway, she's started benzoyl peroxide having never tried it before. It's made her face very angry within a few days. will her skin purge already on this or is it just red and angry? How long might she need to put up with this? What can she use to soothe her face? Is there any make-up she can use? She has a front of house part time job and would ideally prefer to wear some make-up to cover up the redness.

Any advice very welcome. She's 18 and had mild acne since she was 11 - mostly bumps under the skin on her forehead. It's only in the past year it's got red and lumpier and spread.

Purging happens after a few weeks, not a few days. Benzoyl peroxide is very harsh on the skin and it’s likely that it’s too strong for your DD, hence the irritation reaction. My DD was the exact same - I’d get her to stop using it before she causes further damage and wrecks her skin barrier which is only going to worsen the acne.

What moisturiser is she currently using? DD uses Ren Evercalm which has been great and if her skin is feeling particularly unhappy she’ll put Avène Cicalfate on the spots themselves

I had that and it made it 20 times worse. Rocutane tablets from the hospital really cleared it up within 6 weeks. It completely went away.

Benzoyl peroxide is pretty harsh stuff, not to mention a pain with all the bleaching of fabrics etc. However it's very effective at killing bacteria, very quickly. If she's using 5% strength it kills 99% within 30 seconds.

If she only leaves it on her skin for a short amount of time, then washes off completely, you can get the same benefit, but less side effects (and saves your clothes/sheets!). If you google 'short contact therapy' you can see info on the studies of where that 30 seconds came from etc.

She'll want to make sure she's got a good moisturiser, use nothing else with active ingredients (glycolic/salicyclic acids etc). Her normal make up should be fine if she already uses some, but if the redness isn't covering well, a colour corrector with a green colour counteracts that.

Acnecide, highly recommend.
I still use this now at 27 years old won't stop using it either its amazing.
Very drying though any basic moisturiser in the day foundation (whatever make up she wears) wash face throughly at night time and apply a thin layer on acne areas or like me all over! I swear by this stuff.

So she’s used a ‘treatment’ for the acne - and now needs make up to cover the side effects of the treatment?

I do wonder if all this is really necessary for ‘mild to moderate’ acne? As a completely normal hormonal stage acne doesn’t necessarily need treatment or disguise. It’s not a fault or something to be embarrassed about - basic gentle hygiene is probably sufficient, and far better than applying harsh chemicals that then need a corrective.

Besides which, at 18 she’s likely to find it diminishes and disappears over the next couple of years - is it really worth inflicting herself with something that might leave her looking worse than acne ever would?

As someone who at 43 still has the same blooming acne issues I had at 18 I cannot begin to explain how annoyed I am by this post. I wish my DM had taken it serious then (as does she these days). It is treatable and I didn’t need to spend 25 years hating my skin before doing something about it!

BP is amazing but you have to use it right. Most people don't

1. Gradually increase the amount over several weeks from a 2cm long line of product initially. You need a weak formulation..2.5 or max 5 percent.
2. It sensitizes skin..use sunblock and moisturise daily
3. You must must must rub out all in until it's completely absorbed for it to work. You can't just apply it.

Please don't give up too easily. Roaccutane
Is no joke, it can cause depression. Hopefully you won't need it

I cured my persistent acne with it. It definitely works

Exactly right!!

I was neither suggesting that teens shouldn’t wear make up, nor saying that severe persistent acne shouldn’t be treated.

But, whatever …

🤷🏾‍♀️

Maybe iam just really stupid then.. although did seem to me that's exactly what you were implying?
As a 27 year old woman I can absolutely relate to poor skin and it isn't a joke at all. It is really really shit and yes most cases do need treatment unfortunately we don't all have crystal clear glowing skin!

I've been through all of this with my daughter. The creams just burn the skin making it so dry and sore. The problem needs to be fixed from the inside I would take her to the doctor and insist on a skin specialist appointment or discuss with the gp what tablet would be best. I know there are a few pills that really help with acne and also a long course of antibiotics can really help too. With regards to make up and moisturiser everything should be oil free. Use a face wash like clean and clear or clearasil they also do an oil free moisturiser. I hope it gets better.

You clearly have no idea what trauma acne can cause. I suffered horrendously with it years ago to the point of not going out because of it. Your comments arnt helpful atall. Ridiculous

No BP makes skin very harsh. Here is my routine that I follow:
Morning:
Using water to wash your face,
Sebamed clear face gel,
Garnier spf
Evening:
Cerave moisturizer,
Tretinoin (0.1) from skinorac
Sebamed clear facial gel

@whyhavetheygotsomany - if you suffered horrendously then your acne was clearly not ‘mild to moderate’.

My comment was in relation to the mild to moderate acne the OP spoke of. In this instance it sounds as if the ‘cure’ is disproportionate to, if not worse than, the ill it is being used to alleviate.

Acnecide IS benzoyl peroxide.

What brand and strength? My skin can’t handle the strong duac but the milder one is fine. Really need to only use it on the spots, moisturise and only use it daily / every other day. My skin completely cleared within weeks. Acne didn’t worsen.

Ancecide is a product containing benzoyl peroxide. (What I use)
There are other products containing it that's similar. (Panoxyl)

As above, start slowly with benzoyl peroxide. Topical treatments can work well so give it a go. If she is scarring, see your GP.

Mine used BZ briefly when Effaclar by LRP plus 2% salicylic toner wasn't cutting it.
As others have said, it does dry out the skin terribly, and a common misconception is that oily skin doesn't need moisturizer.
Something very gentle like LRP Toleriane and a CeraVe hydrating cleanser will help.

Benzoyl peroxide can be very harsh and I've never found it effective for patients.

My preference is azelaic acid as it calms down redness and is available over the counter at lower strengths e.g. from brands like the ordinary. 15% and 20% are available on prescription. It stings like crazy for around 3 weeks then should calm down a lot.

Royal United Hospitals Bath
https://www.ruh.nhs.ukPDF
Acne Prescribing Guidelines - Clinical Management in Primary Care

These clinical guidelines are the ones I follow if she's interested in reading about other treatment options if topical options don't work.

There is a difference between benzoyl peroxide being harsh and it being allergenic. Because it can be so harsh it is sometimes hard to tell. If her eyes start swelling or she starts getting rashes in places she isn’t even applying it, then she probably needs to stop using it.

its harder to find these days, but salicylic acid is an effective treatment and much gentler.

I use Acnecide BP and it works well for me - I have sensitive skin but strangely it doesn't dry me out or cause a bad reaction.

I alternate - the gel, their BP face wash, and also Panoxyl (eBay) depending on how my skin is/feels. I'd say I usually only use each of these maybe 3 times a week, and the rest of the time I use CeraVe cleanser or Superfacialist Vit C oil cleanser. I use an LRP SPF moisturiser every morning, and usually squalane (The Ordinary) at night. The latter is cheap and works very well for my skin - never seems to break me out.

I've also recently rediscovered LRP Effaclar Duo and I don't know why I ever stopped using it!!

I feel for your daughter - having acne at 11, however mild/moderate, is absolutely bloody miserable. Like a pp, I generally have the same skin issues I had at that age and it's incredibly exhausting - my skin has never really been seen as bad enough for roaccutane (and I don't particularly want to take it), and also I have some allergies that complicate matters slightly, but the thing about mild to moderate acne is that you think it'll clear up, or that you're overthinking it, or that you're making a fuss out of nothing even when you feel incredibly sensitive and self-conscious (see @Aixellency's post above...) and so it's less likely to get fixed. Best of luck to your DD (and love to everyone else on this thread who was frustrated by that post.)

I tried BP as a teen and it caused high sensitivity, but now - pre-menopausal - it's great. No issues and really reduced spots on face, neck and chest.

There is / was a website called acne. org that'd had brilliant advise that included benzoyl peroxide in its regimen. Key to success is a) treating skin gently- the mildest cleanser possible, very low touch - no physical exfoliation and gentle patting dry. B) benzoyl peroxide cream of choice (sadly panoxyl is no more) c) apply rich, bland moisturiser to counteract the harsh effects of the previous stage. Eg diprobase approx 15 mins after.
Personally I would alternate panoxyl with tretinoin and my skin was the best it has ever been. Why dis I get distracted by brands and skincare fashion anyway.........I have a feeling
Acne.org wasn't maintained which is a shame it was a good regimen