Teenage boy acne. Antibiotic resistant

[Snowonground]

I wondered if anyone had any experience/tips. My son has been on the same anti biotics for two years and has been given various creams by the doctor that make his face sore so he won't use them. Ive tried to get him referred to a dermatologist through the NHS but the wait is extremely long. We've tried all sorts of things.. Korean skin care, azalaeic acid, salicylic acid etc. All the things that can be easily looked up and are advised by good social media influences. So Im not asking for thoughts on that per se. Just experience and whether anything worked for antibiotic resistance. Any thoughts outside the box!

Have you tried Adapalene (Differin)? It works quite well for my teenage boy. Use it every night. Still a few spots, but isolated ones here and there which can be dealt with individually with spot patches.

Le Roche posay have a range for acne- worked wonders for my friend’s daughter (her acne was mild but nothing else touched it)

Pore Favoe supplements cleared my adult hormonal acne. They offer a money back guarantee if you don’t see results.

After years and years of trying everything over the counter and then everything the GP asked him to try, I reluctantly went to a consultant derm to ask about roaccutane. I was scared for my son after hearing some horror stories about the purge and the side effects (all of them anecdotal, no medical professional ever told me this I realise now), but my son’s self esteem was in the gutter, following years of severe acne and made worse by the breakdown of his skin barrier because of all the creams and acids he was given to use.

It’s the best thing we ever did and I kick myself regularly for not taking him sooner. It works (for something like 99% of people?), there was no purge. The only side effect is extreme dryness, so you have to keen on top of moisturising and using lip balm.

If years of acne is making your son unhappy, I’d urge you to get proper medical advice about roaccutane. Not YouTube or TikTok. It’s very safe and very effective.

Diet. We’d tried all the topical treatments, so decided to cleanse from the inside out. I researched and found a dietician in the US and I bought a 3-appointment bundle from her, and she helped us to create a diet plan on zoom calls. We started seeing results in a few weeks, and by 3 months, DC’s skin was completely clear.

Go privately and get him on roaccutane.

He should be scared of the effect of two years (!!!!) of antibiotics on his gut.

My DS went the roaccutane route when nothing else worked. He had to do monthly blood tests and check in with the derm to monitor how his system was dealing with it, and used a heavy duty moisturiser all over, a moisturising body wash, and Vaseline up his nostrils. He had a year of treatment and has never looked back.

Please urge your son to try to overcome his worries.

Take him to see a doc Privately. Will save £££ and his MH and his gut in the medium to long term.

Try 100% carrot juice, large glass 3x a day. Roaccutane is basically vitamin a and carrot juice is a potent natural source of vitamin a. Worked wonders for me as a teen. Also causes dryness of lips like roaccutane so have a good lip balm ready

So I was in a similar position with one of mine.

they were very dr resistant for some reason. We’d tried everything available, but still very bad back and face acne.

they saw -on TikTok of course- that dairy can contribute to skin issues. I was sceptical but agreed to a two week trial.

well blow me down the difference was visible in 3 days. No new spots, and just looked calmer. By the end of the two weeks less redness and looked “spotty” rather than full on acne.

it took a good 6m to a year to completely resolve and the residual scarring to become unnoticeable.

had some gut issues we hadn’t even thought about until they resolved as well- wind, smell, constipation etc.

so I always say it’s worth a try. Give it two weeks, if there’s no difference no harm done.

Please don't do this. Excess vitamin A is toxic though in milder cases all it will do is turn your skin orangey-yellow. Several raw carrots per day will also be quite the sugar load!

I repeat - roaccutane.

A young relative of mine had antibiotic resistant acne for years. We tried everything. She was in her 20s and developing acne scars by the time she saw the dermatologist. She too was reluctant to try roaccutane but as the derm said, "no, you don't have to. But nothing else is going to work". So she gave it a try and like others here, apart from dry lips tolerated the tabs very well and now, years later, has stayed acne-free.

Severe acne scars. Not only that, but it damages the elastin in the skin so that the skin loses firmness; severe acne is associated with marked signs of early aging in the skin. Treatment is for a year but the effects of lack of treatment last a lifetime.

Roaccutane! (No, I don't sell the stuff!)

Odd that you think natural carrot juice is less safe than a prescribed drug which can damage unborn foetuses. Just offering an alterative to try post as OP said son waa scared of Roaccutane

Also Roaccutane is simply a potent synthetic form of vitamin A...

My late teen son had really poor acne prone skin. He tried literally everything except Roaccutane. He had a bad bout of flu and was in bed for almost a week when he literally didn’t shower or wash! (He was at uni). Once he was feeling better he noticed his skin had cleared up massively! From then on he stopped using all the lotions and potions and for a while he just used plain water for washing his face. He has never had any issues since! Coincidence or what? We will never know!

My first reaction was to suggest allergy testing. Then I RTFT and saw that he is atopic - he definitely needs allergy testing! He could be allergic or intolerant to something he is consuming or to something in his environment.

Anecdotal, I know, but my friend develops acne from consuming any dairy, whereas I get something that looks like acne (on my legs) from contact with specific fragrance chemicals. My friend worked it out from experience, later confirmed by patch testing, whereas I had no idea what was causing it until I was patch tested.

Thank you everyone. This is so helpful and is giving some clarity. I think he may need to rethink the roccutane. And keep fingers crossed!

My DS used roaccutane with great results

So if he does go on roccutane, (bearing in mind Im not 100% confident in his GP) what should we be making sure he does? Lip balm. What sort of moisturiser and should that be for all over him or a separate one for his face? Should he eat more or less of anything?

I've tried everything apart from Roaccutane. My NHS dermatologist recommended red light therapy to me. I bought an Omnilux and it does really help. My skin is mostly clear if I use it consistently. The hardest part is being consistent with it though.

Accutane
You can go private for the initial consultation and then back to the NHS.
Vaseline for the inevitable lip cracking.
Cerave for moisturiser and cleanser.
My son had horrible acne during the pandemic. Antibiotics didn’t touch it. Accutane cleared it.

(Oh and no mental health issues… beyond just being a teenager)

Roaccutane.
My Daughter's bf had cystic acne at age 16, he's now 25 and you'd never know.
Just get lots of moisturiser.

We tried everything for my DD. It was horrific cystic acne. Years of Lymecycline, doxycycline and erythromycin. Horrible harsh skin stripping lotions and gels . Nothing worked.

We then tried her on a gluten and dairy free diet. Avoided dairy substitutes with rapeseed oil in (we used a milk called plenish). We got her on a high dose of probiotics and we saw an improvement after a month on just this . We also completely changed her skincare. No harsh products only gentle fragrance free cleanser and moisturiser and twice weekly salicylic acid plus weekly niacinamide serum.

We then started her on a product called ‘skin accumax’ 3 months later her skin was clear. It has remained clear. We were absolutely desperate and she was really depressed but the combination of all the above worked wonders. I think gut health is the most important factor.

I hope things improve soon for your ds

I’m a skin Therapist. I have a lot of teen acne clients. My protocol :

Morning
Do not use cleanser in the morning.
Rinse the face with lukewarm water only.

Moisturiser
Use a pea-sized amount for the whole face.
Gently spread, do not rub hard.

Suitable moisturisers (gentle and acne-safe):
• Paula’s Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturiser
• Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Moisturiser (if skin feels dry)

SPF (every morning)
Apply a mineral SPF daily, even in winter.
Use two fingers’ length for face and neck.

Mineral SPF options:
• Paula’s Choice CALM Mineral SPF 30
• La Roche-Posay Anthelios Mineral SPF 50
• Ultrasun Mineral Face SPF 50

Evening
Cleanse (PM only, maximum 3 times per week)
Use a gentle, non-foaming cleanser.
Do not cleanse every night — over-cleansing can increase oil and inflammation.

On non-cleanse nights, rinse with lukewarm water only.

Gentle cleanser options:
• Paula’s Choice CALM Nourishing Cleanser
• Paula’s Choice Clear Pore Normalising Cleanser (use sparingly)

Moisturiser
Apply a pea-sized amount only.
More product does not mean better results.

Important Rules
Do not scrub the skin
Do not use face wipes or Clinell wipes
Do not use acids, retinol or spot treatments unless advised
Do not pick or squeeze spots
Change pillowcases regularly
Use a fresh razor blade each time when shaving

What to Expect
Skin often calms down first
Redness reduces before spots fully clear
Some congestion may surface early — this is normal
Consistency matters more than using lots of products

Key Message for Parents
Teen acne responds best to calm, consistent care.
Over-treating and harsh products usually make it worse.

this is followed for 4 weeks to calm the skin then followed with skin peels (up to six - 1x10days) and LED therapy. Clears all acne. I would never let my teen use CerVe/creams with fragrance.

I also believe that allergies/intolerance and gut issues are the root cause and think this should be looked into however the above will work on a cosmetic basis. No need for the really strong antibiotic/treatments.

I wish you/son all the best ❤️

also I have no affiliation to Paula’s Chioce - I just like the products and the barrier repair cream is great for women with dry skin/barrier issues.

There's more than one type of antibiotic the gp can prescribe so if he's only been on one type then it's time to switch.

Light therapy can help a bit (led light mask) but tbh if antibiotics don't help then roaccutane is probably the only answer. Poor lad, its miserable.