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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

What does your teenage son use on his face/spots?

30 replies

flowerfairy · 27/04/2018 13:38

DS is 14 and has very pimply skin on his cheeks. I'm guessing it's a form of acne. Though he has had skin like this since he was small, it seems to be worse now. They aren't black heads or pus filled. But as teenagers do, he is becoming more conscious of his appearance. I've noticed he also gets the occasional spot in his hair line which are more like normal spots. Though his skin does not look like it is overly greasy as there is no visible shine to it.
So what does your teenage boy use on his skin? TIA

OP posts:
littlebillie · 27/04/2018 14:39

I got recommended silver serum in her and it helps it not an immediate cure but it has calmed it down

littlebillie · 27/04/2018 14:41

www.skinshop.co.uk/silver-serum

littlebillie · 27/04/2018 14:41

It has definitely improved it for him and it has stopped the glowing redness of the spots

KimchiLaLa · 27/04/2018 14:42

I used to use silver serum and it was great. You can always get him a good cleaning balm and glycolic pads - they have cheap ones in Superdrug that work incredibly well

ragged · 27/04/2018 21:45

antibiotic cream from GP

OnTopOfSpaghetti · 27/04/2018 21:48

Someone on here recommended the Bulldog range of skincare for my DS, it does work when he can be bothered to use it on a regular basis Hmm

Palavra · 27/04/2018 21:48

Going to the GP can be best for treating the underlying cause of infection behind the acne by antibiotics. For relatively mild acne, it would be a great like Duac. It will work better than over the counter so going straight for it save time and money as things like store bought cleansers etc aren’t always that effective make take up to a few months to see a slight difference.

claraschu · 27/04/2018 21:50

The only thing which helped my daughter was Roaccutane, which has to be prescribed by a dermatologist. It is a miracle cure.

DramaAlpaca · 27/04/2018 21:51

It's worth a trip to the GP as there are lots of things to try. My DS took a six month course of antibiotics at 14 & it got rid of the acne completely.

dollybird · 27/04/2018 22:00

My DS uses clearasil scrub and is also 2 months into a course of antibiotics. His skin had shown a marked improvement, but he's been really stressed recently with his GCSEs coming up, so it has deteriorated a bit. Hopefully once they're over, his skin will improve again.

Freshprincess · 27/04/2018 22:04

Duac on prescription.

Petalflowers · 27/04/2018 22:07

We used all the acne treatments (clearasil et al), then found Simple to be the best. Eldest one with more severe acne used lymcycline from the doctors.

IDoAllMyOwnStunts · 27/04/2018 22:09

Don’t mess about buying stuff you could end up wasting lots of money - my son uses Duac cream from the docs and it’s cleared his up great.

SmallestInTheClass · 27/04/2018 22:10

Definitely to GP, the over the counter stuff is OK if very mild but won't touch proper acne. It helped me as a teenager and in my 20s. Acne is often seen as just one of those things, but it can result in low self esteem etc

Cassimin · 27/04/2018 22:11

Get him to the dr. They will give him lots of different things to try.
Went through this with son and daughter.
They both ended up on roaccutane and this was a miracle cure for them.
It takes a long time to get to the dermatologist who prescribes it as you need to try all the other things first.
The quicker you start the quicker it will be sorted out.
My daughter sat in tears on her prom night over the state of her skin.
She's 19 now and hardly ever gets even 1 spot.

Scabetty · 27/04/2018 22:12

Ds us on duac and antibiotics. Still has spots but lessening.

ThaiRedCurry · 27/04/2018 22:16

Cut out dairy from diet and speak to GP!

claraschu · 28/04/2018 09:14

The antibiotics don't work for most people, according to my daughter's dermatologist. They are part of the check list, which you have to try before they refer you for Roaccutane, but usually they just seem either to not make much of a difference or to make things better temporarily. Of course they do work for some kids like DramaAlpaca's son. Sometimes in the course of doing all the stuff which comes before Roaccutane the acne just kind of subsides naturally.

Roaccutane was a miracle cure.

Scabetty · 28/04/2018 09:51

Cutting dairy made no difference to ds’s skin. He eats really healthily and still the spots erupt. The duac and ABs seem to make the blackheads snd white head smaller. He is 2 months in and seems happier. Was very low at one point as he was being teased.

claraschu · 28/04/2018 14:19

Cutting dairy and all the prescription creams didn't help at all for us. Antibiotics helped a little, but only temporarily.

Roaccutane has made my daughter's skin almost perfect- it really is absolutely amazing. Also, the only side effect was dry lips for the first 2 months, cured by lots of lip balm. I would wholeheartedly recommend it- what a difference to her confidence and comfort!

claraschu · 28/04/2018 14:22

Oh, forgot to mention, that my daughter also has a very healthy diet, lots of vegetables, very little junk, no fizzy drinks, and long periods without chocolate, etc. None of it helped, and I am what Mumsnetters would probably call a lentil weaver.

Original poster
flowerfairy · 30/04/2018 12:58

Thanks for all of your responses. Ds only has milk in his porridge as he does not like cheese/yoghurt/milkshake/butter or spread on sandwiches.

Some of the issue will be getting him to use anything regularly!

While I and DH suffered a few break outs as a teenager our respective siblings both had very severe acne and my sister did have roaccutane. DS's skin does not resemble theirs at all as they are just bumps/lumps/pimples. Though I remember a big side effect being a link to depression. And there is a family history of anxiety and depression.

OP posts:
claraschu · 30/04/2018 13:48

My daughters consultant dermatologist says that he has not seen the depression side effect in his patients. I asked him about it, and he said that in general he sees people coming for follow up appointments feeling much happier and less anxious than they were.

My daughter's acne was not particularly terrible, just bad enough to make her feel conscious of it, but not disfiguring her or covering her face.

I am the kind of parent who doesn't give medication unless it is unavoidable, and is generally wary of pills to solve every problem...
The Roaccutane has been absolutely fantastic.

claraschu · 30/04/2018 13:49

I will stop going on about it now Smile. I am surprised at myself- pushing medication on you. Sorry to keep repeating myself, but it has just made such a difference!

nineteentwelve · 02/05/2018 18:00

medimix soap has made all the difference here!! cleared up all bad skin. i used to be on duac but i have quite dark skin and it seemed to be making parts of my skin much lighter which wasn't useful