Acne

[reytmardy]

Anyone found an effective acne product? Currently Ds is using Freederm. He has a very oily t zone and some spots filled with white or yellow gunk, particularly on his forehead. He's 13 and still has very soft babyish skin. Must add he doesn't make any effort whatsoever with skin. Doesn't even wash his face. I have to remind him to use freederm wipes

I’ve heard a few people say Sudocream works well for acne. As it’s pretty inexpensive it’s worth a try?

I'd get him to start washing his face twice a day first before using products. Products will be useless if he's not doing that, as excess cream etc if not washed off will only clog his pores and cause more spots.

Both of my DD's (13 and 16) acne 90% cleared up using Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel facial wash. It did absolute wonders and they both swear by it to their friends. All of the high end acne focused products did sweet fuck all, and I'd say made the acne worse as it dried out their skin.

Duac

Hows his diet? I only ask because recent research has been done on a cukture that doesnt have acne. Researchers attributed it to the wide diversity of gut microcrobes that also promote healthy skin microbes. Healthy skin microbes prevent acne.

Maybe worth spending your money on as the benefits will be further reaching health-wise.

I believe sudocrem works as a barrier to bacteria, so is good (if messy)overnight. Not sure how healthy it is for the skin.

Sudocrem had no effect. I will try some of the boots tea tree face wash.

I didn’t have bad acne but was very spotty until about 20. I tried a combination of Bodyshop seaweed products and within a few weeks my skin was transformed. The Teatree range is even stronger and recommended for very oily skin so might be worth a try?

Did anyone find a change of diet/eliminating certain things helped? DD seems good at cleaning her face but still the acne appears. GP prescribed something but it doesn't seem to have cleared it and is very drying.

If I remind ds to actually use his product daily (10 seconds before he gets in the shower or he'll forget and again at night) his spots get much better within a week - 10 days.

We started with various wipes as they seemed easier but they didn't help much at all and found proper face washes in his morning shower much more effective.

ds uses this Simple Oil Balancing Face Wash They used to sell it in Tesco but I cant find it anywhere now which is a shame as it lasts ages.

His skin rarely gets dry using this wash, if it does Simple also do an anti blemish moisture which is good.

Wipes are a waste of time IME.

What worked (still does) for DS was I bought a Clarisonic cleaning face brush that's used with acnecide face wash (from the chemist).

Use morning and night. DS wasn't keen but having a "gadget" to use seemed to make him more enthusiastic (it's also quicker and more effective than without).

Change pillowcase overly regularly to stop build up of facial oils on it.

Tbh if he can't/won't clean his skin properly morning/night then it's not going to improve.

DH saw the improvement and bought a cleaning brush for himself (his wasn't a Clarisonic, it's made by Hangsung from Amazon and was half the price but seems just as effective).

We have had some success with cleansing with witch hazel then applying Oxy 10. Worth a try I guess. I also get him to steam as well. It works wonders!!! Really gets out all of the gunk and leaves his skin really clean and fresh .

Depends on the cause of the acne. DS started with it at 13 and although it wasn’t hideous he started getting blackheads and the odd cluster of pimples. We tried everything over the counter with no success. Doctor prescribed antibiotics for an extended period which didn’t help and then roaccutane which was incredible. You do read negative reports about it but mine had no side effects and his skin was perfect after 8 months. He then used differen gel for 1 year as maintenance and can say it looks like he has never had a skin problem and the blackheads are fully disappeared. The upside is the roaccutane shrinks the sebum glands so there is very little chance of ever getting spots again.
Now he is told to only use a facecloth and water to wash his face no products!
If you think the over the counter is having little effect it’s definitely worth a GP visit, I wish we had gone sooner but didn’t think it was serious enough at the time:)

I'd suggest a visit to the GP. A six month course of antibiotics cleared my 14 year old DS's skin completely & it never came back.

Zineryt (antibiotic powder which will be mixed with water by your pharmacist according to prescription given by your teenager's GP). If the acne is on other parts of the body such as chest or neck your GP might prescribe a second bottle which can be mixed at home.

Another vote for Duac