DD and her acne

[pleasehelpmewithmydilemma]

Looking for advice on my DD and her terrible skin. She has come down this morning in tears again as she has woken up againwith another huge painful pus filled spot on her upper lip.
DD has been suffering with bad skin since just before her periods started 2 years ago (DD is nearly 15). She has seen the doctor and had antibiotics prescribed. She’s used all sorts of lotions and potions, including the ‘behind the counter’ benzyl peroxide.
Our GP has now prescribed her the contraceptive pill as DD also suffers with very heavy and painful periods.
I also suffered when I was her age. Trying to explain to DD that she will grow out of it is falling on deaf ears.
This issue is causing her to become very sad and tearful. Couple this with no school and lockdown and I am worried for her mental health.
DD is now saying she doesn’t want to leave the house to meet her friends as she looks so awful. Me telling her that her friends will not see her skin, only her, and love her anyway, isn’t being heard
Has anyone got any advice? Please?

Hello OP, like your daughter i had horrible acne. It all started at 11. I started the antibiotics, the prescribed lotions etc and it didnt work. It also had an impact on my mental health too and got nasty comments about my skin from my peers. I then went on roaccutane and it was a game changer. Yes the side effects are tough but it made such an improvement on my skin. If you can afford it i really recommend dermalogica products. Most beauticians will recommend the right products. Its an expensive to begin with but lasts quite long. The clearasil aimed at oily skin only makes it worse. After my early twenties i can say i have great skin now and the good thing about having oily skin is it gives you younger looking skin. I hope your daughters skin improves for her wellbeing.

Also with acne scarring, i got microdermabrasion in my early twenties and it really helped x

Last thing sorry if you need any extra help or advice just pm me.

Duac is a GP-prescribed cream and it zaps the individual cysts brilliantly. Killed one of mine that was nearly as old as I am in 2 days. Not systemic or a risky med, either.

DD is 15. In my area the private dermatologists say she has to be 16 for appointment and Dermatica says 16 too.

She has tried many things: no result from topical clindamycin or Duac, allergic reaction to doxycycline, no real results from various salicylic acid cleansers and creams (now Cerave) and has just started erythromycin. GP has said she must exhaust all this to be referred to dermatologist. I myself resorted to Roaccutane in my 30s so didn’t grow out of it either. Any suggestions?

@Laurie01 what Ordinary products do you recommend

DD (14) is also struggling with acne at the moment and has done for the past 18 months. She also has very very sensitive skin and reacts to lots of products. We have totally stripped back her skincare routine so now she only uses Cetaphil face cleanser and face moisturiser and that has certainly helped with the sensitivity. But nothing is helping with the acne. She has been prescribed Duac and most recently Differin and neither of them have made a blind bit of difference.

I am wary of going down the antibiotic route for reasons other posters have gone in to. And Roaccutane side effects sound scary. I’m wondering if the contraceptive pill might be the best option for DD.

I’m wondering if the contraceptive pill might be the best option for DD

I regret waiting with DD. For some stupid reason I wanted to wait until she was 15 - I wish I had started her earlier, so much pain and suffering for some ridiculous non-scientific "feeling".

@Baaaahhhhh same here! I have in my head to wait till she’s 15, I have no idea why! Perhaps my rationale is that then she’ll have had 2 full years of natural periods before we introduce additional hormones to her body. But it’s still pretty arbitrary.
Did your DD respond well to the pill? How long did it take to have an effect?

Rollergirl11 Even more stupid for us in that DD started her periods just before her 11th birthday! No rationale at all. Just didn't feel right.

Anyway, as noted above, she had researched and wanted "Yasmin", but the doctor suggested "Marvelon". I could be wrong, but I think it is cheaper, but tbf it is also the one they recommend for acne. DD was expecting instant results, and of course, nothing happened for a couple of months, and she felt a bit teary and depressed, so went back to GP and got Lucette (which is the same as Yasmin, but unbranded). Her acne immediately cleared up. In hindsight, some of that might have been that she needed to wait 3 months anyway, and some might have been in her head, anyway it worked, and she had no further symptoms from the pill, and hasn't even had a spot since, let alone acne.

Roll on a couple of years and she does get a lot of bloat, so she was wondering whether to change again. GP has now advised "tri-cycling" to see if that helps, if not she may re-try Marvelon, but she's older now and can therefore make her own decisions.

Good luck with your DD.

Another one here who still has acne in her 40s...I found the pill did a wonderful job for me. I wish my parents had taken it seriously when I was a younger teen (DMum admits she wishes they’d taken me to the GP and made a fuss but everyone assumed I’d grow out of it then went on the pill at 17).

Dianette contraceptive pill was fantastic on my skin. I went in it in my early 20s wish I'd known about it before. You can only be on it for a limited time though I think. Good luck

The problem with people who have acne or spots is that they tend to over-cleanse their skin, especially with harsh, alcohol based products that are loaded with chemicals. It makes the problem much worse. I would stay away from those products and only cleanse with something gentle and natural. Chamomile tea applied topically can help calm the skin and keep it clear.

I took Roaccutane when I was 14 for cystic acne in the late 80s
It gave me my life back, horrible side effects and she'll need to be very closely and regularly monitored but in my experience nothing comes close to it in terms of end results

Another vote for roaccutane, I suffered all my life with bad skin but it got extremely bad a couple of years ago due to being perimenopausal, Dr put me on it and yes some unpleasant side effects (not too bad) and after a couple of months being on it my skin was amazing and has since stayed that way ,seeing her skin improve will boost her confidence greatly