Advice on my 11 year old daughter's acne

[Vivista]

I'd really appreciate some advice if anyone can provide it. A few months ago, my daughter started developing lots of little spots on her forehead and cheeks (I think they'd be defined as closed comedones). She has recently started her period so I'm guessing the two are connected. She washes her face twice a day with a gentle cleanser (the Cerave hydrating one), and moisturises too but things don't seem to be improving. I took her to the GP who has prescribed Epiduo topical lotion. However, looking online, it does seem to be very drying and has to be to applied carefully, with the risk of her skin 'purging' first. As we've got a few weeks of holidays abroad in the sun, with lots of other people, I thought I would delay starting to avoid any stress.
In the meantime, I've seen the LaRoche Posay Effaclar Duo + moisturiser recommended, so I thought we would use that for now. Has anyone had any luck with this for their teen? Did you apply it twice a day as they say? And did you need to moisturise on top? I can't work out if it is a proper moisturiser in its own right or if it will be drying.
Apologies for the long post. I had quite a traumatic time with acne in my teens and ended up on Roaccutane, and I'm really keen for her to not go through the same thing.

My dd was the same. The topical cream from the doctors was awfully drying for her.

She went on dianette and that sorted the problem quickly x

Hi,my daughter takes one lymecycline a day,an antibiotic,it took a while,but it seems to work, the doctors would only prescribe it for 3 months at a time but after being referred to a dermatologist at our hospital he said 18 months at a time is fine,hers was pretty bad. We did try every cream prescribed first.

I’d strongly recommend she uses an oil free moisturiser, and if she uses foundation, spf and skin makeup to make sure it’s all non-comedogenic. I’m acne prone and despite having mine under control, any trace of oil and I break out badly.

I’d follow along with the medical tx and do it where friends won’t notice the purging period. That way by September she can start the new school year with a clearer complexion.

I use the acnecide and purefide skincare range for my son who was getting so many white and blackhead. It's really helped so far

The La Roche products are fantastic and even I use the effaclar duo with the sunscreen in it as a facial sunscreen as I don’t like the thick greasy texture of many products with spf.

Truthfully I don’t think any cleanser alone will deal with acne ( effaclar as good as it gets though) as it is barely on the skin for any time. You need to either decongest or attack the bacteria ( or preferably both). In terms of attacking the bacteria, the Clindamycin topical antibiotic that was very drying in our youth ( but worked brilliantly!) now comes as a lotion ( prescription only) and as far as I know is ok in the sun.

I can't give any real world advice but I would say that as it turns out Cerave is amazing for many many people.... with a few finding it actually is worse and makes their skin worse. So I'd consider swapping to something else - The Ordinary Squalane cleanser is very gently and good for pre-teen skin so might be a good option.

I also don't know about the topical cream but I imagine if you do use it, it will be important to ensure that she makes a real effort to keep the rest of the skin well moisterised? Again, The Ordinary do a nice gentle hylaronic acid moisteriser which is fine for children. I also quite like the Neutrogena balms - obviously without any actives. DS also uses a Aloe skin serum from The Ordinary because he has a very weak/damaged skin barrier and that does seem to help with inflammation and redness which could be good for her too?

LaRoche Posay Cleanser and Effaclar Duo + and was the first products we tried with ds. They contain salicylic acid. It mattified his skin fairly quickly and did help keep his spots at bay to begin with for several months. He did not find it drying.

Benzoyl peroxide (most popular brand Acnecide 5%) is much harsher and very drying, but she could use it only every 2-3 days along with a non-oily moisturiser if needed.

Epiduo is 2.5% Benzoyl peroxide with an added Retinoid. When ds was switched to it (chemist told us this was likely to be due to cost) after a very successful 9 months and almost clear skin on DUAC (Benzoyl peroxide 3% with topical antibiotic) his skin really struggled with it, spots really flared up and got out of control.

The problem is everyone's skin will behave differently. I would say LaRoche Posay Effaclar Duo + , and perhaps cleanser, is worth a try to begin with.

After a few breakouts of spots, tween DD has just started using Spots & Stripes products developed especially for tween and teen skin. Good results already after only 2 weeks' use. The Spot Zapper balm has had an especially quick effect.

https://www.spots-and-stripes.com/skin/

I've had acne since teenage years, and La Roche Posay and Cerave are the only things that have worked! If she uses make up, definitely don't use face wipes - try micellar water and cotton wool or reusable pads. I started Dianette contraceptive pill when I was about 16, it helped a lot. Hopefully it clears for her. My acne has only now cleared in my early 30s, unexpectedly since being pregnant.

Does she moisturise as well as using the wash? My DD's skin really improved when she started moisturising twice a day after using a face wash for teenage skin.

Thanks very much for all the responses and advice. Teen acne is such a pain as it's not easily solved, and I'd hoped my daughters would avoid it (as I had the pleasure of multiple topical antibiotics, then oral antibiotics, then Dianette, Roaccutane, and Spironolactone for good measure!). I think we will give the Laroche Posay Effaclar Duo+ moisturiser a go as a first option before trying the Dr's prescription, just in case it could do enough to work. Does anyone have experience of using it as a moisturiser? Is it enough or do you need a non-comodogenic moisturiser on top? And is using it twice a day excessive?

Yes I use the one with spf in the summer, though as I don’t have teenage skin I sometimes put it with my normal one first as it isn’t massively hydrating. It is supposed to unclog as she wears it and my nephew has had great success with this plus clindamycin to kill bacteria.

My understanding is that clindamycin is much gentler than benzoyl peroxide.

there is an article about pre teen skincare in the Boots magazine, the latest issue of Health and Beauty. The article is about tweens and teens using anti aging skincare because of Tik Tok influencers.

Pre teen skincare regime recommended at bottom of article is....

Cerave Blemish Control Face Cleanser
Bubble Super Clear 2% salicylic acid Blemish Prevention Serum (might help prevent further breakouts after this is sorted @Vivista
Coats Gentle Hydrating Toning Milk (toner and moisturiser in one that wont strip skin)

Byoma Moisturising Gel Cream SPF 30