Acne - Recommendations

[atalost]

My 17 yr old son suffers badly with facial acne and wondered if anyone has any tips, recommendations, etc. I’m trying to get him to ditch his sugar intake and I have bought the odd lotion for acne, but his face just looks so angry and I know he’s conscious of it. Thanks in advance.

Thanks everyone for your responses

Totally get it, my son went through the same. What helped was keeping it simple: gentle cleanser, plus something with niacinamide or azelaic acid. Takes time, but it calmed things down a lot. Came across lavietreatments.co.uk too, they do acne-focused treatments that look pretty solid.

Greenbrier - how much is the subscription please - appreciate its personalised, but it would give me an idea as my son is refusing to go to the GP

Hi @atalost it was £9.99 for the first month then ~£45 per month after that. There are various promotional codes out there especially for the first order.

What we get is the ‘Daily Doser’ (the cream with the active ingredients for use at night: tretinoin, etc.), the moisturiser and cleanser. And for the day, DS would add on one of my own sunscreens.

I find that there is a lot of moisturiser left in the tube at the end of the month, but it doesn’t go to waste as I use it (very nice, lightweight, no fragrance).

You can pause or cancel various products (but I think it’s key to keep using the Daily Doser) if you think too much is coming through, or get them to deliver earlier or later (for example if you’re going away for the holidays).

retrospectively I look back and I wish I’d never touched it. It worked but it made me suicidal and cost me dearly because of course the timing of it is when you’re studying.

Was that awhile ago?

I believe - or rather our dermatologist assured us - that the modern dose is much less and mental health side effects are now uncommon.

https://onlinedoctor.boots.com/acne-treatment

A lot of the products pp have mentioned can be ordered online if your son doesn’t want to go to the GP, I do understand they can feel embarrassed.

DC’s skincare regime managed his mild acne for years but when it got worse he was prescribed epiduo and Lymecycline.

Thanks for the Boots link, that’s really helpful and I will definitely give this a try.

Sorry to hear that.
Do you mean cost in terms of financial? Is that because of seeing a dermatologist?

Mental health wise my acne had a huge effect and made me depressed, anxious and not want to leave the house. Isotretinoin did wonders for my mental health consequently by curing it. I think overall the negative mental health effects of acne are more common than the incidence of suicidal ideation related to isotretinoin but agree it's a very serious side effect and the dermatologist will help to manage the risk.

I bought my son Norse Organics and that made a massive difference.

My son was the same, but I made an online request, and the GP asked for photographs of his skin, and then prescribed duac. He never had to actually see the GP.

I do have acne and I will share my routine if that helps:
Morning:
Using water to wash your face,
Sebamed clear face gel,
Garnier spf
Evening:
Cerave moisturizer,
Tretinoin (0.1) from skinorac
Sebamed clear facial gel

This has helped a lot for my son:
Cerave blemish control wash
Salicylic acid 1% on nose pores and any breakouts once a day (morning)
Adapalene gel thin layer all over face once a day (evening)
Once a week, charcoal nose strip or peel-off mask

First step while you sort a GP appt: Go to Boots or a pharmacy and get Cerave face wash (blue one unless he gets dry skin, if so then green one) and Acnecide. You could also try Niacinamide eg The Ordinary makes a cheap serum.

Next step: Go to the GP and get Epiduo. (this has benzoyl peroxide and adapalene in it). Possibly a topical antibiotic. I’m not a fan of oral antibiotics for acne though they do work for some.

Then: Consider skin+me or dermatica for a tretinoin/niacinamide/azaelic acid combo

Finally: Dermatologist for Roaccutane. Not to be taken lightly, it can cause mood effects including depression and suicidal feelings in some.

You can buy adapalene online. It's a bit expensive but worth it.

I second adapalene gel - this had just come on the market when I had a resurgence of acne in my twenties and it was a game-changer for me. I wish it had been around when I was a teenager!

Another vote for the Boots online prescription service. They offer azalaic acid, retinoids, etc.

Their retinoids include adapalene (Differin) and Trifarotene (Aklief) which is a more modern version of tretinoin (Retin A) with fewer side effects. Both are reasonably priced. The latter is £55, but it is for a whopping 75 mg which lasts for four or five months. I use it for antiaging and improved skin texture.

Best wishes to DS. Acne is miserable.

My poor DS despite doing the differin as my dermatologist prescribed ie 1-2 times a week as advised his skin has broken out badly so we are doing every pm on his face now and I'm not joking after doing it 2 nights in a row its better with cerave green face wash in the mix too.the poor boy. Like im scarred mentally from my acne years ago and I dont know am I being over the top but if its one thing I can do for them save them from this teen stress I will.

We do the adapalene every evening and it does make a big difference. Some breakouts still happen but they are small and resolve quickly without spreading.

I second for adapalene too

Hey, I read this article when my DD was struggling with acne and it was really helpful and written by doctors: https://weareluna.app/parents/guides/skin-and-skincare/teen-skincare-routine/

I will share my routine for my acne if that helps:
Morning:
Using water to wash your face,
Sebamed clear face gel,
Garnier spf
Evening:
Merit or LRP moisturizer,
Tretinoin (0.1) from skinorac
Sebamed clear facial gel

Take him to the GP. He will probably need oral treatment/antibiotics on top of creams, etc. everybody is different so he needs to see what works for him

Lymecycline and epiduo prescribed for my pre teen. Only been on it for a couple of weeks but skin seems calmer regarding the acne, a bit dry and sore though. Hoping it’ll settle!

I would second epiduo too but better to talk to a derm.