Adult Acne

LegacyUser

Hi Folks,

Since the age of about 14 I've awoken every morning to find myself with a new spots and pimples. I am now 25 and it is still affecting me. I am at my witts end!
For a long time I grew a beard to cover up most it, but recently I've decide to trim it back but it has revealed a fair few whites & red marks around my chin and mouth. I woke up this morning to see 1 white head under each nostril. It is getting me down.
Around my mouth and chin is covered in white heads and red marks as well as some on my cheeks and neck; I'm willing to post pics if it will help.
I wash my face with facewash in the morning and moisturise afterwards. Wipe my face with a facewipe at night.

Between going to work and now I noticed my chin tingle a bit took a quick look in the bathroom: I've had two more break out on my chin. It's the whole feeling of no control that gets me. I would just like my skin to reach some level of constency.

I've tried a fair few creams and soaps nothing really worked but my skin flared up when I stopped using them. I'm keeping my facial hair short #1 once a week, as I'm unsure of if the longer facial hair was affecting it.

Folks I just need some kinda advice here. baseline situation.

Young man of 25 decent diet, (my lunch consists of sandwich fruit and water) but constant white heads, every morning.

I'm willing to try whatever to get this aspect of myself under control.

I'm aware this post is all over the place but I just need it's a fair representation of how I feel about it atm.

Cheers guys

Nevyn

Start with your dr and ask for a referral to a dermatologist.

LegacyUser

Hey,

Similar situation to you - 22 male and still have a bit of acne.

What I've found works FOR ME is the following (bearing in mind that I haven't completely solved it but it has cut down a huge amount)

1. Change your pillow slip every other night. I got this advice before and I never really paid any attention to it. Well ye I really should have. It made a huge difference to me.

2. Change your razor head regularly too. I found that if I went a few days without shaving my skin got better than it was immediately after shaving. I tried changing my blade a bit more frequently and it made a huge difference too.

3. Drink water. A lot of water.

4. Use a moisturiser like La-Roche Posay or something. They're actually quite expensive and I find that Silcocks Base or Aqueuos Cream do an equally good job - you can get a huge tub for around a 5er as opposed to a small thing of LRP for about 17-18 quid.

Again, I said that I've not made a full "recovery" yet and everyone is different so what worked for me may not necessarily work for you. It's worth a shot anyways.

I find that if I'm under stress or not sleeping well that my skin seems to get worse. Are you active? Going to the gym or even a simple run works wonders too.

Hope this helped:)

evillive

yep, straight to your gp - hadnt suffered with spots/acne in 15 years - until last year - loads of breakouts on my face - no problem with diet/exercise, not allergic to anything - spent nearly a year using every cleansing and scrub product i could lay my hands on - finally went to my gp, got a 6 month prescription for a face gel product and a week later not a zit to be seen nor since

Storminateacup

Could you post pictures? Using the incorrect products could be contributing to the problem.

Firetrap

Honestly OP, the best thing to do is to get yourself to a GP. Sometimes all the water/best diet in the world/over the counter creams won't do a thing for you It works for some people, not for others. You'll save yourself a lot of misery if you just go see a doc.

Zaph

Storminateacup wrote: »

Could you post pictures? Using the incorrect products could be contributing to the problem.

Posting pictures is not permitted in this forum.

I've also deleted a post recommending a particular prescription medication. Please remember that because something worked for you doesn't mean it will work for the OP. The OP's GP will prescribe anything that may be needed, but nobody here is qualified to do that so kindly refrain from any further suggestions of this nature.

Storminateacup

Sorry Zaph! I didn't realise there were no pictures allowed.

OP - Do you exfoliate your skin? If they're white heads, as opposed to raised pustles, it means that they're basically blackheads that have no way of being oxidised. The facial hair could be further irritating your skin.

Try not swap products too much either, and use something suitable for your skin type. Often, the incorrect (or too much) product does futher irritate the problem we're trying to treat.

If they're raised and red and oozing - GP, for sure.

panda100

+1 to going to see a dermatologist or even your gp.

Don't even bother wasting your money buying lotions and potions as they won't work for adult acne. My gp put me on an antibiotic and my spots cleared up in 6 months.

Proxy

I had the same issue up to my early 20's. I found tea-tree based soaps and washes were the best.

Tea tree is a natural anti-septic with some anaesthetic properties (dermal only of course), which was perfect since i'm allergic to regular soap, and seems to only dry out your skin to the right level to shrivel persistent whiteheads or cyst areas (although ALWAYS get cysts looked at and properly lanced - it's painless and important).

And moisturise! Very important to heal scars and prevent sore skin. Helps release any trapped oils in your skin.

Your doctor should also be able to prescribe a basic treatment. I forget what I had, but it worked ok. Tea tree was definitely the way though.

If you still shave (I don't), be careful and patient. Use oils on the blade like King of Shaves oils. Don't use electric razors - they can cause ingrown hairs on bad skin and spread oils/bad dermal areas around.

Best of luck bud.

annetted

hiya
my brother had the same thing. it is very disheartening as well when you are doing your best to avoid break outs. he went to see a doctor for a chat, waiting to see a dermatologist now. in the meantime he has started using Simple soap which seems to be helping his skin a lot. good luck

Go to a GP.
I convinced myself for years that acne wasn't a medical issue. It's totally worth it to see a professional, honestly.

What was said about the pillow case, I definitely agree. Things that touch your face make a huge difference. Don't put your hands on your face unless they're totally clean, and even then only when you have to, no tugging or prodding your face while examining your skin.

As far as my opinion goes, the water thing doesn't work.

I totally second the La Roche Posay suggestion, it's really good, but for face wash only, the effaclar range is for acne prone skin. I spent years trying to find a suitable moisturiser for me, oil free ones, organic, herbal, neutral pH etc. There's this whole thing about moisturiser these days, and I had heard many times that everyone should always use moisturiser. It's the first thing they say on telly every time someone gets their makeup done. I was convinced that a rigorous skin routine, cleanser, toner, moisturiser was good for my skin. It's not true if you have acne. If you have acne, you DO NOT need ANY moisturiser, all it's doing is making things worse. I don't know what your face is actually like, maybe there's patches of dryness or normal skin where you don't get spots, it's fine to use normal stuff there, but not on patches where you get acne. It's helping to clog your pores and even the application of it, rubbing your face is making it worse.

I've made a full recovery from years of acne, but it wouldn't be as successful if I hadn't gone to my GP. Go! Now! Run!

Wompa1

I went to a dhermatologist..I'm 25 too and just get spots on my forehead but I got sick of them and thought they would leave after I passed my teen years. I was told it has nothing to do with diet and that's just a popular myth. Stress can have an impact apparently.

I got prescriped something called Diffuren or something like that, it worked great for a few months but I need to get some more again...I'm working in a stressful environment so I think I may need to take that stuff quite a lot

ennis81

Hey I never suffered when I was younger but have battled with it in my 20's....found a product in the chemists called "quinoderm", I used the face wash and the cream and found it really great....it was cheap too, bout 11 euro for both...give it a go it worked wonders for me

Sugarlumps

I’m turning 36 and still suffer from spots, tried everything over the counter. Went to a dermatologist/GP and took numerous prescribed drugs, some worked instantly but the acne reappeared. I’ve been using Cetaphil for the past two weeks and it’s been brilliant. Just a little amount worked into the skin, wash and pat dry. It’s worked for me so far but everyone’s skin is different, good luck!

Treehouse72

A course of roaccutane rid me of my adult acne in my mid-20's. For anyone this age or older (not younger!!!) I would say go to the dermatologist at once and make enquiries about this drug. You need to research the downsides, but from my perceptive I couldn't recommend it highly enough. (I had mild to moderate, but persistent, acne into mid-20's).

beks101

I'd second the roaccutane suggestion, it literally changed my life and I only wish I had started it earlier and saved myself a good few years of pain and low confidence because of my terrible skin.

First step OP is to get yourself a referral to a dermatologist, if you explain how persistent your acne has been over the years and nothing yet has worked permanently, you'll get one easily enough. Personally I got sick to the teeth of trying all types of products, skin treatments, cleansing methods etc from the sublime to the ridiculous, only to be ultimately disappointed and frustrated over and over again.

Same as you, continuous acne from a young age right through to mid-20s...six months on roaccutane effectively ericated my skin problems, the change is phenomenal and it's such an incredible freedom to not have to worry about it anymore. It's a pretty powerful drug, quite expensive and will dry out every pore in your body, headaches, no booze for the duration of the course, but it could be the investment of a lifetime. Definitely get that referral. Best of luck.

Treehouse72

^^ That was precisely my experience too. I never believed it would work long term, and was sure my acne would come back once I went off the drug. But it didn't. It was, in my experience, miraculous and I praise the day I insisted that I be given the drug.

The obvious caveat is that for younger people there are well known side effects, most importantly it can bring on severe depression. If you are older and more mature you can rationalise and handle this better than when you're a hormonal teenager. That's why I'd only recommend it for adult acne. I would not be happy standing over a recommendation for a teenager, although obviously clinical guidance from a professional is the advice to follow.