Acne help?? | Imamother

amother

Magenta

Mon, May 08 2017, 8:51 pm

Any advice for a young teen (girl) with acne? We have arbonne face wash, charcoal face wash, acne cream, facial moisturizer... and still acne and some blackheads too. What to do??
By request of my DD, I am inserting the following: Sad

amother

Magenta

Mon, May 08 2017, 10:15 pm

Amarante wrote:

Benzoyl peroxide works well.

If that doesn't help, see a dermatologist especially if there is any cystic acne involved.

Why moisturizer as that is generally the last thing needed by teenage skin :-)

Is that the active ingredient in clearasil type creams? If so, she has it. If not, what has that?

Amarante

Mon, May 08 2017, 10:20 pm

amother wrote:

Is that the active ingredient in clearasil type creams? If so, she has it. If not, what has that?

Check if it's listed. When I bought, it was a generic benzoyl peroxide cream.

If that doesn't work, you should really see a dermatologist though for help on the next level.

A VERY good facialist can help with blackhead removal but you want to be very very careful because many can cause more harm by inflaming the skin when removing. Sometimes they work with dermatologists and those are probably best.

With today's advances in medicine, there is really no reason for any teen to have to suffer with acne - it's a terrible terrible thing for one's self confidence.

SmileUrJewish

Tue, May 09 2017, 2:27 am

I had TREMENDOUS success with acne.org. I actually just stumbled upon before and after pictures that I took and was in shock at how bad my skin used to be. I remember how painful my face was and how embarrassed I was when kids would ask me what was wrong with my face. Now my skin is so clear that I'm contemplating going out without foundation on! I still solely use acne.org's 3-step regimen and believe wholeheartedly in their product.

amother

Wheat

Tue, May 09 2017, 4:24 am

im really sorry to hear that she is going through this.
ds had terrible acne, to the point there wasn't even an inch of clear skin on his face. it was awful. he ended up going on accuatane, but I think it should be the last resort bc of all the side effects, especially for girls.
but what he finds now is that he uses charcoal soap and doesnt eat sugar, chocolate, oil. a bit extreme but he doesnt want to go back to how it used to be.

good luck

Chayalle

Tue, May 09 2017, 9:18 am

My teens have beautiful skin. They use a prescription face wipe called Pledgets - it's like a topical anti-biotic and kills acne. I don't know if it would work for severe acne, but it does seem to keep those pimples at bay.

amother

Magenta

Tue, May 09 2017, 9:31 am

Chayalle wrote:

Can I ask the pediatrician to prescribe it or do we need to go to a dermatologist?

amother

Burlywood

Tue, May 09 2017, 9:36 am

Chayalle wrote:

I just googled and looks like pledgets is clindamycin. Ds's dermatologist prescribed him clindamycin cream. So I guess it's the same idea.

OP definitely take her to a dermatologist. Ds's doctor also gave something else meant to counteract the drying effects, and they're not each used every day.

Chayalle

Tue, May 09 2017, 9:54 am

amother wrote:

Can I ask the pediatrician to prescribe it or do we need to go to a dermatologist?

Yes, we got it from pediatrician. My girls also use a Neutragena moisturizer to counteract drying, and they use Neutragena grapefruit scrub in the shower to clean their skin.

amother

Magenta

Tue, May 09 2017, 10:52 am

amother wrote:

Wow, clindamycin in very strong! Does it get absorbed systemically? I am not an antibiotic fan. Short term when needed, OK - have yogurt and probiotic, but long term...? and creams etc do get absorbed usually. I don't know what to do.

rgr

Tue, May 09 2017, 11:29 am

Amarante wrote:

Actually, moisturizer is the most important! If you don't moisturize then your skin thinks that you have too little oil and starts producing more.
Many of the products listed here dehydrate your skin making moisturizer all the more vital.

OP, if the acne is severely impacting your daughter's life talk to your doctor about Accutane.

amother

Coffee

Tue, May 09 2017, 4:47 pm

amother wrote:

Acne is not the time to start worrying about being too medical.

The effects (emotional/self-esteem) of severe acne can be life-long. It is a vulnerable and formative time in a child's life, and there's no hiding it because it's on the face for all to see.

I had severe acne for many years, tried all the treatments - antibiotics, peels, creams, etc. Finally I took accutane and within a week of my first dose my face was completely clear. You have to finish the treatment (several months) for long-term resulsts, and I had some of the side effects but it's not as terible was everyone makes out. I would do it again in a heartbeat. For the vast majority of people they never have to worry about acne again. Some people have to do a second course of accutane after about 10 years.

It is life-changing. Life saving.

I am more naturally inclined in general, but I would not hesitate to give my kid strong acne medicines if warranted.

amother

Magenta

Tue, May 09 2017, 5:05 pm

Oyish, OK. I was just wondering if that is the right path to take. I was not suggesting not addressing the issue!

So for accunate, you just take it for a few months and then stop and the results continue?? Wow.

And there is no effect on a future pregnancy because it is out of the system? How can it be out of the system if the effects continue? This is confusing to me.

ra_mom

Tue, May 09 2017, 5:05 pm

Chayalle wrote:

Do they have diagnosed acne? I found that the pledglets worked for pimples here and there but not necessarily for acne.

ra_mom

Tue, May 09 2017, 5:11 pm

Go to a dermatologist. There are many options out there and it really depends on your child's skin type and the severity of the condition. Often there will be a regimen.
I used Prescription Tazarac cream (gel was too strong) as a teen/young adult along with specific face wash and moisturizer to protect my face and it worked beautifully.
But today nothing is covered by my insurance and the creams cost hundreds of dollars out of pocket so I'm doing the best I can with over the counter but my skin is not the same.

amother

Maroon

Tue, May 09 2017, 5:25 pm

I had terrible acne as a teen. My mom was great - she did take me to a dermatologist.

I wish that she'd also known to take me to a good esthetician for quality facials. Not the relaxing spa kind of facial - but a real facial with extractions, etc. Not very pleasant, but once I started going, it helped my skin so much!!!

Also, the dermatologist had me doing a million creams, retain-a, accutane, washes, etc. I was using a lot of products for years. I think that all of the oil was being stripped from my skin (I have oily skin) and that it then went into crazy overproduction. On the advice of my esthetician, I stopped using a lot of the washes - and only used one very very gentle cleanser once a day. My skin freaked out for a couple of weeks, but then settled in to a better balance and I have the best skin I've ever had.

So I recommend seeing a good dermatologist and good esthetician.

amother

Orchid

Tue, May 09 2017, 5:29 pm

amother wrote:

Did your pores not suddenly become big from this? I've seen this reaction where the skin is no longer smooth and beautiful just cleaner

amother

Magenta

Tue, May 09 2017, 8:16 pm

amother wrote:

This is confusing. So why go to a dermatologist if they will put you on too many things that will dry you out and cause oil overproduction? You ended up stopping most of what they put you on...

I am so confused. I feel like there should be something more natural than prescriptions.

Also, maybe she doesn't have acne. Just a bunch of pimples. What is the difference in how you treat it?