Need budget ideas for treating teen boy acne.

[Jajone]

We are about to enter the world of dermatologists. My son just can't keep a clear face. He washes and out on zit cream, but more and more acne just comes. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Seems that a dermatologist will just order meds and I'm not sure we are ready for that yet.

 

[3Gsandme]

I haven't used this as my teen has, what I'd consider to be mild/normal breakouts, but have you priced out proactive? I've heard good things about it, but we haven't tried it.

 

[Tiffylv]

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[Alesia]

The dermatologist is going to give you better advice than anyone here can. If you take advice you get here, you'll almost certainly end up throwing away tons of money on products that will not work on your son's specific issue and could actually end up making it worse.

 

[havaneselover]

My dd uses phisoderm wash with salicylic acid 2x / day and trader Joe's tea tree oil wipes once per day. If she isn't lazy about it her skin looks okay. When she gets out of routine she breaks out terribly. The pediatrician didn't think she needed to see a dermatologist yet but I'm not sure she shouldn't.

 

[Paradise18]

My son's doctor referred him to a dermatologist, but his appointment isn't until July '16. He uses Proactiv, but he still gets some rather large pimples. As a spot treatment, his doctor recommended Clearasil with Sulfur. I can only find it at Walmart. It isn't expensive, and so far works better than other spot treatments he has tried.

 

[Narnia_girl]

THIS:

The dermatologist is going to give you better advice than anyone here can. If you take advice you get here, you'll almost certainly end up throwing away tons of money on products that will not work on your son's specific issue and could actually end up making it worse.

We've had two teen boys do the dermatologist route. We learned so much --I thought I knew it all. He gave us a list of products to avoid. A lot of the items were cosmetics so wouldn't apply to boys, but there were many other items on the list like Sea Breeze, certain shampoos, etc...

A dermatologist will treat both causes of acne, and adjust your son's as needed.

 

[mouselike-harrier]

Just washing his face every night before going to bed will do wonders. When my son actually listens to his mother, his face looks so much better.

 

[shoney]

Sometime using too many products or too harsh products, creates more problems. Try washing with a gentle cleanser and a mild acne cream. I know when I was 20 ish I went and they gave me low dose topical creams.
My sons are crazy about their routine and do the above and it seems to work. If it didn't, I would not hesitate to take them to the doctor.

 

[3boymthr]

If he has the large purple cystic pimples that are deep tissue then a dermatologist will be your best bet simply because you want to avoid scarring.

If he has regular, not cystic pimples on his neck, shoulder and back then Neutrogena makes a great body wash for pimples that does wonders (called Body Clear). DS(15) has had a much tougher time with pimples than his siblings and we went from stridex to this and it really really reduced the problems. He still gets pimples but they are not as large and they go away much faster. He also is more inclined to use this to wash his face which has helped those pimples as well. Daily showers with this really have helped as does keeping his hair really short (think buzz cut). The longer his hair is the more pimples he has on his neck and forehead. A bottle of the body wash runs around $9 and lasts several weeks. If not afraid of store brand then CVS makes a store version of the Neutrogena soap - I think they call it Clarifying Body wash and it's 2 bottles for $10.50. We avoid the pink grapefruit version it has a very very pungent odor that lingers, costs more and doesn't seem to work any better. The orange colored version does smell like medicine but it doesn't linger. Formula wise the Neutrogena and the CVS are almost exactly the same as proactive body wash and probably half if not a third the cost.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

DS17 tried lots of OTC products. Nothing really worked. His pediatrician prescribed two creams. Still not much improvement. We finally saw a dermatologist a few weeks ago. He recommended going straight to Accutane. He said you have to treat acne at the cellular level, before it appears on the skin. Otherwise you're just treating the pimples but not the cause and they'll just keep coming back.

He just started the Accutane yesterday. Our insurance covers it so it's only $10 per month. Cheaper than any OTC soaps or creams. We'll see how well in works in the coming weeks.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

If it is typical teenage breakouts, check the sweets, soda and have him drink more water. It really makes a difference. The If it is typical teenage breakouts, check the sweets, soda and have him drink more water. It really makes a difference. The Neutrogena soap and Sea Breeze routine morning and night helps too. The concern with Sea Breeze is it dries the skin and the body responds to try and replenish by making more oil. But. if these are cystic that or Dunboro may get deeper into the pores.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

We use grisi sulfur soap. I buy it on amazon for less than $3 a bar. It was the only non-medicated thing that was able to eliminate my rosacea (acne type). It also works on my kids (when they wash their face!).

At least it is cheap enough to try without breaking the bank.

 

[Disney Ella]

We tried all sorts of things with DD (sulfur soap, different over-the-counter creams and face washes, etc.) Nothing helped until she saw a dermatologist and got prescription acne cream (Epiduo). What really helped was the combination of the cream and taking antibiotics for a month.

 

[dclpluto]

First no soda no chocolate no sweets no greasy food. Than you will see a big improvement

 

[jennilynn510]

I agree eliminate soda it helped our son

 

[MermaidMommy]

Every person is different, so while some people will be successful treating acne with OTC products, they won't do anything to help others. It just depends on the type and severity of the acne. For myself, and now DD15, nothing we tried worked until we saw a dermatologist. And, depending on your insurance, it can actually be cheaper to get prescriptions than OTC. We were just throwing our money away on products that didn't work, and DD was just getting more and more frustrated.

As far as diet goes, there's no one food that causes or increases acne. However, there is research showing that a high sugar, high fat diet increases sebum production, which can increase acne. So, while a healthy diet might help, but you don't need to give up chocolate, for example.

 

[robfamily]

You may want to try giving him a good probiotic.

 

[captainjen]

I had the same problem as your son. I tried everything from OTC to tetracycline to sea breeze and creams. I tried only eating fruits and vegetables for a week, cut out all sugars and fats, nothing worked. I finally went on Accutane, it is a powerful drug but it saved my self confidence as a teenager.

 

[Pooh2]

My kids had the best luck with Tea tree facial wash from the Body Shop (they run sales buy 3, get 3 free) using twice per day and after workouts.
The prescriptions and proactive left their skin looking burnt and still had acne. Good luck finding what works for your son.