Teen Acne

[DisneyFan32WI]

My daughter broke out like crazy about 3 weeks ago. It hasn't improved-in fact, it just keeps getting worse. Has anyone experienced this immediate onset of acne before? Despite using Proactiv, drinking tons of water, etc. I can't get them to go away. I made a Dr. appointment with her primary care physician for 4:00. I even thought there might be some kind of allergy to something. I washed the sheets and pillowcases in dye-free detergent, took out the Glade plug in from her room which were a remote possibility of an allergic reaction. Did anyone have any success going to their primary care physician? I tried to get into a dermatologist but they are all booked out at least 3 weeks. I just wonder if this will be a wasted trip. I feel so bad for her. I've tried to use a good concealer and mineral makeup to hide them, but it wears off after a short while.

 

[cabanafrau]

DD has a friend who broke out very, very badly after using the Proactiv. Does it seem like the skin got quite dry, then broke out horribly? DD uses a Neutrogena moisturizer so her skin won't dry out terribly from acne treatment and then produce a lot of oil to try & naturally correct the dryness.

 

[Agri]

Proactiv really isn't the best system for getting rid of acne. The scrubbies in the soap irritate the skin, the toner dries it out, and then the special stuff to fight acne just irritates it that much more. A lot of skin regiments touted as being specifically for acne tend to dry out the skin and cause more breakouts.

I had horrible acne as a kid, and a lot of the problem came from my mom and my grandmother freaking out over it and having me try all sorts of things to get it treated. Starting birth control as an adult cleared it up better than any prescription medicine and finally finding the right products for my skin also helped tremendously.

I use Lush products on my face - Angels on Bare Skin when I need to exfoliate, Fresh Farmacy for everyday cleansing. Toners: Tea Tree Water in the summer (or when I break out), Breath of Fresh Air everyday. Moisturizers: Vanishing Cream for break outs and 9 to 5 for when I wear makeup (helps moisturize after the extra cleaning and to help clean off anything I missed). Its a lot, but I have not had any major pizza face breakouts since I started the routine and I stay on my BC - which is the cheapest generic there is.

None of my doctors wanted to try BC for me because they thought it would not have a 'real' effect on my skin. When they talked about Accutane that's when I put my foot down and refused to continue with all the mess and they would just have to deal with the fact that I had acne. It all started with me with just one zit on my nose and then the next time I was Ms. Pizzaface. A lot of girls make it worse by piling on makeup to cover up their zits, too.

 

[torinsmom]

I took DS to a dermatologist and he prescribed generic Retin-A for him. It has helped some, but they also need to clean their face and not pick at the acne, which is hard for a teenager. The dermatologist also had us get some unscented lotion for him to use if the Retin-A dried out his skin.

 

[Eeyore5]

I had acne starting at 11. It was very bad. BC helped but didn't solve it. Proactive made it worse. Stuff from the dermatologist didn't help. at 26 I finally found something that works for me. Evan Healy products. Natural food stores carry it or you can get it on line. It is expensive.But I think it is worth the cost for me. You only use one pump a time. It goes really far. The soap lasts about 6 weeks for me. I just use the face soap primarily once a day and it works great. The one I use is the Tea Tree Gel Cleanser. There are a lot of products in her line.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

I hope it goes away quickly for your DD, that's no fun. My DD-13 has breakouts too and now I'm thinking of trying Cetaphil cleanser. Anyone have good results with that? I don't want to get into prescriptions so just letting nature take its course.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. We just got home from picking up a prescription for ERYTHROMYCIN topical solution. Her primry care physician said it appears to be just normal hormone-related acne that most teens experience. If this doesn't work, the next step will be to see a dermatologist.

 

[brittsmum1998]

I find that alot of shampoos make both me & dd12 breakout. Pantene is especially bad. We've been using Neutogena shampoo lately and that seems to help. We were both getting it on the forehead, I especially was getting it around my hairline, especially myneck. Yuck.

We do use SkinID (neutrogena) now and it seems to be helping even more.

Good luck

 

[JLTraveling]

Aw, your poor DD. I had it pretty bad too. Unfortunately, I have no idea what cleared it up. I was modeling and acting at the time, and my agent gave me some kind of cleansing product. It was some sort of grit suspended in a thick cream. I walked around with minor chemical burns (kind of like a chemical peel) for about a week and then poof! No more burns and no more acne. I was 12 then, and it's never come back. I have no idea what the name of the product was, though, or if it's even still on the market.

 

[golfgal]

DS15 has moderate acne and takes doxycycline and uses Diffrin and Duac facial gels. That keeps it under control for the most part. He still has some break outs but the next step was Accutane and we did not want to go that route after asking people here what their experience was with Accutane.

DD has really small, almost rash like pimples and we just took her in 2 months ago and she is also taking doxycycline and using Diffrin and her face is now totally clear. The dr is backing her off the doxycycline over the next month to see if just the diffrin works.

I would say, skip the PCP and go to the dermatologist. They deal with this all day every day and will have the best options for her type of acne (there are several kinds).

 

[rodeo65]

Aw, your poor DD. I had it pretty bad too. Unfortunately, I have no idea what cleared it up. I was modeling and acting at the time, and my agent gave me some kind of cleansing product. It was some sort of grit suspended in a thick cream. I walked around with minor chemical burns (kind of like a chemical peel) for about a week and then poof! No more burns and no more acne. I was 12 then, and it's never come back. I have no idea what the name of the product was, though, or if it's even still on the market.

I went to my GP at 14 for really bad acne and he gave me an Rx for some kind of cream that burned off a layer of skin and then told me to use SNAP (the auto machanic gritty hand cleanser) to wash with. I had the same reaction - looked like a burn victim for a couple of weeks but it also never came back.

 

[pixiedustaholic]

Pediatrician prescribed Differin gel for night time and Benzaclynz(sp) for mornings. Drastic improvement for DD13.

 

[kirbsam]

whether it works or not. keep your appt with the dermatologist.

 

[shortbun]

Remove all products with fragrance and make sure she stays moisturized. People tend to dry out and burn their skin rather than taking good care of it. Good luck. I'd skip the makeup too as it can only be an irritant.

 

[mhsjax]

My son started out pretty slowly around 12, we got him Proactive, it worked great. All of the sudden it started getting worse, around hairline and forehead. He is very active and sweats. Anyway, I took him to my dermatologist, he told me that I could use whatever OTC acne wash that I wanted and was comfortable with and he gave me a cream called Clindamycin Benzoly peroxide Gel. He had used plain old benzoyl peroxide before but it didn't work.

He puts this stuff on each pimple at night only. WOW, that stuff will take the life out of a zit. I used it one time, I got that huge time of the month zit on my chin. I put that cream (lots of it) on one might before bed, the next day that thing was gone. Skin was VERY dry but who cares the zit was gone.

 

[vicb]

Sorry your Dd is going through this right now. My DD went through her HS years with little acne at all until middle of jr. year then wow it exploded. For a short time it was controllable with topicals and basic antibiotics but then became resistant.

It was emotionally very hard on her. We started with our reg. dr. who was very sympathetic and tried the normal courses of treatment for acne, then we moved to a dermo practice that we did not care for. The drs there were very cold toward Dd and downplayed the emotional upset acne can cause.

Luckily we found a very good, young dr. who tried a few more treatments then suggested isotretinoin (best know by the original brand name accutane). This treatment has helped my Dd so much, given her hope. She started in August and her face was significantly improved by the time she left home for college which was so important to her self esteem and confidence leaving home. She has had some side effects but they are minor and very much worth the results.

However, she tried many, many things in the previous nearly 2 years leading up to her decision to do the isotretinoin, not a decision to be taken lightly.

My best advice is find a good dermatologist that your Dd is comfortable with and go from there. Good luck.