products for teenage acne

Polly

Some good tips there - many thanks. Off to spend some Boots points and will let you know how we go

harryharp

Polly wrote: »

Some good tips there - many thanks. Off to spend some Boots points and will let you know how we go

Please let us know if you find anything that works Polly- I too have a 12-year old son who has just hit puberty big-time and has a load of really nasty spots on his forehead. He's just started using Clearasil face wash- he uses it in the bath at night but I can't get him to be bothered with it in the mornings. He hasn't tried any creams or lotions yet. He also won't push his hair back off his face, and I think that is part of the problem. He won't have a short hair cut!

fuglyjowls

Yes please do let us know how you get on - my son is the same as previous poster - just started to develop spots on his forehead all of a sudden (and has a long floppy fringe which he refuses to cut!). I've given him some of my facial scrub and toner/cleanser but so far it isn't doing much so I'd love to hear of any really good products before I spend loads of money on stuff that doesn't work!

corinda32

I have had skin problems for many years and I have discovered that the skin care that you buy off the shelf just dries out your skin and then you skin over produces oil and makes the spots worse in the long run. Basically what you need to do is get the skin back to a healthy balance with cleansing, exfoliating and moisturising. I have used Liz Earle http://uk.lizearle.com/ and I am about to start using Dermalogica http://www.dermalogica.com/product_international.asp?region=A&location=UK both pretty expensive options, but for ongoing problems it is the way to go. Stress, anxiety, hormones, diet and lifestyle seem to affect me. But everyone is different and teenage acne can be quite different from adult acne. Good luck and I hope that you find the solution.

beautyscientist

There isn't any strong evidence that what you eat affects your acne - though I still wonder if it might make a small difference in some cases. The number of people that claim that eating a Mars bar gives them spots does seem remarkable.

But the main thing seems to be hormones so I doubt that a diet change or any product will make much difference to a 12 year old.

I suggest letting it be. He is too young to be chasing girls and any intervention at this stage probably won't work and may even make things worse.

dickoa

I was a 'spotty teenager' and didnt have th e cure then but i do now! I use sudocrem or germaloids- yes its a heamariod cream but it will reduce the redness and size and kill infection as it is antibacterial. The clinique 3 step anti-blemish solutions range is also very good but more expensive. hope this helps!!!

redwoodmazza

Hi there,
Our son is 16 and had a really clear complexion until April this year. He has always used Clearasil face wash and similar products for ages which I thought had been keeping spots at bay.
However, in April he developed really bad spots and his face became red and sore. I assumed this was stress related due to his looming GCSEs. However, Freederm and similar creams made no improvement. Our doctor prescribed a course of anti-biotics which made no difference either.
Our son was becoming embarrassed about being seen in public because of his face. So, I took him back to the doctor who decided he needed to see a Specialist. He prescribed stronger medication to take while we waited for an appointment with a Specilaist Dermatologist. The new tablets made no real difference either.
However, our son saw the Specialist yesterday and has just been prescribed a 4-month course of Roaccutane which he starts taking tomorrow. He had to have a blood test first as Roaccutane can affect the liver. He has to have another blood test in a month.
Unfortunately, she said the drug will probably make no difference for the first 2 months and in fact might make it worse!!! BUT after 4-6 months it should be cured.
She explained it is severe acne caused by a bacterial infection in the sweat producing pores of his face. Nasty. Nothing to do with diet.
So, if your child suffers from BAD spots and the usual products don't seem to make any difference, get them checked out with your GP.
So, hopefully by Christmas our lad should be clear skinned again. Here's hoping......

Good luck everyone.

Pink_Princess_1

Clearasil and the others on the market just made my daughters skin worse..shes 14 now and regularly uses Freederm - its quite expensive about £10 a tube but I just get her a presription from the drs... its brilliant:p

Polly

I know its very early days but we're seeing results already after just 3 days of using Witch products (from Boots) and recommended earlier in this thread. Thanks again OP :T I bought the facewash and a spot treatment stick but so far, he is only using the facewash (every morning in the shower). The stick is for when you feel a spot flaring up so too late for this particular batch. His forehead was really red and 'angry' a few days ago but by this morning, I had to look closely to see the remaining spots. It's not scientific of course and maybe they would have subsided anyway but we're impressed. The facewash was £3.99 and the stick £2.98 but when I checked my receipt, there was a multibuy deal (which I didn't see advertised) I was charged only £5 for the two. Good old Boots! It may also help that my son has very short hair so no fringe to irritate the forehead. Not everyone agrees on the effect of chocolate/sweets but long before now, my son always got a spot a day or two after eating chocolate so I'll point this out to him too. He's very keen to take care of himself and something tells me that there could be a girl or two that he's trying to impress! :rolleyes:

Addams

redwoodmazza wrote: »

Hi there,
Our son is 16 and had a really clear complexion until April this year. He has always used Clearasil face wash and similar products for ages which I thought had been keeping spots at bay.
However, in April he developed really bad spots and his face became red and sore. I assumed this was stress related due to his looming GCSEs. However, Freederm and similar creams made no improvement. Our doctor prescribed a course of anti-biotics which made no difference either.
Our son was becoming embarrassed about being seen in public because of his face. So, I took him back to the doctor who decided he needed to see a Specialist. He prescribed stronger medication to take while we waited for an appointment with a Specilaist Dermatologist. The new tablets made no real difference either.
However, our son saw the Specialist yesterday and has just been prescribed a 4-month course of Roaccutane which he starts taking tomorrow. He had to have a blood test first as Roaccutane can affect the liver. He has to have another blood test in a month.
Unfortunately, she said the drug will probably make no difference for the first 2 months and in fact might make it worse!!! BUT after 4-6 months it should be cured.
She explained it is severe acne caused by a bacterial infection in the sweat producing pores of his face. Nasty. Nothing to do with diet.
So, if your child suffers from BAD spots and the usual products don't seem to make any difference, get them checked out with your GP.
So, hopefully by Christmas our lad should be clear skinned again. Here's hoping......

Good luck everyone.

I was 38 before I was finally given Roaccutane. The antibiotic tablets kept it at a reasonable state for years, then finally stopped working altogether.

I had only been taking Roaccutane for a week, before i started to notice a difference, so dont despair. My skin did get very very dry though, so make sure he has a good moisturiser (after finishing the course he wont need it anymore, as his skin will still be oily, but no spots!)

I took an extra course afterwards for an extra 4 months, but that was just to clear up any minor spots.

I have now been mostly spot free for 5 months now (I do occasionally get a spot every now and then, but not really bad ones). Good luck.

I do still have very oily skin which is hard to control. Does anyone have any suggestions that might help?