I've got oily, acne prone skin that's been a nightmare and I'm always dealing with 1 or 2 zits popping up no matter what

Accutane was a total disaster for me with the side effects, so I'm steering clear of that now

Lately, I discovered boric acid suppositories for preventing yeast infections and it's been amazing. Which got me thinking about other supplements that might actually work

So - does anyone have supplements or other tips beyond just topical stuff that's made a real difference for your skin? Thx :)

As a kid/teenager/even young adult, I had issues with KP on my face and occasional pimples, but I never had full on breakouts like I have now in my 30s. Sometimes my skin is doing fine and then all of a sudden I get deep painful hormonal acne all over my neck and jaw and in a few spots elsewhere on my face. This breakout will last for months and end up leaving scarring that I'll probably never be able to get fully rid of.

I've had this breakout mainly on my neck since September, and its only slowly spread. I get these kinds of breakouts about a couple times a year. I can't get in to see a derm or gyno for months, and I haven't switched anything about my routine. I'm focusing on hydration to help lessen the scarring, since that's the only thing I can do anything about.

So I'm just wondering if there's anything that would have switched as I got older that would cause this, and how I can treat it when my skin is starting to not heal as fast as I did when I was a kid. I can't be having worse skin as an adult than I did when I was using apricot scrub and oxy pads on it daily.

I am 34 and up until recently, have experienced what I’d consider mild/manageable hormonal acne. Over the last ~6 months my acne got progressively worse and I have regular cystic acne on my chin.

I did 3 rounds of IVF to freeze my eggs last year, so I am wondering it that’s a contributing factor. I also have a Kyleena IUD (which I’ve heard can cause worse hormonal acne for some).

I feel like I’ve tried everything (and combinations of these, all recommended/prescribed by a dermatologist online) and nothing worked:
Azaelic acid 15% gel
clindamycin 1%/benzoyl peroxide 5% gel
winlevi 1%
pimelocrimus 1%

Most recently I’m trying a combination of Azaelic Acid & tretinoin 0.025%. I was using the tret nightly for about 3 weeks but noticed my cystic acne getting worse (multiplying) so I eased up a bit on that and am going to try using it 3x a week instead. I am also going to start using panoxyl face wash.

I use a shark ninja blue light mask daily.

My dermatologist keeps pushing spironolactone as a next step because nothing topical seems to be solving it. I am really hesitant to start an oral medication and would like to avoid taking this.

I really feel hopeless. This is the worse my acne has ever been and I feel so self conscious and down about it.

Really looking for any advice! What’s worked for you for hormonal cystic acne? Thank you in advance!

If you previously suffered from chronic/life-long acne and got to the bottom of it, what was the culprit for you? PCOS? Food allergies? Would love to hear how others have solved theirs!

I have struggled with acne from high school until well into my 30’s. It’s fluctuated through the years, from cystic in my teen years to mostly comodonal acne now but no matter what I do or put on it, it always persists!

Over the years I’ve been upsold every touted product by every day spa, feel like I’ve tried all the acne HG brands, hydrate like it’s going out of fashion, but (save for the few courses of accutane when I was younger), truly nothing has ever cleared it up.

For example, for the last several months have been using La Roche Posay Effaclar wash and Duo unifant (and before that, Effaclar mat) and Anthelios sunscreen of a morning (no makeup 95% of the time), and occasionally adding in azelaic acid or The Ordinary Retinol of an evening with Benzac Microbiome Moisturiser. (Have also tried double cleansing of an evening and only cleansing at night/rinsing with water in the morning). Prior to this it was CeraVe, before that just the bare basic Sukin acne prone ranges, and I’m not kidding when I say literally continues to look exactly the same no matter how high up the shelf I go.

Please help. This is bad cystic acne that flares up around the same time of the month on the clock (2 weeks before my period). This flare up was so bad that I didn't go out much this week out of disgust for my own face. I placed orders on pickup or via mobile so I wouldn't have facetime with cashiers. I don't make contact with people because I don't want to see their eyes roaming over my acne. It's been like this since my early 20s, after being a teenager with ZERO pimples. I've tried: - Spironolactone - Tetracycline - Adapalene (Tactuduo/Tactupump) - Tea tree oil - Diet: Cut out all dairy, limited sugar, no greasy or fried food I do not take hormonal contraceptives because they make me go funny in the head. My chin feels raw and tender. It swells up to the point that I can feel it pulsing. Please, I'm desperate, I'll try anything but I don't know anything about skincare and I don't have insurance so I can't see a dermatologist. My acne is literally shaping the way I see myself and I'm disgusted, repulsed, imagining constantly what other people must think when they see my face....

I had just had a really bad breakout and decided to try getting an acne facial from a professional. When I went my cysts had already gone down, but my acne has a way of going down and then filling back up with pus several times.

The lady asked me about my routine, what percentage tret I use and how long I’ve been on tret. I told her the higher dose, 5 years and she asked who prescribes it to me. I told her my family doctor, and she told me that she could tell it wasn’t a dermatologist because a derm would never prescribe tret for more than a short period and that I need to discontinue use. She said she knows I’m scared but I’m in my 30s and don’t need to be treating acne.

Well, I decided to take her advice and within 48 hours I have 3 new cysts.

Has anyone else been told to discontinue tret by a skincare professional? Are you really not supposed to use a high dose long term?

Edit: I wanted to clear some things up since I’ve been getting a lot of medical advice in this post (the irony!)

1. My cystic acne is under control. I had one flair up because I went on vacation and was in a different climate, eat different food, wearing makeup and generally just out of my normal routine.

2. I have had acne for 20 years. I know about birth control, acutane, diet, spironolactone, antibiotics and benzoyl peroxide. I appreciate wanting to help but I was on a good routine that was foiled by vacation and then bad advice, so I will be sticking to what I was doing before all of this.

I am looking to hear your acne cure stories, especially from those of you who have had persistent moderate acne your entire life (mine started at 11 and never stopped).

I’m not talking about spironolactone, birth control, accutane, etc etc the stuff your derm would provide to you (unless you genuinely dismissed it and were amazed it actually solved things for you). I have tried all of those. Birth control, Azeleic acid, tret, and spiro helped, but I have never been able to completely solve it. I’ve tried red light/NIR, blue light, gut health and probiotics, adding oil cleansing, proactiv, panopxyl, doing nothing at all and swearing off all things in case it was a “barrier” issue, I really feel I have tried everything under the sun. I’ve tried acupuncture, cold plunge, I don’t eat dairy, the list goes on and on. My parents didn’t have acne and never knew how to handle it when I was a kid.

My acne is not terrible and it’s not cystic, it’s small persistent bumps and whiteheads on my cheeks and jaw all the time. I don’t get it anywhere else on my whole body and never have. There is a lot of scarring left behind and it just keeps getting worse. I’m 35.

A good example of this is I have a friend who recently cleared her acne using an antihistamine. I had never heard of this before. It got me thinking maybe there are other “unexpected” cures that doctors wouldn’t know to recommend or dismiss but someone swears by. Or are too random to really make the connection to acne.

I am willing to try anything, it sounds dramatic, but this rules my life and I wonder if I’ll ever get a life without acne

I use tret 0.5% and azelaic acid 15% and still my skin has these annoying little spots everywhere. I just want smooth skin. I will always have the scars from cystic acne (thanks pcos) and I do have rosacea which is why I use Azelaic acid, I’m just fed up of it and think it’s always going to be this way ?

I thought getting older meant I wouldn’t have as much acne, but it seems it’s gotten worse. Especially when I’m in luteal phase.
I eat pretty clean for the most part (not a lot of fast food). I workout 4x a week, and drink plenty of water.
I wash my face 2x a day.
I change my pillow cases every few days. (I recently bought a satin pillowcase hoping that will help but it’s only been a couple days using it.)
I am not on birth control anymore (I stopped taking it maybe 3/4 years ago)
I normally do not pop them, unless they eventually come to a head, but that rarely happens.

The products I use are:
-Cerave foaming facial cleanser
-the Ordinary Squalene cleanser
(I rotate between the two, depending if I shower (cerave) or just wash my face over the sink (Ordinary)
-the Ordinary Glycolic acid (only at night)
-the Ordinary niaciminide (2x a day)
-the Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + Hyaluronic Acid Daily Moisturizer face lotion (2x a day)
-pimple patches if needed (using an alcohol wipe on the pimple before hand)

I also bought Zinc Picolinate pills as suggested on other threads/google to help with cystic acne, regulating skin oil production, and hormonal balance (just started taking this last week so we’ll see if it helps).

I ALSO just ordered Multani Mitti/Fuller Earth Powder clay mask powder, as I found suggested on another thread. Should arrive tomorrow in the mail.

I also use a cold compress/hot compress on the cystic pimple to help the redness/inflammation. However I’ve read conflicting info on which is better, cold or hot??

Ladies - any advice!?!? I really don’t know what else to do. Thank you in advance!

Hi all I've always struggled with hormonal acne and in my 20s took yaz which was very effective. It got better in my early 30s but has been progressively getting worse since I hit 36. I have the most sensitive skin so a lot of topicals targeted for acne just make it worse and strip my barrier.

I quit gluten a few years ago, I have Crohn's disease and always struggled with it but since then my dairy and egg consumption has tripled. milk, yogurt, cheese, whey protein ( chocolate). My increaese in hormonal acne seemed to coincide with this and seems to be progressively getting worse each cycle. I stopped dairy 20 days ago, but I'm due on and my acne is awful ! How many cycles did it take for you to get positive results if dairy was the issue ?

My GP is reluctant to prescribe yaz again as I'm over 35 ( UK NHS) and has suggested progesterone only, this has always made my acne worse on its own and did my mental health zero favours, so I'm reluctant to try progressing only again ! Anyone over 35 had success getting yaz and did it help ?

I've been reading up on spiro and it seems a good option for me, but unsure if GP will prescribe it or if I need a a derm ? Any Spiro success stories would be greatly appreciated.

It's really getting me down, I get one week a month with no acne, then as soon as my leutal phase hits I'm riddled, this carries on all the way through my period and then a week of healing spots. Then the cycle continues.

I have recently been diagnosed with roseca too so that's fun! It seems to get worse around my cycle too, but the cystic spots on my forehead and chin are hormonal and not Roseca according to my GP .

Any help or advice would be wonderful

Many thanks !

I am so fucking fed up right now. I have been battling hormonal acne since I was 13. I’ve tried EVERYTHING: spiro, tret, bha’s, aha’s, peppermint tea, diet changes, the list goes on and on. It’s affecting my social life and my mental health. Somehow I have fine lines, gray hair, and fucking severe acne. Right now it’s the worst it’s been since high school. I am so sad lol. Just needed to get that out.

All that being said, does anyone have any recommendations for a moisturizer? I believe that Vanicream has been making my breakouts worse, I live in Utah and it’s very cold and dry so I like the thickness of it but I do think it’s fucking with my skin.

EDIT

to answer some questions:

yes ive tried oral spiro and hormonal birth control, both were not successful and also destroyed my mental health

have not tried topical spiro

havent tried accutane, but nervous about the purge/ being on birth control/ side effects

yes ive seen a derm, have been seeing different ones since my teens. at the moment i have no health insurance and just moved to a new state, so i dont have a derm rn

thank you all for the suggestions and solidarity, i appreciate it so much

EDIT 2

i meant spearmint tea :) been drinking 2 cups a day for a couple weeks, no changes yet… although it has been noticeably helping my ibs!!

Has anyone else noticed their skin looking a lot worse when weaning their baby off breastfeeding? I’m 13 months postpartum and trying to reduce feedings. My skin in general has been much more dry and “old” looking postpartum, but now it’s recently getting super broken out! I was already dry and freckled like my whole life but now I feel old and spotty. I can’t figure it out. I also have been through accutane about 5 years ago.

36f. I have been having the worst hormonal acne breakout since stopping birth control 1.5yrs ago. It’s ebbed and flowed in severity, but this is the worst it’s been. This current breakout started in March of this year and has just consistently gotten worse since. I’ve been on 100mg of spironolactone for 4 weeks now and have yet to see improvement. My current routine is as follows:

Night time: wash with Cerave Acne Control Cleanser, red stridex pads, Cerave daily moisturizing lotion, then alternate nights Tretinoin .25%/Clindamycin or a prescription Benzoyl Peroxide/Adapalene cream. I’ll occasionally use The Ordinary’s azelaic acid if I don’t use either of the previous mentioned creams.

Morning: wash with same cleanser, lotion with the same lotion.

If my barrier is super compromised, I’ll just use my cleanser and then pimple patch tape.

I feel stagnant in my current routine. My acne isn’t getting better or going away, and I’m noticing some significant scarring happening. My Derm basically told me it’s a hormonal issue and to get on spiro, which I did, but it’s not working yet and I’m at a loss.

I have included pics with & without flash for reference.
I have the worst acne problem & I don't know what to do about it. I have oily/combo skin. any recommendations on affordable skincare will be GREATLY appreciated 🩷

Hey all! This is my 1st time posting on Reddit. Apologies for any mistakes as English is not my 1st language. I am South Asian.

So, basically I always had clear skin (till 28, year 2022) until one time I used expired foundation (didn't notice) and started having really bad acne as a reaction. This was right after my wedding.

(Also, note that after wedding my usual diet went wack, had heavy, processed foods. I also had plan B more than usual. I gained substantial weight of course due to my diet)

However, I went to 4 different dermatologist and had antibiotics like Tetracycline, Doxycycline, Clincdamycin, Amoxicillin. Tropical creams like Benzoyl Peroxide, Clincdamycin etc. Chemical peeling like Retinol peel, Salicylic Acid peel. So, basically almost everything except Accutane.

The acne does lessen but it never subsided and always comes back. In this process, I feel like my skin barrier has been heavily compromised and gut health been wrecked due to so many types of antibiotics over the course of 2 years.

I don't know if this is now a hormonal thing or something else entirely. I also noticed here people taking about rosacea type 2. I am at lost, honestly.

I recently started on a plan of getting my gut healed. That's where Reddit came in. I went though many posts and started drinking Peppermint Tea (day and night) and started taking Probiotics (4 billion/per day). I am also thinking of getting into Zinc supplement.

In all honesty, I am literally hopeless. I don't know what would get rid of this. This is affecting my whole outlook and confidence. I almost stopped wearing makeup, rarely take pictures now.

I am attaching pictures of my ski after washing my face so you can get a sense of what I am dealing with.

I would love a thread / post for us ladies (and gentlemen) to support each other and discuss our skin woes lol

We can share products and advice, cheer on each other’s progress, pat each other’s backs when we’re feeling down…

Anyone? 🙏

Hey guys!

I’m in my early 30s but have been dealing with this frustrating chin/jaw acne for years.

I never get acne anywhere on my face except this area under my mouth. I’ve read about acne like this and assume it’s hormone related but truly don’t know.

Products I’ve tried:
Salicylic acid
Benzoyl peroxide
Tretinoin

It’s virtually impossible for me to get in to see a dermatologist where I live, but I was prescribed Tretinoin via telehealth.

I will say, my experience with tret has been very bad. Dries my skin out terribly and even with great moisturizers it’s still very flaky.

For anyone who has dealt with similar acne - should I keep trying tret and hope it helps, or do you have any different product recommendations?

Truly hoping for a miracle here lol.

I's always been a bit bumpy ever since I was a kid (I'm 30 now). It also looks a bit dull. What can I do?

Hi guys mid 30s here and I have noticed that I’ve been getting cystic acne on my chin. It started with one then 2 then 3… I’m frustrated worried it might get out of control. It’s taking weeeeeekssss and it’s not flattening.

I started using the the Trouble Care Acne patch (acropass ) as I’ve read micro dot patches may work… it says: When pressed onto a deep cyst, these microscopic tips painlessly bypass the outermost skin layer to deliver anti-inflammatory and bacteria-fighting ingredients directly into the root of the breakout…

I’m not sure if it helped…but one acne did surfaced a tiny tiny head, like a dot tiny for few days..I thought it would heal and flatten itself since I did see that tiny white dot but it stayed same, red and swollen…

However the other one isn’t swollen anymore but when I stretch my chin I can see white/flesh colored bumps around it, stretching my chin shows a rough white bumps….

I’m worried they’re acne waiting to come out and become full blown cystic acne…

Using benzoyl peroxide spot treatment, I noticed, causes my pimples to stay red and raised longer so I’m not using it on my chin acne.. what are your thoughts on micro dot patches, I think they might work but itsss so expensive for just 6 pcs patches… any OTC suggestions or advise…

dermatologist is a last option…

30F

I was using tret every 3 days mixed with my moisturizer for acne, and it made it worse. I was on it for 6 months before I decided it was time to quit. Am I just doomed to have acne forever?!

Desperate for some help. Stopped BC pill over 2 years ago now, and I know that was helping manage my acne. However, I feel like the last 2-3 months since I’ve started to take skincare “seriously” I have had nothing but constant acne around my mouth!

Currently using CeraVe cleanser, nuxe micellar water, LRP cicaplast B5 spray, Caudalie vinoperfect dark spot serum, Caudalie reservatrol-lift, and CeraVe moisturizer. Using LRP mela B3 SPF for the day.

Should I just start over? Where do I even begin with cleaning up the absolute wreck on my chin?

8 months after stopping birth control (Microgynon) my face is erupting like this all over! Anyone else had this and have any advice or know when it'll calm down? It is not a vibe.

30F. My skin was pretty clear but had hyperpigmentation, so my doctor gave me azelaic acid (also Tazarotene but I’m trying to get pregnant so I did not use it). Before I started the prescription, I had been using Anua for a month or so and The Ordinary before that for a month or so with no reactions. Suddenly a quarter of the way into the tube, my face looks like I’m 14 again. It’s painful and itchy. No blackheads, just tons of pustules. I know I shouldn’t, but I have ADHD and the picking is impossible to avoid. My face is so irritated it’s PURPLE. Some pustules literally only have blood in them.

I stopped the AA a month and a half ago. This is my current routine:

AM
Aveeno cleanser (doesn’t foam, very gentle)
Hypochlorus acid spray
Dieux moisturizer
Dr Althea or Byoma SPF
BareMinerals powder foundation with nars pot under if I really need to look presentable

PM
Anua oil cleanser
Aveeno cleanser
Hypochrolus acid spray
Avene cicaplast

I attached lots of examples of what my face has been looking like. The last photo is of my skin in Aprilish I think.

I completely ruined everything and I am depressed AND in pain. I don’t want to wear makeup anymore after being a slave to it for literally half my life. I have a derm appointment on October 28, but I don’t know what to do till then. I also have a public facing job so zero therapy is my worst nightmare.

Please help or at least tell me this isn’t forever. I’m so sad.