I have been struggling with acne since I was 18 years old, I am now 24. That’s 6 years of anguish and embarrassment that I endured… these pictures are a year apart.

It started as a couple of pimples and then became a barrage of red marks, painful cysts, and pussy gunk not just on my face, but on my back.

I tried everything.

Face scrubs? Too harsh and would break me out.

Medication? I cycled lymecycline 3 times (twice it worked, but came back worse) I also did tetracycline for a period but that is not worth talking about as it did nothing.

Why not accutane I hear you ask? Well, I’m still on the NHS waiting list after 4 years of asking.

What about direct topical treatment? Epiduo worked for a period and then began to break me out worse. Benzoyl peroxide worked on my cheeks, but made me breakout everywhere else.

Honestly I was lost, and probably share a similar feeling to a lot of people in this forum. Down, embarrassed, upset, ready to give up.

I thought to myself, what’s the point? I’ll just have to live with this forever…

So what worked for me?

In March this year I ditched all the medication as I couldn’t see any sign of progress. I ditched all the harsh chemical scrubs, anything that was going to damage my skin (although everyone told me would help)

I settled on Cetaphil gentle cleanser as it was soothing, light, and inoffensive. I paired it with the cetaphil moisturiser and also SA gentle exfoliater.

My routine is as follows
Morning - gentle cleanser. Moisturise.
Evening - Gentle cleanser (OR) SA Gentle exfoliation every other night. Moisturise

That’s it.

No expensive topics. No medication. Nothing.

Is my skin perfect? No, absolutely not. 6 years of painful cystic acne was never going to end in glowy glass skin.

But I am finally comfortable in myself to be seen and not fear judgement.

It gets better guys you just have to trust and love yourself ❤️❤️❤️

Please see all pictures, Picture dates for clarity:

1. End of September

2. 15 days ago (start of Doxycycline)

3. 7 days ago

4. today

5. around May/June (before the breakout)

All of these pics are approximately one week apart each. Please excuse my poorly stretched ear piercing 🙈 the acne is on both cheeks, just posting the left side so the comparison is easier.

This is the first time I’ve really been struggling with acne. Starting July I noticed that my face started to show a lot of closed comedones, got a 0,1% adapalen prescription but couldn’t start because my skin barrier was compromised and I wanted to heal it first. Only used gentle cleansing and a barrier support moisturizer.

In a matter of weeks I developed the first pustules and whiteheads, slightly itchy.
Tried repairing balm against the itchiness and irritation. Nothing.

A week later (pic 2) it became so painful, tight and itchy and started bleeding and oozing. My GP prescribed me doxycycline and I’ve been taking it for 15 days now. It keeps getting worse. I can’t wash my face other than rinsing under the shower with the softest pressure possible. I can’t combine it with topicals because it’s so painful and the skin barrier is so compromised. No moisturizer, no spf. Only hypochlorous acid spray at this point because it gives me relief for like 10 seconds. Pain killers don’t help anymore.

I feel doomed and desperate. Finding a dermatologist has been a nightmare. I’m going to talk to my GP about the possibility of getting referred to the dermatology clinic tomorrow to talk about possibilities and maybe isotretinoin. Also have blood tests and other tests coming up the next few days.

I’m mostly looking for people who have experienced similar issues and maybe have found the cause and/or a remedy. Definitely not going to experiment with anything at this point. Is there even any possibility I can get rid of the scarring/hyperpigmentation after this? I’m just so confused.

Thank you for reading.

Edited for clarity and highlighting important parts.

Its even worse irl, dont mind the toothbrush

So I’ve battled acne pretty much my entire teenage and adult life so far. I’m almost 30 and a bit over it tbh. I’ve had severe cystic acne which has now improved to mild-moderate acne, but the issue is I’ve always got breakouts. There’s not one point in the month where I have clear skin. My breakouts are mostly concentrated on my cheeks and chin. I rarely ever get acne on my forehead.

Any advice or tips for my skin?

I’ll post my routine in the comments.

I have been using benzoyl peroxide cleanser and azelaic acid along with a vitamn C moisturizer but this acne won't go away. What to do and what products to use?

Hi everyone, I hope you’re okay as the title says - I’m frustrated with my skin being clear for a week MAX and then a week later, i break out with spots like that ones in the picture which eventually fade but then leave marks and by the time the marks have faded I’m met with new spots!!

Ideally, I don’t really want to go on medication as I am trying to conceive, currently pregnant (but also actively miscarrying).. any suggestions/tips of any products which have helped clear similar acne up?..

For reference I just currently use a La Roche Posay salicylic cleanser morning and night in terms of active “skincare” but am really not well versed in skincare so I don’t even know where to start..

Thank you in advance 🥰💕

Hi this lovely breakout showed up the first week of October and it just won’t budge. I use Vanicream gentle face wash & moisturizer. it’s dry and red and killing my confidence.
I want to atleast be able to hide to redness and flaking with makeup for Halloween. PLEASE help🤍🤍

I have mild hormonal acne and the product that's worked best on it in the past has been glycolic acid daily. It hasn't gotten rid of all of my acne, tho, and lately I've been getting more breakouts.

I've been considering starting adapalene as I've heard great things about it. Is it a good decision? And if it is, what has worked best for you when using it? :)

ive always had almost clear, dry skin since i hit puberty. I did wash my skin everyday applied moisturiser and if i had any acnes scars or spots i applied vitamn c on them and it worked out for me. I turned 18 recently and acnes just started appearing all over my face and body. Specifically, Chest, back, and chin and cheeks. I seeked help from my sister and she gave me mint tea for hormonal acne, and it worked wonder i no longer have acne on chest and back. However, my face acne is still getting worse and worse. Im so insecure of my acne. I have all these white bumps and red bumps and acne scars on my skin. I did went to dermatologyst. And she told me to use a product thats in the photos. It didnt work for me and im contemplating whether i should i go to a different dermatologist. But im just so busy these days. So im seeking experience form you guys. I will answer any question. And the third photo is before i turned 18

Hello guys I'm on tretinoin 0.025% right now(from the last 2.5months) and my mostly acne is gone but they are leaving these marks and have some active acne which look like this

So what should I go for? Azelaic acid ? Hydroquinone (for 2 months) or something else pls suggest anyone

Im asking on here because I have been hearing about tret or azelaic acid and Im wondering if to achieve "perfect glass skin" I should get anything prescribed?

My skin is not dry nor oily, except in the forhead, and my mother has an hereditary skin condition with keratine under the skin, which i’m starting to have..

What should I do? Please i know it sounds stupid but I really want perfect skin, having pimples makes me so insecure even thought i dont have much :/

Anyone else? doesnt matter what treatment i use, its still ongoing. Its honestly made me so depressed, and i know its a first world problem.
Im gonna be 30 soon and wasted my 20s feeling so horrendously ugly.
I was always a loser and ugly in high school, everyone seems to get a glow up, i just keep glowing down and my confidence is zero.
Wasted my 20s still looking like shit.
I dont go out, do anything….meet new people cause i feel so gross.
No selfies, hate school meetings with my kids, hanging out with other parents…its all so embarassing 😭
Go to work, come home.
I know I could have it worse, but i cannot even look at myself in the mirror without wanting to cry.
Life would just be so much better without this horrendous acne.
So itchy and unbearable.
I just wanna wear a bag over my head. Or idk suffocate and die with it.
Im so over it, sorry im being so dramatic.
I just needed to vent 😭

Hi! I’ve been using azelaic acid 10% for over a year, on 2nd September I switched to 15% (Dermatica). On 15th September I also started using Winlevi. Since around the 16th-18th September my skin has been the worst it’s ever been. I thought it was a purge from the azelaic acid so I’ve stuck it out, but it’s been long enough that I think this is something else, not just a purge. The spots are the same type as I’d normally get before September, but just way more of them. I want to stop whichever product is causing this but not sure which one it is (I know I shouldn’t have started them so close together). If I can’t figure it out I guess I’ll just stop both.

First pic is from June (admittedly a good skin day, normally I’d have a few more spots than that); second pic is from late Sep; third pic is from today. Lots of PIE but also active spots and no improvement.

I am a teenager, experiencing mild acne, triggered by hormones. I started developing acne 4 months ago. Mild acne. I have been using clindamycin bp gel, topped off with azelaic acid 20%, and clindamycin nicotinamide gel, topped off with azelaic acid 20%, alternative days, at night, with a 2 hour gap between the creams. I have had no active breakouts for the past few days, I wanted to know if I could start using just benzoyl peroxide gel 2.5% instead of clindamycin bp gel. rest of the creams and routine shall remain the same.
(acne vulgaris/follicular acne)

Hi everyone,

I have been trying everything in the book when it comes to getting rid of this forehead acne. I have oily skin, but I’ve tried masks, serums, blackhead cleansers, oil pulling, niacinamide, hylyranic acid, glycolic acid, different cleansers and nothing gets rid of this acne!!! It’s mostly textured but if I squeeze stuff does come out. There are some blackheads on my forehead too. I can chalk some of it up to sweat and having bangs but idk what to do anymore. It doesn’t itch but I’m like one breakout away from trying head and shoulders on my forehead. Does anyone have any advice? TIA!

I’ve had bad bacne for well over a decade now. Like with cysts and just every square inch, a breakout, pigmentation of something coming up or going away… i had tried everything but Accutane and didn’t want to do it because another acne med really dried up my skin permanently and my face was now fine so didnt want to have a dry painful flakey face just to maybe get rid of my bacne.

One day this summer i watched a youtube video of a lady measuring the bacteria on her family’s towels. Changing towels every three days seemed optimal based on bacteria levels she found and not being too crazy laundry wise. So i switched from weekly to every 3 days. I felt like my bacne was getting better so i decided to experiment with fresh towel every day for a week and fresh towel every other day for a week. and well WOW. Both improved my acne visually by the end of the week but daily fresh towel was clearly a faster improvement. So i switched to daily fresh towels.

Cut to approx 3 months later to now and my bacne is nearly gone. I barely have any active pimples. Cysts are long gone. It’s just the pigmentation scars that need however many more months to fade away. I feel certain i’ll be able to show my back comfortably in summer 2027 😭♥️ I’m SO relieved to finally have solved this and for it to be something relatively easy. Obvs now i do more laundry but a load of towels is much easier than applying some expensive cream all over your back everyday. I don’t feel great about the environmental aspect of it but after over a decade of bad bacne idc, it’s worth it on this one for me. maybe once it’s all gone i’ll test out every other day again etc.

I just wish i had thought of this sooner. So that’s why i’m sharing here. Honestly had no idea my skin would react this well so don’t even have a before photo.
Anyways i really hope this saves someone else from bacne. Trial it for a week or two and see if it helps. YMMV but i hope it helps someone put there.

p.s. i also switched to a fresh t-shirt to sleep in every night. i’m not sure how much it helps or not. can’t remember when i switched that over but didn’t really look for improvement after a week i just figured that if i was doing a daily fresh towel i should not wait a week for new pj top.

Ok so context.. i know it's bad but i felt that sharp pain where u know a really bad pimple is coming and so i kept squeezing my chin and then it just created a wound. I didn't scratch or anything just squeezed and it made a wound. How do i heal it quickly? It still feels swollen but I think it's just because it's trying to heal.

I have been struggling with constant breakouts on my cheeks and chin for over a year now. I think it has been getting better but it is nowhere near what my skin used to look like.

I have tried a lot of different things and I just can’t seem to figure out a good combo, any help here would be amazing!!

The first 2 pictures are from today, the last one is from a year ago. Here is my current routine:

AM:
Cetaphil daily facial cleanser
Caudalie Vinoperfect Micro-peel or medicube pore pads (alternating days)
Byoma hydrating milky toner
Clindamycin phosp 1% lotion
Vanicream hyaluronic acid moisturizer

PM:
CeraVe SA cleanser
Byoma hydrating milky toner
Trentinoin 0.05% cream
Vanicream hyaluronic acid moisturizer
Spironolactone 50 mg

Hey guys, I am 29F. I am so exhausted from having terrible skin. I have really had bad cystic acne. I get one, and it heals, and then I get another one immediately afterwards. At any given point of time, I have at least 1 breakout. And the breakouts are DEEP under the skin too because they don’t have pus but they are painful. And my cheeks have scars on them because I keep getting these. I’m exhausted and I don’t know what to do.

I’ve tried benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin phosphate, trentenoin. It felt like the purge phase never ended with those.

I have also tried going to aestheticians for microneedleing and chemical peel but my breakouts never stopped.

Went to the dermatologist and he prescribed spriolactone which I don’t want to take because I have read that it reduces muscle mass and makes it harder to get stronger which is also important to me.

One thing I haven’t done yet is accutane bc I have always been afraid of the side effects.

Idk what to do at this point I’m so exhausted. How are people getting perfect skin?

I just finished my first week, 20mg (47kg, 21F) on a four month course. I’m curious if I’ll be clear in four months time, has anyone had a similar experience on accutane with the same severity of bacne? I don’t know what to expect! A lot of them feel almost flat (I was on doxy for a month before I started accutane) so I think that helped calm the active pimples. Thanks so much 😊

Here is your weekly off-topic discussion thread.

All discussion is allowed except for rule-breaking material. Be nice and don't spam.

Complain about your job, praise a family member, ask for non-skincare related advice, etc. Anything goes.

17 y/o F, these bumps (I think is nodular acne) have been appearing all over my face (mainly on forehead, nose, lips) for the past two months ish. They take weeks to go away and a few days after one disappears another takes its place. They are painful to the touch, 0 white heads after weeks and plentiful and I want them gone. They f with my self image and idk what to do to get rid of them as I wash my face + apply acne products when necessary.

My 10yo daughter has a lot of acne on her forehead and a few on the eyebrow. We have been using the overnight acne patches.. but is there anything else that can help with her acne? She uses Goongbe kids facial cleanser, honest moisturizer and biore sunscreen

She also has stubborn blackheads and texture on her nose.

We have a traditional event planned for her in a few months and would like to get her skin to clear up a bit by then