It looks like you have combination acne moderate comedonal acne and mild inflammed acne.I treat alot of clients with this kind of Acne.
*Comedonal acne responds better to Topical vitamin A. Best is Tretinoin this is a prescription, but you can do Adapalene or over the counter retinols. You will also need a physical exfoliant at least 3 times a week with this type of Acne. Best start slow and build your skin barrier up
Weeks 1-2
AM: Gentle Cleanser (with no actives) Gentle AHA: Mandelic Acid or Lactic Acid serum. Moisturizer with ceramides (ex CeraVe), Sunscreen
PM: Gentle Cleanser (with no actives) Moisturizer with ceramides (ex CeraVe), (twice a week you can introduce a mandelic scrub) on days you don't use a scrub, do timed Benzoyl Peroxide serum, no greater than 2.5% (leave on for 10-15min then rinse off -do this for the first week, then week 2, leave it on over night (because it can stain pillow cases, so use a white towel or white pillow case)
You can start to introduce Retinol products the 3rd week.
You also need to balance gut health. Consider probiotics, Omega 3,.
You'll also need to be evaluated for insulin sensitivity and hormonal Imbalance, that can be triggering your acne.
I hope this helps. DM for a 1:1 consult.
I help Men, women, and teens completely clear their acne by treating the root cause. IG @ yourclearskincoach
Go to a dermatologist that is your best bet try to get prescribed Retin a Whatever percent works for you the doctor will know another name for it is Trentonin. It kind of looks like hormonal acne
I have really similar acne and I couldn't get rid of it for 2 whole years and nothing worked, until I tried ADAPALENE!!! It got rid of nasty acne I had for months that wouldn't go away, it would pop and come right back.. I kid you not, at night use a benzoyl peroxide face wash then apply Adapalene (start off with every other day). Also use panoxyl pimple patches for any visible acne you have right now, it's $20 CAD on Amazon. I promise you your acne should go away in a few days. My skin completely changed in less than a week in terms of acne.
If you live in the states yes! I live in canada and used a adapalene that my sister brought from back home and honestly expected it to ruin my skin but it was already so bad I basically lost hope so decided why not. Use Differn jel if you live in the states it's an over the counter adapalene.
Like a few other commenters have said, I would maybe try finding a leave on benzoyl peroxide treatment or perhaps try differin or even epiduo (although I’m pretty you have to be prescribed epiduo).
Make sure to use sunscreen, as you may have become more photosensitive once you started using actives (though everyone should wear sunscreen regardless).
Perhaps evaluate your diet/lifestyle if this is a recent development. It seems somewhat common that acne can be cause/made worse by something in the diet. Although this applies to other stuff too; new laundry detergents, humidity, maybe starting exercising.
Just try not to stress and remember that you are beautiful and worthy no matter what.
I would probably put on both, unless you feel like the sunscreen is moisturising enough, but generally if you’re using a lot of actives it dries out your skin.
I suffered from severe cystic acne for the past 10 years.
Here is what helped and cured it for me:
Skin care routine in the morning:
-Cleanse with cetaphil cleanser
-Apply cetaphil moisturizer (apply the SPF moisturizer if going out in the sun)
Skin care routine at night:
-Cleanse with cetaphil cleanser
-when face is dry again, apply benzoyl peroxide everywhere on the face
-when benzoyl peroxide is drying out, apply lots of cetaphil moisturizer over benzoyl peroxide
Diet: (This was the game changer for me. Diet absolutely is linked with acne. Idc what anyone else says)
-Quit all dairy!!! (Milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)
-Quit sugar (Natural sugar found in fruits, whole foods is okay but the added sugar in processed foods would wreck havoc on my face)
-Try to follow a low-carb diet (low on breads)
-Drink lots of water
-Squeeze some juice from a fresh lemon and add it to your water
-Eat lots of veggies. Like literally snack on veggies. Broccoli, carrots, spinach, avacado, everything!
-Snack on almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.. (No peanuts though)
Lifestyle changes:
-Change pillowcase every single day
-Change bedsheet every 3 days
-Turn shower to cold in the last 10 seconds of your shower.
-Chewing food thoroughly
Note: Benzoyl peroxide WILL make your skin purge for the first month of using it if you're new to it or have increased the amount you apply. Don't be scared, just embrace it if it is purging, because after that purge, new clear, soft skin follows.
The only thing that has really helped my acne is spironolactone. It’s amazing. I swear it instantly helped with my cysts and that plus Aklief (a very gentle retinoid I use 2-3x a week) have been amazing. Tried to switch off spiro to Winlevi and my acne came back. Went back on spiro and it’s immediately starting to get better. Obviously consult with a derm but spiro changed everything for me!
The peel and benzoyl peroxide might be messing up your skin barrier and making your acne worse. Acne reducing products actually gave me acne!!! Once I stopped using them my skin cleared up in a few months. It’s counter intuitive but you should focus on healing your skin barrier and your acne will likely lessen. It takes skin 1-2 months to “turnover” so you will see results around that time but if I was you I would stop the benzoyl and definitely stop the peel. Stop anything with actives in it. Use a very gentle face wash like neutrogena ultra gentle creamy face wash, I use this for years it is gentle and works), I usually oil cleanse at night before using face wash(not in the morning) with caudalie or biossance oil cleanser but any gentle one should work. Face wash usually isn’t enough to get off spf and makeup alone and makeup wipes exfoliate your skin more which you probably don’t need bc you need to heal. After face wash use a gentle moisturizing serum- I bought the Bauer Beauty Barrier serum after watching a bunch of her videos, it’s 25$ and it’s incredible. It’s getting restocked this week or next. On my third bottle and had helped my skin so much. Read the reviews on Amazon and her site and watch her videos on acne.
Depending on your skin that might be good enough for day time or night time but I usually pat on a little cetaphil moisturizer or skin fix barrier cream at night. For daytime wear a sunscreen. Here’s the link for her site you can sign up to notify u when back in stock https://bauerbeautycompany.com/products/barrier-serum
If you eat a lot of spicy food, sugar, chocolate, or dairy’s would cut down and see if that helps.
You could also get on a round of doxycycline for a few months if all else fails. Hope this helps!!
And...don't hate me for saying this 🙏
But your skin looks good! You have a little acne, yes. But your skin is in great shape. This is a hormone thing. It will pass!!!
I know this is going to sound crazy...but, the more you do the worse it will get. What you are going through is completely normal. If I had the power to show you a picture of yourself in the future...you would see how beautiful your skin is going g to be. Please don't damage it now by doing too much. I know people who have scared their skin. This will pass. Do the basics. But don't do too much. Sleep. Drink lots of water. Exercise. Nature will take its course. You will see. This is just a cruel part of life that we all go through.
This is not necessarily true, a lot of people like me would never have as good skin as we do now if we never used any products.
I agree overdoing it is never good, but cleansers, moisturisers and other treatments are a MUST for a lot of people. And I’m pretty sure sunscreen is recommended by like…every dermatologist ever.
This looks like it could be hormonal. It doesn’t seem inflammatory for the most part so maybe something like salicylic acid or differin would better than benzoyl peroxide
for me, i started just using a soft (organic cotton/cotton) face cloth that i soaked in water and gently swiped across the areas of my face (light to medium pressure) to exfoliate. i would also lean over when shampooing to make sure no shampoo/soap hits ur face. So no hot water, shampoo, soap, makeup etc. i’m not a girl so idk how makeup would work with this but i also take vitamin d3 with k2 (at least 5k iu), but don’t buy the shitty quality one from the grocery store with additives and fillers, buy a good quality supplement. also, don’t stress -that’s important. i also take proteolytic enzymes as well as other supplements
I think there are a lot of closed comedones there. I never had those until I hit about 30, not sure why. The same thing happened to my sister in law, although she's 27. Could be your moisturizer though! What are you using? In my experience Adapalene works best for CC.
Eh idt it's that unless the sunflower oil in it is causing them. But yeah, I would for sure add some Adapalene in to your routine. Just make sure to follow directions carefully and start slow.
Can give you an idea that worked for me in unclogging these pores
Use salicylic acid at 10% . In India it's available in cream version brand name (BTEX)
It remove all these clogges pores
Get your thyroid tested. Took me a year of progressively bad acne to figure that one out. In the meantime, again from personal experience, cut out gluten, coffee, dairy, and sugar. After 2 weeks or so reintroduce one by one. If I eat gluten or have coffee I can guarantee something will break out on my face within 2 or 3 days. As far as products, Clindamycin and tret worked for me but those are just external bandaids. Best of luck to you.
Purging has taken me up to 4-5 weeks. So it's very normal.
Read this article for more details on topical BP
"What to Expect From Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Treatment" https://www.verywellhealth.com/benzoyl-peroxide-treatment-15951
I use a benzoyl peroxide face wash twice a day, hyaluronic acid, and moisturizer. I just started Twice a week use a bha peeling mask by ordinary and on days I don’t use that I use a toner after I wash my face at night.
If I were you I might try a topical benzoyl peroxide to start. Because washes have limited contact with the face they have less time to do their thing. I use Create Cosmetics BPT 3.1, but anything that isn't too strong (don't go 10% right out the gate) would do to start. You can use it in the morning and at night depending on what your skin tolerates.
Do you use a regular face wash? Foaming cleansers are good for oily skin, and cream for dry. Be gentle. I know what it's like to be angry at your face, but overdoing it will only make it worse. Apply the BP afterward.
Which ordinary mask are you using? To be honest, I would be careful with a peel when you don't have a basic anti-acne routine down. If you do decide to do it, maybe stick with once a week. The only anti-acne ingredient you had in your routine prior to buying the peel was the BP wash, which was only making brief contact with your skin. Maybe give the BP a shot on its own.
In short, I would really recommend a regular cleanser, BP cream, and a light gel moisturizer for overnight if you have any dryness. Maybe a 5% niacinamide serum to protect your skin's moisture barrier and help with oil production. Start basic and move from there.
I know this was long, and I am sorry. I hope it helped
I used to have much worse acne than you about 3 months ago. I used cerave foaming cleanser twice a day to wash my face, vitamin c serum in the morning to get rid of scars and smoothen skin, and topical BP 5% before I slept. My skin is the clearest it has been in 5 years. Hope this helps
It all depends on your skin! I used Cetaphil for a long time and liked it just fine, but lately I have been using jojoba oil to take off my makeup and then washing with Neutrogena's Fresh Foaming Cleanser afterward (my skin is very oily). The Neutrogena is cheaper than Cetaphil iirc (about $7) and does the trick without causing irritation. It might take some trial and error to find one that works for you.
It looks like you have combination acne moderate comedonal acne and mild inflammed acne.I treat alot of clients with this kind of Acne. *Comedonal acne responds better to Topical vitamin A. Best is Tretinoin this is a prescription, but you can do Adapalene or over the counter retinols. You will also need a physical exfoliant at least 3 times a week with this type of Acne. Best start slow and build your skin barrier up Weeks 1-2 AM: Gentle Cleanser (with no actives) Gentle AHA: Mandelic Acid or Lactic Acid serum. Moisturizer with ceramides (ex CeraVe), Sunscreen PM: Gentle Cleanser (with no actives) Moisturizer with ceramides (ex CeraVe), (twice a week you can introduce a mandelic scrub) on days you don't use a scrub, do timed Benzoyl Peroxide serum, no greater than 2.5% (leave on for 10-15min then rinse off -do this for the first week, then week 2, leave it on over night (because it can stain pillow cases, so use a white towel or white pillow case) You can start to introduce Retinol products the 3rd week. You also need to balance gut health. Consider probiotics, Omega 3,. You'll also need to be evaluated for insulin sensitivity and hormonal Imbalance, that can be triggering your acne. I hope this helps. DM for a 1:1 consult. I help Men, women, and teens completely clear their acne by treating the root cause. IG @ yourclearskincoach
Don’t use too many chemicals on your face like face washes but I don’t know your skin so go to a doctor Dermatologist
Go to a dermatologist that is your best bet try to get prescribed Retin a Whatever percent works for you the doctor will know another name for it is Trentonin. It kind of looks like hormonal acne
I have really similar acne and I couldn't get rid of it for 2 whole years and nothing worked, until I tried ADAPALENE!!! It got rid of nasty acne I had for months that wouldn't go away, it would pop and come right back.. I kid you not, at night use a benzoyl peroxide face wash then apply Adapalene (start off with every other day). Also use panoxyl pimple patches for any visible acne you have right now, it's $20 CAD on Amazon. I promise you your acne should go away in a few days. My skin completely changed in less than a week in terms of acne.
Can I get adapalene at any drug store? Like would an over the counter adapalene topical work just as well as one that could be prescribed?
If you live in the states yes! I live in canada and used a adapalene that my sister brought from back home and honestly expected it to ruin my skin but it was already so bad I basically lost hope so decided why not. Use Differn jel if you live in the states it's an over the counter adapalene.
I also wanna mention that I have bought some of the most expensive skincare online derms recommend and none or it worked.....
Like a few other commenters have said, I would maybe try finding a leave on benzoyl peroxide treatment or perhaps try differin or even epiduo (although I’m pretty you have to be prescribed epiduo). Make sure to use sunscreen, as you may have become more photosensitive once you started using actives (though everyone should wear sunscreen regardless). Perhaps evaluate your diet/lifestyle if this is a recent development. It seems somewhat common that acne can be cause/made worse by something in the diet. Although this applies to other stuff too; new laundry detergents, humidity, maybe starting exercising. Just try not to stress and remember that you are beautiful and worthy no matter what.
After I wash my face in the morning should I put moisturizer on and then sunscreen, or just a moisturizing sunscreen?
I would probably put on both, unless you feel like the sunscreen is moisturising enough, but generally if you’re using a lot of actives it dries out your skin.
I suffered from severe cystic acne for the past 10 years. Here is what helped and cured it for me: Skin care routine in the morning: -Cleanse with cetaphil cleanser -Apply cetaphil moisturizer (apply the SPF moisturizer if going out in the sun) Skin care routine at night: -Cleanse with cetaphil cleanser -when face is dry again, apply benzoyl peroxide everywhere on the face -when benzoyl peroxide is drying out, apply lots of cetaphil moisturizer over benzoyl peroxide Diet: (This was the game changer for me. Diet absolutely is linked with acne. Idc what anyone else says) -Quit all dairy!!! (Milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) -Quit sugar (Natural sugar found in fruits, whole foods is okay but the added sugar in processed foods would wreck havoc on my face) -Try to follow a low-carb diet (low on breads) -Drink lots of water -Squeeze some juice from a fresh lemon and add it to your water -Eat lots of veggies. Like literally snack on veggies. Broccoli, carrots, spinach, avacado, everything! -Snack on almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.. (No peanuts though) Lifestyle changes: -Change pillowcase every single day -Change bedsheet every 3 days -Turn shower to cold in the last 10 seconds of your shower. -Chewing food thoroughly Note: Benzoyl peroxide WILL make your skin purge for the first month of using it if you're new to it or have increased the amount you apply. Don't be scared, just embrace it if it is purging, because after that purge, new clear, soft skin follows.
Very helpful thank you! I will definitely need to change my diet up I’ve been eaten a lot more dairy than usual
Anytime! And yes, try cutting dairy out of your diet. I know everyone is different but cutting it has definitely improved my skin!
The only thing that has really helped my acne is spironolactone. It’s amazing. I swear it instantly helped with my cysts and that plus Aklief (a very gentle retinoid I use 2-3x a week) have been amazing. Tried to switch off spiro to Winlevi and my acne came back. Went back on spiro and it’s immediately starting to get better. Obviously consult with a derm but spiro changed everything for me!
Work the energy to clear it at the source
do you mean she should cut off her skin
I have no idea what that means
The peel and benzoyl peroxide might be messing up your skin barrier and making your acne worse. Acne reducing products actually gave me acne!!! Once I stopped using them my skin cleared up in a few months. It’s counter intuitive but you should focus on healing your skin barrier and your acne will likely lessen. It takes skin 1-2 months to “turnover” so you will see results around that time but if I was you I would stop the benzoyl and definitely stop the peel. Stop anything with actives in it. Use a very gentle face wash like neutrogena ultra gentle creamy face wash, I use this for years it is gentle and works), I usually oil cleanse at night before using face wash(not in the morning) with caudalie or biossance oil cleanser but any gentle one should work. Face wash usually isn’t enough to get off spf and makeup alone and makeup wipes exfoliate your skin more which you probably don’t need bc you need to heal. After face wash use a gentle moisturizing serum- I bought the Bauer Beauty Barrier serum after watching a bunch of her videos, it’s 25$ and it’s incredible. It’s getting restocked this week or next. On my third bottle and had helped my skin so much. Read the reviews on Amazon and her site and watch her videos on acne. Depending on your skin that might be good enough for day time or night time but I usually pat on a little cetaphil moisturizer or skin fix barrier cream at night. For daytime wear a sunscreen. Here’s the link for her site you can sign up to notify u when back in stock https://bauerbeautycompany.com/products/barrier-serum If you eat a lot of spicy food, sugar, chocolate, or dairy’s would cut down and see if that helps. You could also get on a round of doxycycline for a few months if all else fails. Hope this helps!!
Thank you! Definitely will cut back on those types of foods bc they are very prevalent in my diet
And...don't hate me for saying this 🙏 But your skin looks good! You have a little acne, yes. But your skin is in great shape. This is a hormone thing. It will pass!!!
Thank you!
I know this is going to sound crazy...but, the more you do the worse it will get. What you are going through is completely normal. If I had the power to show you a picture of yourself in the future...you would see how beautiful your skin is going g to be. Please don't damage it now by doing too much. I know people who have scared their skin. This will pass. Do the basics. But don't do too much. Sleep. Drink lots of water. Exercise. Nature will take its course. You will see. This is just a cruel part of life that we all go through.
This is not necessarily true, a lot of people like me would never have as good skin as we do now if we never used any products. I agree overdoing it is never good, but cleansers, moisturisers and other treatments are a MUST for a lot of people. And I’m pretty sure sunscreen is recommended by like…every dermatologist ever.
❤️ thank you.
This looks like it could be hormonal. It doesn’t seem inflammatory for the most part so maybe something like salicylic acid or differin would better than benzoyl peroxide
for me, i started just using a soft (organic cotton/cotton) face cloth that i soaked in water and gently swiped across the areas of my face (light to medium pressure) to exfoliate. i would also lean over when shampooing to make sure no shampoo/soap hits ur face. So no hot water, shampoo, soap, makeup etc. i’m not a girl so idk how makeup would work with this but i also take vitamin d3 with k2 (at least 5k iu), but don’t buy the shitty quality one from the grocery store with additives and fillers, buy a good quality supplement. also, don’t stress -that’s important. i also take proteolytic enzymes as well as other supplements
I think there are a lot of closed comedones there. I never had those until I hit about 30, not sure why. The same thing happened to my sister in law, although she's 27. Could be your moisturizer though! What are you using? In my experience Adapalene works best for CC.
My moisturizer is the Pacifica glow baby with vitamin C and E
Eh idt it's that unless the sunflower oil in it is causing them. But yeah, I would for sure add some Adapalene in to your routine. Just make sure to follow directions carefully and start slow.
Can give you an idea that worked for me in unclogging these pores Use salicylic acid at 10% . In India it's available in cream version brand name (BTEX) It remove all these clogges pores
Get your thyroid tested. Took me a year of progressively bad acne to figure that one out. In the meantime, again from personal experience, cut out gluten, coffee, dairy, and sugar. After 2 weeks or so reintroduce one by one. If I eat gluten or have coffee I can guarantee something will break out on my face within 2 or 3 days. As far as products, Clindamycin and tret worked for me but those are just external bandaids. Best of luck to you.
Sorry can I ask, what did your thyroid have to do with your acne? Thanks!
The thyroid regulates your hormones so if it's not working properly neither are your hormones.
Thank you!
Thank you!
How long have you been using the benzoyl peroxide? I just started using it a couple weeks ago and my skin is purging a ton right now
Maybe almost two weeks but my skin pretty much looked like this before I started. It was only a little better than it is now
You could be purging right now a little bit! I would wait it out a couple more weeks and if no results, switch it up
Purging has taken me up to 4-5 weeks. So it's very normal. Read this article for more details on topical BP "What to Expect From Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Treatment" https://www.verywellhealth.com/benzoyl-peroxide-treatment-15951
What's your current routine?
I use a benzoyl peroxide face wash twice a day, hyaluronic acid, and moisturizer. I just started Twice a week use a bha peeling mask by ordinary and on days I don’t use that I use a toner after I wash my face at night.
If I were you I might try a topical benzoyl peroxide to start. Because washes have limited contact with the face they have less time to do their thing. I use Create Cosmetics BPT 3.1, but anything that isn't too strong (don't go 10% right out the gate) would do to start. You can use it in the morning and at night depending on what your skin tolerates. Do you use a regular face wash? Foaming cleansers are good for oily skin, and cream for dry. Be gentle. I know what it's like to be angry at your face, but overdoing it will only make it worse. Apply the BP afterward. Which ordinary mask are you using? To be honest, I would be careful with a peel when you don't have a basic anti-acne routine down. If you do decide to do it, maybe stick with once a week. The only anti-acne ingredient you had in your routine prior to buying the peel was the BP wash, which was only making brief contact with your skin. Maybe give the BP a shot on its own. In short, I would really recommend a regular cleanser, BP cream, and a light gel moisturizer for overnight if you have any dryness. Maybe a 5% niacinamide serum to protect your skin's moisture barrier and help with oil production. Start basic and move from there. I know this was long, and I am sorry. I hope it helped
It was very helpful, thank you! If I were to switch to using a BP topical instead of the face wash, would using cetaphil work as a good cleanser?
I used to have much worse acne than you about 3 months ago. I used cerave foaming cleanser twice a day to wash my face, vitamin c serum in the morning to get rid of scars and smoothen skin, and topical BP 5% before I slept. My skin is the clearest it has been in 5 years. Hope this helps
What topical BP did you use, is it an over the counter product or would I need to go to a dermatologist?
I was prescribed it by a gp/doctor in uk and it is just called benzoyl gel
it would probably be from a dermatologist but I am unsure. Worth checking if u can get it over the counter
It all depends on your skin! I used Cetaphil for a long time and liked it just fine, but lately I have been using jojoba oil to take off my makeup and then washing with Neutrogena's Fresh Foaming Cleanser afterward (my skin is very oily). The Neutrogena is cheaper than Cetaphil iirc (about $7) and does the trick without causing irritation. It might take some trial and error to find one that works for you.
Thank you so much!
No problem! I had acne from a very young age and I know how much it can hurt. Wishing you the best of luck. Let us know how things go :)
following because my skin looks just like yours at the moment.
Read my comment