ooooh thats tough, i feel like if i didnt start using medicated products i might have been able to hold off my acne more, but it might even be the other way around :/ just make sure he doesnt mess with it too much for now??

Just make sure he doesn't get into the habit of popping his zits

My brother turns 16 soon and he's starting to get more persistent acne. Luckily it's still pretty mild - just white heads and a few pustules or papules with it being mainly on his cheeks. It doesn't seem to bother him unless someone brings attention to it (like our mum suggesting he wash his face with whatever product).

Because it's not bothering him and it's still pretty mild I don't want to bring any attention to it but I want to know what to suggest to him in the event that it gets worse or it does start to annoy him and he asks for help.

Do I suggest diet changes straight away? Let him try the commercial over the counter products (Clearasil, clean and clear, proactiv etc)? Even though I tried them and didn't like them and would never use them again, they could work for him right? So let him figure it out himself? Or suggest he keep doing nothing - just water? I've heard of people who, after years of acne, have quit all topical things and have success with water only. I often wonder what my skin would be like if I'd just left it alone... maybe I'd be without acne now.

I just don't want him to go through how emotionally straining acne can be. It's horrible how acne can make you feel about yourself and impact so many aspects of your life. If I could stop him, or anyone, from going through that, it would be great. I guess he's lucky that he's starting out with acne later than I did, so hopefully it'll mean he's 'stronger' and cope with it all better than myself. But I guess age doesn't matter - it can pull you down regardless of how old you are when you start getting acne... I still think he'll be ok with it though

I'm thinking it might be best to just leave it. Let him do whatever he thinks is best and just be there for support if he wants to talk about it or has questions about products or ingredients....

Any thoughts on this anyone?

What would you do if you knew someone 'starting out' with acne?

Do you wish someone was able to help you out or point you in the right direction when you first started getting acne? (I guess there is no real 'right direction' though as different things work for different people...)

 

I would start making diet suggestions. Food does affect acne and he probably could be eating healthier than he does anyway.

When my husband stays away from dairy and sugar he is 100% clear. He has some pizza and by the following week he breaks out. If his acne is mild staying away from dairy and sugar may be all he needs to do. (Dairy and sugar stimulate hormone responses that trigger acne). Dr. Hyman wrote a good article on this on HuffingtonPost.

Please don't start him down some Clearasil/ProActive route. It's just a waste of money, and it's a bad idea to let him think that acne really has anything to do with washing his face. If it had to do with face washing, all the little children who touch their face a million times a day would be ridden with acne. But they don't. It's teenagers and adults with hormone problems that have acne.

ooooh thats tough, i feel like if i didnt start using medicated products i might have been able to hold off my acne more, but it might even be the other way around :/ just make sure he doesnt mess with it too much for now??

 

Just make sure he doesn't get into the habit of popping his zits

 

'lovemesomevanity' - yeah you're right- I guess it could have gone either way with using products or not.

giving the advice to not mess with the skin or get in the habit of picking, popping is good advice too - thanks guys

I would start making diet suggestions. Food does affect acne and he probably could be eating healthier than he does anyway.

When my husband stays away from dairy and sugar he is 100% clear. He has some pizza and by the following week he breaks out. If his acne is mild staying away from dairy and sugar may be all he needs to do. (Dairy and sugar stimulate hormone responses that trigger acne). Dr. Hyman wrote a good article on this on HuffingtonPost.

Please don't start him down some Clearasil/ProActive route. It's just a waste of money, and it's a bad idea to let him think that acne really has anything to do with washing his face. If it had to do with face washing, all the little children who touch their face a million times a day would be ridden with acne. But they don't. It's teenagers and adults with hormone problems that have acne.

 

Thanks for the link - that's a great article! When I have the time I might look into some of the references used also - I've been trying to find some good reading on that angle of skin care / acne.

Yeah I agree that acne has little to do with face washing or hygiene alone. Hormones play the main role.

Stay away from porn/masturbation. If constipation/sugar is an issue than diet might be a factor. Get him into the habit of doing hardcore yoga like headstand and shoulder stand.

I think the trick at that age is to try and control the acne rather than trying to clear it completely (which most likely isn't going to happen). Instead of going down the antibiotic route like I did, although it did help amazingly, I wish I'd just washed with water then applied some of Dan's BP like I'm doing now.

I think the trick at that age is to try and control the acne rather than trying to clear it completely (which most likely isn't going to happen). Instead of going down the antibiotic route like I did, although it did help amazingly, I wish I'd just washed with water then applied some of Dan's BP like I'm doing now.

 

I think you're right there - it will be more about controlling it rather than being completely clear. - I guess that's a good outlook to have throughout the 'acne experience' regardless of how long you've been dealing with it (even though you can quickly get to the point of just wanting completely clear skin)

Tell him to stay the FRIDGE away from pro-active

But for me the main thing I would recommend is be gentle with your... when I started off, everybody told me I wasnt washing enough or wasnt using a strong enough product or wasn't scrubbing hard enough.

Oh yeah, and what works for you should likely work for him. Genetics has a big part to play in acne.

Even though I didn't think it was a good idea for him to go buy clean&clear products, he did anyway - which is fine - a lot of this is stuff you need to work out yourself I think. I was worried that the ingredients in it would cause more harm than good but I looked them up on their website and from my understanding they're not that bad. So hopefully it works for him and then maybe i'll try it

Tell him to stay the FRIDGE away from pro-active

 

But for me the main thing I would recommend is be gentle with your... when I started off, everybody told me I wasnt washing enough or wasnt using a strong enough product or wasn't scrubbing hard enough.

 

Oh yeah, and what works for you should likely work for him. Genetics has a big part to play in acne.

 

I agree - being gentle with your skin is good advice. (so is staying away from proactiv)

Unfortunately I'm still trying to find what really works for me so I can't really say 'give this a try - it worked for me so it'll probably work for you.' I think our acne is different though.

Even though I didn't think it was a good idea for him to go buy clean&clear products, he did anyway - which is fine - a lot of this is stuff you need to work out yourself I think. I was worried that the ingredients in it would cause more harm than good but I looked them up on their website and from my understanding they're not that bad. So hopefully it works for him and then maybe i'll try it

Tell him to stay the FRIDGE away from pro-active

But for me the main thing I would recommend is be gentle with your... when I started off, everybody told me I wasnt washing enough or wasnt using a strong enough product or wasn't scrubbing hard enough.

Oh yeah, and what works for you should likely work for him. Genetics has a big part to play in acne.

 

I agree - being gentle with your skin is good advice. (so is staying away from proactiv)

Unfortunately I'm still trying to find what really works for me so I can't really say 'give this a try - it worked for me so it'll probably work for you.' I think our acne is different though.

 

Yeah I know what you mean - my brother's at that age too and I try to give him advice. I wish I could see how my skin would've reacted to Dan's Bp when I was 16/17 as I only really tried Salicylic acid and some clearasil stuff before I used antibiotics.

Yeah I know what you mean - my brother's at that age too and I try to give him advice. I wish I could see how my skin would've reacted to Dan's Bp when I was 16/17 as I only really tried Salicylic acid and some clearasil stuff before I used antibiotics.

 

I hope he doesn't decide to go with antibiotics - his acne isn't that bad -it'll just be if it starts to get to him emotionally/mentally that he might start looking into that sort of thing. I first used antibiotics leading up to my school formal and then again later that year. They worked pretty well both times but the acne came back and I don't like the idea of taking them long term.

To me it looks like this BP face wash he is using is starting to work

To be honest I'd say just try to make him stay away from using too many products and chemical crap. I wish I'd left my skin alone a lot more, I'm sure it wouldn't have been as bad if I hadn't used so many different things. Its done more harm than good.

To be honest I'd say just try to make him stay away from using too many products and chemical crap. I wish I'd left my skin alone a lot more, I'm sure it wouldn't have been as bad if I hadn't used so many different things. Its done more harm than good.

 

I agree. Unfortunately he doesn't really want my advice. I think he's pulled in by all the advertising saying that they work - and we know that more often than not, that's not the case.

At the moment he just uses the BP cleanser at night. Just water in the morning maybe - I'm not sure. As far as I know that's it. No moisturiser or anything. He's not going overboard with the chemicals and stuff.

Honestly - I used this cleanser of his the past few nights and do see a difference in my skin. It's not drying either which surprised me. I've also started using some other products of my own (new moisturiser) so I can't be sure it's cleanser making a difference or if it's the change of moisturisers. But like I said above, I think the cleanser looks like it's working for him.

If it were me, as much as I'd love to not use any chemicals, if I had to be reliant on a BP cleanser to be clear, I'd much rather that than a BP gel / topical cream.

But anyway - I wish I'd stayed away from all the chemicals and BP when I started out too - just to see how my skin coped. Maybe they did do more harm than good. If my brother starts to go toward more chemicals and stuff I'll really try to have him rethink that. (Will just have to see if he wants to listen 😛 )

My brother turns 16 soon and he's starting to get more persistent acne. Luckily it's still pretty mild - just white heads and a few pustules or papules with it being mainly on his cheeks. It doesn't seem to bother him unless someone brings attention to it (like our mum suggesting he wash his face with whatever product).

Because it's not bothering him and it's still pretty mild I don't want to bring any attention to it but I want to know what to suggest to him in the event that it gets worse or it does start to annoy him and he asks for help.

Do I suggest diet changes straight away? Let him try the commercial over the counter products (Clearasil, clean and clear, proactiv etc)? Even though I tried them and didn't like them and would never use them again, they could work for him right? So let him figure it out himself? Or suggest he keep doing nothing - just water? I've heard of people who, after years of acne, have quit all topical things and have success with water only. I often wonder what my skin would be like if I'd just left it alone... maybe I'd be without acne now.

I just don't want him to go through how emotionally straining acne can be. It's horrible how acne can make you feel about yourself and impact so many aspects of your life. If I could stop him, or anyone, from going through that, it would be great. I guess he's lucky that he's starting out with acne later than I did, so hopefully it'll mean he's 'stronger' and cope with it all better than myself. But I guess age doesn't matter - it can pull you down regardless of how old you are when you start getting acne... I still think he'll be ok with it though

I'm thinking it might be best to just leave it. Let him do whatever he thinks is best and just be there for support if he wants to talk about it or has questions about products or ingredients....

Any thoughts on this anyone?

What would you do if you knew someone 'starting out' with acne?

Do you wish someone was able to help you out or point you in the right direction when you first started getting acne? (I guess there is no real 'right direction' though as different things work for different people...)

 

Leave him be and let him come to you.

It might not bother him so don't give him complex by suggesting anything.

Leave him be and let him come to you.

It might not bother him so don't give him complex by suggesting anything.

 

That's really what I've ended up doing. I'm just here if he does have questions relating to skin/acne. I'm only giving advice / making suggestions if he wants them.

It doesn't bother him all that much but I told him the other day that it looks like the face wash he started using is working well for him. You could see that it made him happy to hear that.