Acne.org Products
Hi - Small, flesh colored bumps have formed on my chin / side of chin and have been there for over 2-3 years now. No one seems to be able to tell me what they are or how to get rid of them. I have attached a couple pictures hoping someone can help me. I have seen 3 dermatologists and an aethestician with no luck. First dermatologist said they were clogged pores and prescribed me Atralin. This didn't help with the bumps. An aethestician said it looked like acne scarring and to see if one of those lasers would help it so I went to a different dermatologist. She did not recommend the laser and instead prescribed me with Tazorac (this did nothing). I want to mention that I have also tried Epiduo. When the last derm saw the Tazorac wasn't working she had another derm come in the room to take a look. He said it was perioral dermatitis and prescribed me whatever cream/lotion to treat that. I really didn't think it was perioral dermatitis since they are not red or itchy but I used the medicine anyway. Nothing at all happened when I used it. So now I'm back to square one. Does anyone have any advice? The bumps have not grown or shrunk in the last couple years and they remain flesh colored. You also cannot "pop" them or get anything to squeeze out. Any ideas?
Sometimes acne scars do turn into a white like bump like that. They are difficult to treat unfortunately and if you don't think there's anything inside them then that would be my best bet. Did you have regular acne breakouts prior to these showing up? nothing for acne has worked on it maybe try an anti-fungal.
If you want to try an antifungal, try Lotrimin Ultra (not AF) first.
If that doesn't work you could try 5% to 10% Tea Tree Oil in a mild carrier oil like MCT oil. Use it at night because it will be quite greasy in appearance. TTO works on a different class of fungus than Lotrimin Ultra. Whole Foods sells TTO oil and MCT oil.
Try either product by itself for at least two weeks, to see if there are any changes. If the problem is fungal in nature there will be a biofilm formed from your keratin (etc) -- that is why you see non-inflamed bumps right now. The biofilm may turn red before it flakes off. That is your body's immune system recognizing the fungus, and is not a problem. If there is a biofilm, total treatment may take several months, but you should see some changes in two weeks.
Test any new product on the crook of your arm to make sure you aren't allergic to it.
Thanks all. I've had acne since I was a teenager but I don't believe I had very many breakouts in that area. I have had some cystic acne here and there in that area so perhaps it could be scarring from that. I'll also try the anti-fungal...I had not thought of that! Thank you!
I've had similiar bumps. What helped mine was microdermabrasion which slowly peels off a layer of skin at a time thus smoothing out the skin. Mine were a combination of acne scarring and actually one was a tiny ingrown hair that never got infected but just sat there. The microdermabrasion slowly revealed it until it could be removed. I had it for several years before this happened. I get microdermabrasions once a month through my dermatologist so they are professionally done. Worth every penny in my opinion since they not only took care of those wierd bumps but also opened my pores to help with clearing up my acne.