I have these and they're such a pain! I had them round the corners of my mouth but they were only visible if I stretched the skin. Recently they started spreading and no matter how hard I pick at them they seem to stay put while in the past I could quite easily pick them and get a long string of pus out.
Any help??
I've been using Paula's Choice 2% BHA liquid for three weeks now for my chin (and all over my face). The weird bumps seemed to have diminished, only on the right side of my chin though. 
I'm going to keep this up and see how if the ones on the left side of my chin go away, too. The BHA seemed to have causes more breakouts on the left side of the chin, so that could be why they're not going anywhere. Hopefully that's just one of those dreaded purging effects. I'll update if anything new happens.
Thank God I found this thread, I AM SO RELIEVED to know I'm not alone!!! I've been struggling with these bumps for years, and that pic looks very similar to my chin, except add some redness and more inflammation. These bumps WILL NOT go away!!! Arghh!!!
The only thing Ive found to help, but not yet rid me of them, is antibacterial soap (triclosan) as well as Hydrogen Peroxide for 30 sec. after I wash my face, then rinse with cold water.
Im also on tetracycl., retin-A .1% and tri-sprintec, And after 4 mos. Im pretty clear with the excpetion of those dam hell-sent permanent bumps...!!!!
No change. Sooo brutal.I tried using mandelic acid...it took away the few blackheads...but I still have those little raised bumps on my chin.
Pretty sure it is scarring...
What can we do???????????????
I'm so sick and tired of seeing my chin like this!
Yeah, I think it's scarring but sometimes when I pick at some parts a lot some stuff comes out. But that's rare. :/
My friend says my chin is the worst part of my face because of those bumps although the rest of my skin is clear. gaaah.
The only thing Ive found to help, but not yet rid me of them, is antibacterial soap (triclosan) as well as Hydrogen Peroxide for 30 sec. after I wash my face, then rinse with cold water.
I might try the hydrogen peroxide thing. I don't know about using antibacterial soap on my face, though. :/ Do you just use hand wash or get a antibacterial soap meant for face?
I also have this. I am hoping accutane clears it. I can never get a clear answer from derms, and I've been to many and they're all the "best."
I think we need to find out what we all have in common. This may be a mutant resistant form of acne. I had acne many years. I used everything. I was on abitbiotics for years. I used to have extremely oily skin. I was on retin-a, which just irritated the hell out of my skin.
Do the rest of you have scars in other spots from acne? If you don't, I doubt it's acne scarring.
It could be sebaceous hyperplasia, but I doubt that. I also really doubt it's scarring.
I really want to find out what they are so they will go away.
I once had a biopsy done, and it was just regalar keratin (skin) cells. So, it's not exactly acne. I think maybe the retin a messed up my cell turnover and produced more skin, almost like not shedding skin produced clogged pores and acne.
So...were we all on some form of retinoid?
Thanks for posting, it offered some new insight to our problem (at least for me). I only have these on my chin, and some tiny, tiny ones along my jawline. I don't think I've used a retinoid before, but I want to. However, I have used various forms of sulfur, AHA, BHA, benzoyl peroxide, and mandelic acid to treat my noninflamed acne, though I don't think any of those caused these (or else more people would have these things on their chin or other places).
I have also used a couple antibiotics before, but the period of usage wasn't very long. I don't remember what the first one was, but I only used it as a topical for about a month until I realized antibiotics would just make things worse in the long run and I stopped. This was probably 4 years ago. Last summer I took penicillin for 1 week and my skin cleared up, although I don't remember if those chin bumps were already there or not. If they were, they probably weren't as obvious as they are now. I just started noticing these sometime last year.
I'm also pretty sure I have PCOS if that counts. I think the equivalent for PCOS in males is called Syndrome X. I know PCOS can cause hormonal imbalances which can lead to acne and other health problems, even ones that aren't really hormone-related. Could these strange bumps be caused by PCOS? Who knows. I hope more people come and post details about themselves so we can all figure this out together.
I just wanted the retin-a because supposedly it could help with scarring since it helps with collagen formation or something. :/ Any truth to that from what you've noticed, if you had any scars at all?
I found this about dystrophic calcification:
Dystrophic Calcification. Many restrict the use of the term calcinosis to those patients who have calcium deposits in the soft tissues but have no generalized disturbance in calcium or phosphorus metabolism. Dystrophic calcification is often seen at sites of previous inflammation or damage to the skin. Calcinosis has been associated with connective tissue disease, such as in systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) or polymyositis-dermatomyositis.
back to - what do we have in common?
for me:
- i've used antibiotics in the past for over a year. tried this treatment twice.
- i've used retin a for over a year - saw no change AT ALL
- had acne in this area - used to use warm to hot towels on the area to help pop the cyst - clearly not a good idea...i'm thinking that i damaged this delicate skin (on chin) with all the hot compresses and the constant chronic irritation of acne creams - this is the time period around which i started to notice these bumps
- had a derm tell me that its scarring - but since my skin is darker, there is no treatment - not exactly what i want to hear - gotta be something that can help!!!
share your stories, treatments, stories. let's find out what we have in common! i'm tired of looking in the mirror and seeing these bumps!!!
I've got the same thing, it's kind of dry skin/callus buildup.
Fortunately, it really isn't that bad. I don't even worry about mine to be honest. I've had a face covered in like 20 active inflamed zits/blackheads, etc before, and this kind of little stuff doesn't bother me. Plenty of people have stuff like this, and it's really not that noticeable.
Yes!! We need a solution for this!!! Its so odd and Im so sick of having these bumps. I dont think people realize how embarasing they are and how hopeless it is for so many prescriptions to have no effect!!
"- i've used antibiotics in the past for over a year. tried this treatment twice.",Glide 123
Same here, trying my 3rd antibiotic, amoxicillin.
"- i've used retin a for over a year - saw no change AT ALL", Glide 123
Been on Retin-A .1% for 6 mos. now, No difference in chin!!
-Ive had acne since I was 14. These bumps sarted small at age 15, barely noticable, to now at the age of 21, larger and quite noticable, esp. outside in the sun. : (
We've all had acne..is it safe to say that's a commonality?
Ive posted in other threads about something called Gram-Negative follicultis. If you search pics of this condition, you'll see it looks like these bumps on the chin.
** of course a biopsy is needed to diagnose this, however I dont have insurance, so im not sure if i could afford the testing..But Im visiting this community health doctor at the end of the month, and I'll ask.
** This is so silly, but Im on a mission to find out the cause of as well as how to treat whatever this seemeingly rare condition is.
If long-term use of antibiotics is a commonality for all of us, it sounds like GNF could be a possibility.
After being on the following: oral antibiotics, BCP, retin-a .1% cream, BP,along with vit.A supplements, daily multi-vitamin, ACV taken orally daily, And using HP, triclosan, and a sensitive skin face wash, and Purpose moisturizer, my skin does not break out currently. The only problem I have are these bumps, lots of them, and good in size all over my chin and corners of my mouth. Also, I am a healthy weight, eat well, exercise regularly, and do not smoke, drink, or do recr. drugs.
**Its taken a lot of appts. $$, and effort to get this clear, so for me, these bumps are a big deal, and highly intriguing.
The post about PCOS is also interesting, this runs in my family, but I'm not sure if I have it. Anyone else have a family history of PCOS?
I just hope someone anyone, can find the source and the cure.
-Amanda, 21, NJ
^No one else in my family has PCOS or signs of PCOS that I know of. I seem to be the only one with the crappy genetics...
Anyway, I've been observing my chin under different lighting, and it looks very bumpy again. Ugh. I'm considering chemical peels and needling them. Has anyone tried this yet?
I just posted a photo in my album which shows it pretty well, but it looks even worse in some lighting. It says it won't show up for 24 hours.
Mine isn't GNF. Mine isn't red. I've also had a biopsy years ago and it was just skin. Don't do this because these do leave scars. These bumps are very scar prone and leave holes when messed with...
I just posted a photo in my album which shows it pretty well, but it looks even worse in some lighting. It says it won't show up for 24 hours.
Mine isn't GNF. Mine isn't red. I've also had a biopsy years ago and it was just skin. Don't do this because these do leave scars. These bumps are very scar prone and leave holes when messed with...
thanks for posting this about the biopsy...i'm worried they'll want to biopsy them...leaving further scars...not what i need.
amanda, theres no history of pcos in my family. so its safe to rule that out.
i've been doing a face peel every week. it SEEMED like it was getting less noticeable...but then the light/sun...they're very noticeable still.
My derm said they are walled in cysts. This is the first explanation that makes a lick of sense. She said I need to have a really deep facial. I want to wait until after tane. She said tane won't get rid of them because they're so deep.
Maybe you guys should try this. It's worth a shot.
I don't think they're walled-in cysts... at least mine aren't. Mine are more like small skin clogs. In fact, I'm starting to take back my previous belief that these little bumps are raised scars because in the last couple days I've actually gotten MORE of these under-the-skin clogs on my chin and jawline, and they range in size. I don't understand... I'm sure I have a good skin care routine. I thought I was doing a good job clearing my pores with 10% AHA and 2% BHA, exfoliating physically regularly, and nuking my skin with BP and sulfur... but nope, these things aren't moving; instead, they seem to be multiplying. I get under-the-skin pimples on my chin that are sometimes that I suspect are just clogs that want to be inflamed or something even though I don't have inflamed acne. Hmm.
I'm going to schedule a visit to a dermatologist soon. My prospective dermatologist offers clinical facials, so maybe I'll see if I can get these things extracted as well. Because they do seem to be extractable with the proper tools. I've been able to squeeze the gunk out of *some* of the bumps, but with great difficulty.
I have seriously had it with these. If I wasn't on tane I would be getting them lasered off.
They do NOT go away. Trust me. Start trying stuff now, because if you don't you will wake up and it will be 10 years later and you will still have them.
Asap after tane, when it's safe, they're getting burned off.