In the past month or so, I have started to develop a good bit of small forehead acne. I get small papules every day, usually around 5-10 per day. They develop day and night, but generally more at night. They get red and then disappear over the course of 24 hours. It is very rare for them to remain inflamed longer than 24 hours. They only arise on my forehead area.
Needless to say, this is very annoying and I'd like to cure or minimize it if possible. I am 31 years old, and I have never had an outbreak like this before, and in fact have not had chronic acne since I was 22.
I examined every aspect of my lifestyle for some clue that could point me towards what was causing the breakouts. I use the Acne.org Moisturizer and Cleanser and have used them for years with no issues at all. I have not changed brands of shampoos or hair styling product, and I am always extremely careful to make sure not to get any of either on my forehead or face. I have not changed any intake of vitamins and my diet has remained largely the same. I eat very healthy and exercise 4-5x per week. My one bad habit is that I drink 1-2 sodas per day, but I have been doing that for over 20 years with no issues.
The only thing I can think of that has changed in my life is that I have recently started tanning using a tanning bed. I do not use any tanning bronzer products, nor do I use any type of SPF lotion while using the bed. The tanning bed is a pure light bed, there is no spray on tan involved. I have used tanning beds before with no breakouts or problems, but not recently.
Any thoughts on what I can do to try to fix this issue? I have started Dan's regimen, concentrating on my forehead, and I am in week 3 and have not been seeing any positive results yet (in fact, it appears to have gotten worse), but I will be maintaining the regimen for the next few months and will see how it goes.
Any feedback?
In the past month or so, I have started to develop a good bit of small forehead acne. I get small papules every day, usually around 5-10 per day. They develop day and night, but generally more at night. They get red and then disappear over the course of 24 hours. It is very rare for them to remain inflamed longer than 24 hours. They only arise on my forehead area.Needless to say, this is very annoying and I'd like to cure or minimize it if possible. I am 31 years old, and I have never had an outbreak like this before, and in fact have not had chronic acne since I was 22.
I examined every aspect of my lifestyle for some clue that could point me towards what was causing the breakouts. I use the Acne.org Moisturizer and Cleanser and have used them for years with no issues at all. I have not changed brands of shampoos or hair styling product, and I am always extremely careful to make sure not to get any of either on my forehead or face. I have not changed any intake of vitamins and my diet has remained largely the same. I eat very healthy and exercise 4-5x per week. My one bad habit is that I drink 1-2 sodas per day, but I have been doing that for over 20 years with no issues.
The only thing I can think of that has changed in my life is that I have recently started tanning using a tanning bed. I do not use any tanning bronzer products, nor do I use any type of SPF lotion while using the bed. The tanning bed is a pure light bed, there is no spray on tan involved. I have used tanning beds before with no breakouts or problems, but not recently.
Any thoughts on what I can do to try to fix this issue? I have started Dan's regimen, concentrating on my forehead, and I am in week 3 and have not been seeing any positive results yet (in fact, it appears to have gotten worse), but I will be maintaining the regimen for the next few months and will see how it goes.
Any feedback?
you have not changed much but you say "and I am in week 3 and have not been seeing any positive results " so there for you are doing something new then no?
they say it gets worse before it gets better. your skin could be adjusting?
sun beds are bad. it will thicken the skin and pores will block quicker. stick with a lotion if possible
Small, numerous pimples on the forehead often point to fungal folliculitis. That would also explain why your acne medication has no effect- products that target bacteria can make a fungal infection worse. Try a dandruff shampoo like Nizoral on your forehead. I recommend doing a patch test beforehand to make sure you're not allergic. Then lather up the infected area, let it sit for 5 minutes, then rinse. Do it twice a day, using your regular cleanser for the rest of your face. If it's fungal folliculitis, you should see significant results after a week.
Also, check out this thread:
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Pityrospo...is-t208147.html
Good luck!
Small, numerous pimples on the forehead often point to fungal folliculitis. That would also explain why your acne medication has no effect- products that target bacteria can make a fungal infection worse. Try a dandruff shampoo like Nizoral on your forehead. I recommend doing a patch test beforehand to make sure you're not allergic. Then lather up the infected area, let it sit for 5 minutes, then rinse. Do it twice a day, using your regular cleanser for the rest of your face. If it's fungal folliculitis, you should see significant results after a week.Also, check out this thread:
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Pityrospo...is-t208147.html
Good luck!
Akko,
I did see the thread about fungal folliculitis. While there does seem to be some similarities, the small pimples that I have do not look anything close to the pictures of fungal folliculitis that I have seen. I may try the Nizoral in the future if things don't clear up soon.
Well, an update - I am now well into week 4 of the regimen and the small forehead acne is just as bad as before. There have been a few days where the acne has been relatively clear, but there have been others where it has been extremely bad.
One of the interesting things I've noticed is that I am developing the acne papules at an extremely fast rate. I will develop 12-15 of them per day, at all hours of the day, and they will literally disappear within 8-12 hours of becoming inflamed and it then looks like they were never there. I wonder if the BP from the regimen kills them as soon as they form?
The breakout area is so far confined to my forehead only. I have seen no pattern or connection with any dietary or medicinal intake. I have yet to attempt any Nizoral application.
Any thoughts?
