Hi everyone,

This is my first post! I'm 24 and have a history of clear-ish skin (occasional pimple when it's that time of the month). 8 weeks ago I woke up one morning with a horrible breakout in what I believe is acne (could be wrong) I've never had acne before - at first it started with 5 or 6 pimple-like spots and then it started to spread. My left side wasn't as bad as my right side, but it was still really bad even making its way up to my forehead and eyebrow area!

I instantly used a detol cream thinking it will kill the bacteria, which didn't seem to work, I then read that toothpaste can dry out pimples so I used it and it only made it worse! I then tried honey, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and clearesal but none of that worked at all! At the three-week mark I decided to go to the doctors. My GP said it looked more like folliculitis and prescribed antibiotics in the form of a pill and cream. I did the full round of antibiotics and while it didn't improve slightly, it didn't get rid of the acne/folliculitis.

During this time I also decided to start the pill (Yaz) in case it's from a hormonal issue. Yaz is supposed to be good for your skin. I've been taking it for 6 weeks now, however nothing seems to have changed yet - maybe in a few months time.

It's been 8 weeks and for the last 5 weeks since finishing the antibiotics, I've been using Benzac AC 5% and Paulplex along with the antibiotics cream. I've noticed minor improvements in that the acne/folliculitis isn't as inflamed, but it's still there and I'm still getting flare-ups on some days.

Does anyone know what might have caused this random outbreak, or what it could be? Hives, acne, folliculitis etc? Is what I'm doing right, do you think it will help or do you have any suggestions on what I can do to help it go away?

Something tells me it's stress that has caused it - they came after a few interviews! I've uploaded some photos!

Also worth mentioning (sorry I know this is long), I've changed my make-up to non-comegenic (or however it's spelt), I've stopped using a make-up brush to apply my make-up and I've been using a PH balance wash in the shower, and switched my make-up wipes to oil free!