4 hours ago, tarabren said:

Hi there,
My almost 17 year old daughter has been battling serious acne for about 3 years. She has tried a number of different treatments, but nothing has worked so far. She had a consultation with a dermatologist about Accutane, but decided she wasn't interested in the commitment (birth control for at least 3 months prior to starting, bloodwork every 6 weeks, not to mention potential side effects). The most recent treatment she's tried was a chemical peel (mild...relatively ineffective...esthetician claimes you need multiple treatments) and now she is trying tretoinin (retin A gel). She's been using it about a month. So far, no real improvement...a lot of redness and flaking skin.

Here's my concern: while she is attempting these treatments, she continues to wear makeup...a LOT of makeup. She is very good about removing it effectively and cleanses her face twice a day with a mild cleanser, but she is so self-conscious, she simply refuses to stop wearing makeup for any length of time in spite of what I tell her, what she's read and what the esthetician says. My question is this: is it possible for these treatments to be effective in spite of her make up use? Or is there definitive proof that they won't work as long as she keeps applying make up on top of the treatment? I'm worried she's trapped in a vicious circle...she wears makeup because she's self conscious about her acne, but her makeup could be making it worse or making treatments ineffective. She claims her makeup is non comedogenic and hypoallergenic...but I'm not convinced it matters.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I definitely think acne products will work better if she stops wearing makeup until the acne clears at least. She can continue with makeup when she has just scarring left.

And I've used retin-A before and it takes about 3 months to see a reduction in acne. So seeing little to no improvement and even purging is normal.