Hello all. I'm 33 and have had adult acne for years. I had pretty good skin except for my chin, which broke out all the time. I got large, deep, painful pimples that would never come to a head and would simply sit below the surface of the skin, hurting. The last few years I also broke out with whiteheads and just always had several ugly pimples on my chin all the time- anywhere from 2 to 7. I was on birth control pills, which didn't help my acne much and made me bloated and nauseaus all the time. I eventually started on Erythromyacin, which helped with the acne but made my already fair skin even more sensitive to the sun (got the worst sunburn of my life- made me really sick) and I got pregnant because the effectiveness of the BC was decreased. During my pregnancy I actuallly had really great skin for a while. Had my son, got an IUD, chin started breaking out again.
I tried Benzoyle peroxide for about a week, even doing the chilled BP and icing my skin, but I still couldn't tolerate it- my chin got red and peeled and the acne didn't improve.
So I started trying some other things, and they seem to be working, or have for the last 5 or 6 months anyway. Hopefully this can help someone else.
Diet-
1. I find that refined sugar is a major trigger for me. I have a sweet tooth so this is hard, but if I don't limit myself to about 2 sweets per week (say a brownie and a couple of cookies, seperated by 3 days) I WILL break out. I can eat as much fruit as I want, but not refined sugar.
2. I am a milk drinker. I switched to organic skim milk, and noticed a difference. The idea is that there are hormones (natural) in the milk fat, and hormones (artificial) in cows that do not produce organic milk. I like Horizon.
3. Skin care- I have fair skin that doesn't tan and is very sensitive. I don't wear makeup on a regular basis, and never did. So I have tried a lot of products and here is what is currently working-
AM - I apply an exfoliant every day. I get up, wash my hands well with regular soap (softsoap if you're curious), dry them, and apply my exfoliant. I alternate between Salylic acid (.2 % - neutragena on the spot I think) and Retinoic acid (.1% - you probably need a prescription for this). I apply it only to my chin. I leave this on anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, but at some point MUST WASH IT OFF. This is to help keep my skin from getting irritated, and also to keep my pores from being clogged. The point of an exfoliant is to loosen dead skin, so once it's loose, you need to wash it off. My morning wash is Neutragena deep clean daily cream cleansor (has salylic acid in it, but no "beads" or physical exfoliants). I wash using warm water and my clean hands, and don't scrub really hard although I do try to make sure I get any loose skin washed away. I then rinse with COLD water and let my face air dry or pat dry with a fresh towel.
THROUGHOUT THE DAY- I never touch my chin with my hands or anything else. I don't want to get bacteria on there. It was kind of hard to do but I have been vigilant and I think it's important.
PM- I wash my hands with regular soap and then wash my face. I use Dove face beauty bar and wash the same way as the morning with warm water and my hands, not scrubbing too hard. I rinse with COLD water, then let air dry or pat dry with a fresh towel.
4. Supplements - I take a supplement of Zinc and Selenium once a week- I think you're supposed to be able to take them daily, but I don't- I don't think I actually need that much.
5. SUN SCREEN- this is hard when you burn as easily as I do. I have found that after I wash my face in the morning, I can apply Murad spf 30 face sunscreen (pommegranite or something) and not break out if I wash it off in the evening.
6. Sleep? If I lose too much sleep my skin does seem to get a little more unhappy- I think this is an overall low immunity because I get colds and stuff more often. 8 hours is good, though I normally only manage 7 or 7.5.
7. Hairy chin? I try to pluck some of the hairs on my chin with clean hands and clean tweezers. I am not sure if this helps a lot with the acne, but I don't think it hurts, and besides, I don't like them.
I don't pluck all of them (though I have a fairly hairy chin) just the big dark thick ones. 
8. if you get a zit- try not to pop it. If it's a whitehead with pus that is obviously ready to rupture,
you can do it with a method I think they suggested here- a sterile needle to poke a hole, and gentle squeezing with a tissue. Thankfully I hardly get pimples now, and when I do they are smaller and heal faster so I can usually just leave them alone and they'll heal in a day.
I still may get a pimple or two around my period, but I'm no longer plagued with them like I used to be. I hope some of this info will help someone. I find that I have to do multiple things to control my acne, but it's not actually that difficult and it's SO worth it.
Hello all. I'm 33 and have had adult acne for years. I had pretty good skin except for my chin, which broke out all the time. I got large, deep, painful pimples that would never come to a head and would simply sit below the surface of the skin, hurting. The last few years I also broke out with whiteheads and just always had several ugly pimples on my chin all the time- anywhere from 2 to 7. I was on birth control pills, which didn't help my acne much and made me bloated and nauseaus all the time. I eventually started on Erythromyacin, which helped with the acne but made my already fair skin even more sensitive to the sun (got the worst sunburn of my life- made me really sick) and I got pregnant because the effectiveness of the BC was decreased. During my pregnancy I actuallly had really great skin for a while. Had my son, got an IUD, chin started breaking out again.I tried Benzoyle peroxide for about a week, even doing the chilled BP and icing my skin, but I still couldn't tolerate it- my chin got red and peeled and the acne didn't improve.
So I started trying some other things, and they seem to be working, or have for the last 5 or 6 months anyway. Hopefully this can help someone else.
Diet-
1. I find that refined sugar is a major trigger for me. I have a sweet tooth so this is hard, but if I don't limit myself to about 2 sweets per week (say a brownie and a couple of cookies, seperated by 3 days) I WILL break out. I can eat as much fruit as I want, but not refined sugar.
2. I am a milk drinker. I switched to organic skim milk, and noticed a difference. The idea is that there are hormones (natural) in the milk fat, and hormones (artificial) in cows that do not produce organic milk. I like Horizon.
3. Skin care- I have fair skin that doesn't tan and is very sensitive. I don't wear makeup on a regular basis, and never did. So I have tried a lot of products and here is what is currently working-
AM - I apply an exfoliant every day. I get up, wash my hands well with regular soap (softsoap if you're curious), dry them, and apply my exfoliant. I alternate between Salylic acid (.2 % - neutragena on the spot I think) and Retinoic acid (.1% - you probably need a prescription for this). I apply it only to my chin. I leave this on anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, but at some point MUST WASH IT OFF. This is to help keep my skin from getting irritated, and also to keep my pores from being clogged. The point of an exfoliant is to loosen dead skin, so once it's loose, you need to wash it off. My morning wash is Neutragena deep clean daily cream cleansor (has salylic acid in it, but no "beads" or physical exfoliants). I wash using warm water and my clean hands, and don't scrub really hard although I do try to make sure I get any loose skin washed away. I then rinse with COLD water and let my face air dry or pat dry with a fresh towel.
THROUGHOUT THE DAY- I never touch my chin with my hands or anything else. I don't want to get bacteria on there. It was kind of hard to do but I have been vigilant and I think it's important.
PM- I wash my hands with regular soap and then wash my face. I use Dove face beauty bar and wash the same way as the morning with warm water and my hands, not scrubbing too hard. I rinse with COLD water, then let air dry or pat dry with a fresh towel.
4. Supplements - I take a supplement of Zinc and Selenium once a week- I think you're supposed to be able to take them daily, but I don't- I don't think I actually need that much.
5. SUN SCREEN- this is hard when you burn as easily as I do. I have found that after I wash my face in the morning, I can apply Murad spf 30 face sunscreen (pommegranite or something) and not break out if I wash it off in the evening.
6. Sleep? If I lose too much sleep my skin does seem to get a little more unhappy- I think this is an overall low immunity because I get colds and stuff more often. 8 hours is good, though I normally only manage 7 or 7.5.
7. Hairy chin? I try to pluck some of the hairs on my chin with clean hands and clean tweezers. I am not sure if this helps a lot with the acne, but I don't think it hurts, and besides, I don't like them.
I don't pluck all of them (though I have a fairly hairy chin) just the big dark thick ones. 😀
8. if you get a zit- try not to pop it. If it's a whitehead with pus that is obviously ready to rupture,
you can do it with a method I think they suggested here- a sterile needle to poke a hole, and gentle squeezing with a tissue. Thankfully I hardly get pimples now, and when I do they are smaller and heal faster so I can usually just leave them alone and they'll heal in a day.
I still may get a pimple or two around my period, but I'm no longer plagued with them like I used to be. I hope some of this info will help someone. I find that I have to do multiple things to control my acne, but it's not actually that difficult and it's SO worth it.
Hi,
I have exactly the same problem - painful acne that will not come out right away, hidden under the upper layer of skin around my chin. And I'm 37, and it only started three years ago when we moved in to the US. First, I thought because of driving.. I didn't drive before, so maybe the area around the wheel is super dirty.. Then, I started caring sanitizing products and would clean the driver area like crazy. Didn't help. Now sugar. I've always been a fond of sugar, really big fan. But before the US it wasn't a problem AT ALL.. So, probably corn sirup? Well, now I haven't been eating ANY in a month (except for fruits), and still no luck 
. I've always drunk a better organic skim milk. And I am also absolutely obsessed with real good and expensive skin regimens. My skin is super clean, and I do not touch it.
To be honest, I'm out of options. There is something in a food.. Or cosmetics? Toothpaste? Water?? Air? 
HELP!
Toothpaste! I stopped using commercial toothpaste a few days ago and for the last 2 days I have had no new spots on my chin (which at the moment is a miracle) I think it's the fluoride - google fluoride and acne. I make my own so I know what's in it and rinse my mouth with hydrogen peroxide to make sure I kill any nasties that the homemade toothpaste doesn't get.
I've posted this on about 3 different threads today I know, but I promise it was relevant to all of them!