That's where I break out mate. Around my mouth and no where else. Its inflamed acne.

http://www.acne.org/whatisacne.html

Papules are the red spots and when a head appears its a Pustule. I'm 36 and have been breaking out since late teens. Antibiotics worked for me when I tried them many moons ago but only lasted a while. I used BP with 90%+ good results for over 10 years. I'm currently off it seeing how my skin is after all these years.

I stopped shaving which seems to irritate less but I'm still breaking out even though they're not as fierce as before. Shaving over inflamed acne is a nightmare. Have a look into using BP. It would clear that up in no time imo.

Those like like papules/nodules, as the poster above said--and I see at least one cyst.

You should Google "list of comedognic ingredients" and check it against anything you use on your face--e.g., aftershave. How long have you been dealing with acne?

I am your age and suffer from hormonal acne. At this point benzoyl peroxide darkens my acne marks but I use salicylic acid astringent, Triderma Anti-Redness moisturizer (it's mostly aloe, but there are lots of moisturizers out there for oily skin--Eucerin makes some good ones with spf), plan to try sulfur cream more often, and used to be able to mix benzoyl peroxide with 1% cortisone to flatten nodules/bring them to a head. Like you, I usually get my acne on one side--do you sleep on that side? Do you change your pillow cases or frequently touch that part of your face?

You might need to change your razor blade more often too. I rub mine with rubbing alcohol after I use it to avoid ingrowns (e.g. when I shave my legs).

Unfortunately having acne has forced me to check the ingredients in every single thing I use--even some benzoyl peroxide creams have isopropyl myristate in them. Your mouth acne might clear up some.

Good luck.

Thanks for the replies.

What percentage BP would you recommend and would you apply to it to the areas that tend to get the spots or just where the spots currently are?

I have been getting spots like these for the past 5 years or so. They tend to come and go.

I also get slightly flaky skin around the mouth area, especially if I have not shaved for a while which is strange.

I have wondered if its caused by drooling in my sleep - but its very difficult to stop that and so it is hard to test.

The shaving exfoliates your skin--that's why you get flaky without it. I have easily irritated, reddened skin but occasionally I use a wash cloth in the shower--that's the main exfoliation I use. I've never found a scrub that didn't leave a film. (Although when I use Neutrogena Acne Body scrub on the neck/shoulders, I will use little traces of it on jaw, chin, and cheeks. Still not certain if it works, but I get dead skin too, and that wash has a fine grit without too many fragrances. I alternate between bar soap without fragrances like Ivory Soap and washes like this (specifically I'm going to take a shower and know I can rinse thoroughly ( http://www.walgreens...2560818-product ) but the Ivory is too severe for most. That bar soap has just worked for me; it's convenient. (There are bar soaps for the face, of course, I just go through it so quickly I can't afford to buy them. http://www.walgreens...rod4393-product )

Because you're shaving your face, any scrub at all might make thing worse; I'm just saying that gentle exfoliation is a good thing but the wrong agent might irritate what's already happening to your mouth after you shave.)

I would use a BP gel of 2.5%-5% on my face (pea-sized amount in areas with whiteheads/breakouts) and 10% on the nodules specifically, but I personally had serious, persistent cystic acne and thick skin that's only now showing resistance when I use BP to treat acne; it still dries out my skin, without necessarily preventing new zits. (Be aware--I've used that in addition to Retin-A for ten years, so who knows, I might have a tolerance.)

One more caveat--BP used to work moderately well in my teens, especially as a spot treatment, and I have been on and off retinoid creams for ten years. What I'm guessing now is that Accutane is what gave all creams and gels I used a boost. (That, and I'm older, so what worked then won't now.)

You might not need to spend all that money on different percentage BP gels, it's mostly the hydrocortisone that flattened my zits, and hydrocortisone is cheap. Lately I've been putting Bandaids on big pimples to keep topicals on while I sleep; it helps take some of the redness out in the morning. It's a pain to put them on, but it's worth it. Something like this-- http://www.walgreens...d392847-product

I have also been using Rosac cream, which is prescribed--it helped make a cyst go away more quickly, but need to be more consistent with it to keep cysts from recurring. (The smell is admittedly gross, but I'm desperate.) The ingredient is sulfur; here are some drugstore sources. http://www.drugstore...66&aparam=93932

http://www.walgreens...2872361-product I recommend trying sulfur or a salicylic acid spot treatment if BP does not work for you.

If you're getting zits in the same areas or the zits you have are recurring, I would recommend trying to document that and talking to your derm. I had the same problem--old zits would heal and then come back frequently when I was going through a breakout cycle, always in the same place.

Antiobiotics didn't work for me after my teens either. I'm on Aldactone now, following the Accutane...both seem to cause some joint/muscle pain, and Accutane was more effective, but the side effects (like fatigue) were worse. Still, if I'd taken ibuprofen more consistently, maybe it wouldn't have been such a big deal. It thins the skin though--be mindful of that if you go on it and continue to shave.

On the other hand, regarding Aldactone--it's an androgen suppressant, so be aware of that if you go that route. I suspect it's causing me to store water in my lower body, I'm not quite sure what the side effects are for men.

I use Clean and Clear oil-controlling astringent all over to help with the oil and one of the topical gels/creams above overnight to prevent new zits/whiteheads, but that astringent might dry your skin out. (No other astringent has worked for me, and I have used many. They all have sticky, smelly additives.)

I'm sorry to ramble, I'm telling you everything I've done because you might have finnicky skin like me. Good luck.

I'd use a 2.5% BP where you currently break out followed by a moisturiser as your skin will dry out some. Your acne isn't that bad. It just looks like standard papules/pustules to me. I personally wouldn't call any of it nodules or cysts. Your lucky that its localized so you only have to use BP say on a small area.

Try not to over complicate things.

Gentle cleanser (No BP or salicylic acid ingredients)

15 minutes

BP

15 minutes

Moisturise

Give it a month and take it from there.

@bizz, thanks for the very thorough post, i appreciate the info - very useful.

@tm, thanks for the advice, i think i'm going to go and take a look at some cleansers, BP and moisturisers. Although i read on here that 2.5%BP gel is no longer available in the UK which is a shame.

Think i may try Cetaphil products as they seem to get decent comments.

does it matter if the BP is applied in the morning or evening?

I need help as well. I'm 15 years old & these little bumps appeared around the bottom right corner of my mouth. If i mess with them they get bigger, They can be noticed if I stretch my skin. I am a virgin. Please reply. I'm afraid to kiss girls or even ask a girl out because of them.

- Food allergy

- Allergy to something in your shaving cream/aftershave/the moisturizer strip on your razor [if you use one with a strip]

- Hormonal imbalance

A thorough allergy test and eliminating shaving with a razor should give you results, if not, it's most likely hormonal. Try trimming your facial hair with clippers for now.

Moderate