Looks like some comedonal stuff. Have you tried 0.1% tretinoin combined with a soap cleanser?
That aside, in my experience forehead comedones are often caused by diet. I went on the SCD diet for 3 weeks a while back and cleared my forehead 100%, but I gave up because the diet was pretty hard. If you want to test this, I would recommend it - but you really can't cheat at all, otherwise you'll be back to square one. I basically just ate sausage, grapes, cheese, and any other whole cuts of meat/fish. Basically foods that are completely absorbed, so you don't feed anything at all to your microbes. If your acne clears up, then you know what the problem is - your flora. And that is challenging to fix; I'm still trying. I turned to a retinoid to help and after several months (I think this is the 3rd month?) much of my comedonal acne is gone. Though I really didn't see much improvement (it got worse, actually) until a couple weeks ago.
Looks like some comedonal stuff. Have you tried 0.1% tretinoin combined with a soap cleanser?
That aside, in my experience forehead comedones are often caused by diet. I went on the SCD diet for 3 weeks a while back and cleared my forehead 100%, but I gave up because the diet was pretty hard. If you want to test this, I would recommend it - but you really can't cheat at all, otherwise you'll be back to square one. I basically just ate sausage, grapes, cheese, and any other whole cuts of meat/fish. Basically foods that are completely absorbed, so you don't feed anything at all to your microbes. If your acne clears up, then you know what the problem is - your flora. And that is challenging to fix; I'm still trying. I turned to a retinoid to help and after several months (I think this is the 3rd month?) much of my comedonal acne is gone. Though I really didn't see much improvement (it got worse, actually) until a couple weeks ago.
Thanks for the reply Quetzlcoatl. I actually have tried tretinoin (or Retin-A is what some people call it I believe) but only for two weeks or so. I realize that the medication requires at the very least a month and a half to start producing some results. I'm currently on this gel called Duac gel, which has 0.1% Clindamycin and 5% Benzyl Peroxide. I started using this approximately three weeks, but I haven't been seeing any positive results.
Should I begin to use the tretinoin again? These comedonal acne is really bugging me. The last two pictures seem okay, but when when in a bright light, they look extremely red. They almost form an upside down V shape from my entire face to my mouth, which is pretty embarrassing.
I would begin the tretinoin again. If duac has done nothing after 3 weeks, it probably won't help that much. Clindamycin and BP are both antibacterial and antiinflammatory, and these properties are useful in treating inflammatory acne. But they might not help comedonal acne as much. BP can also really damage your skin with long term use, whereas tretinoin makes your skin composition better - people often use it for its beauty-enhancing effects, even if they don't have acne.
I would make sure to go with the 0.1% concentration of tretinoin. This is the highest available (I think). I would apply it every day, once a day at night, and apply a moisturizer over it to control redness and peeling. In my experience, the redness and peeling takes about a 8 weeks to subside, around the time when you might first start seeing results. Be warned that your non-inflammatory lesions might turn into inflammatory lesions - this is a good sign, and show sthat the healing process is underway. Don't pick them, they'll be gone son enough. I find that breakouts from tretinoin come in waves. It's really a two steps forward, one step back process. The key is to never lose hope.
Do they itch?
Yes they itch a lot. I can't help but rub my fingers on them to alleviate the urge to use nails as I know that scratching it will cause it to scar and redden.
It could possibly be a fungus in that case - take a look at this thread for it. http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/164964-small-bumps-plugged-pores-could-be-a-fungus/
Otherwise, if it is simply closed comedones and congestion, I second trying to go back on a retinoid. Retin-a in gel form or retin-a micro would be better than the cream, as the cream has a pore clogging ingredient in it. I'm personally on differin gel, though.
it could easily be a fungal infection. if you go see a derm they will be able to tell you what it is and if they arent sure they will do a scraping to see what it is for you. i had to use nizoral for a few weeks and it cleared me right up so you can try that as well.
it was weird though i had contact dermatitis from a cleanser i was using and somehow it turned into a fungal infection but mine looked a lot like that. it was amazing how fast it went away as soon as i started using the nizoral.
