I have cystic acne, very much worse than hers, and I also have been on around 7 rounds of antibiotics, and countless topicals. As you say, nothing really worked for longer than a month, and for cystic acne I believe this is normal. In my opinion there are four options. The first one is to deal with the acne. The second is to go on an extreme dietary change (no carbs/sugars). Third choice is finding the right regimen of benzoyl peroxide/antibiotics that can repress it until she hopefully grows out of it, or the fourth option is accutane. I have had cystic acne for years and years, probably nearly 10 years and I just went on Accutane in May. It was really rough at first but I'm finally clearing up, and now of course I wish I had done it sooner, as my life would have been a lot different. Since she is so young I understand why doctors are hesitant to prescribe it with its array of possible side effects. It depends on how "cystic" her acne is and how much if effects her psychologically, and if it has scarring potential. I finally thought about accutane seriously when I started getting scars.

Hope this helps.

I'm in the same boat as someonehood12. I've had moderate-severe acne for 9 years and have also taken all sorts of topicals and pills, including the popular retinoid/antibiotic combinations and benzoyl peroxide. But for the deep, painful hormonal cystic acne that I've transitioned to, it hasn't done all that much. Eventually I've grown tired of trying out things that probably wouldn't work, so I finally decided to go for Accutane and am now on my first month of treatment. Your daughter is still at a young age where I can see that she maybe shouldn't quite yet, since she's still developing and growing. When she becomes older it might be something to consider, though.

In the meantime, another option I can suggest would be to stop using generic drugstore brands and try switching over to Korean facial care products instead? Their cleansers are a lot gentler, for example, without salicylic acid or as many harsh synthetic ingredients and chemicals. They use more natural derivatives and extracts in their formulas. For example, many will go for the "5-free system," excluding ingredients such as methylparaben. I actually have a friend who personally breaks out from using products containing methylparaben, and she was able to pinpoint the exact ingredient by comparing the ingredients from her previous product with the new one. Thanks to her and my own curiosity I tried switching over once, and I never once looked back. They may not necessarily get rid of the acne entirely, but they definitely improved the quality of my skin overall.

There's also homemade remedies, if you haven't tried those already. I hear wonderful things about tea tree oil and/or witch hazel, and apparently if you add a couple drops of these to your toner, it'll work wonders. Haven't tried this out yet but was always meaning too, actually. There's also clay masks using apple cider vinegar (which has proven to have certain health benefits), and even cucumber skin treatments I've heard about. If you've tried all sorts of prescriptions and treatments, maybe try those instead, if you haven't already? Everyone's skin is different, so perhaps this might benefit her more. Who knows? Hope that helps a bit.

I had bad acne as a teenager and used all of the topicals and antibiotics too. The antibiotics worked for me while using them but I regressed as soon as I stopped taking them. In College I saw a dermatologist and went on Accutane for about 18 months which finally cleared me up. The side effects for me were unpleasant....I had a lot of random blood noses but I understand that a lower dose of Accutane is used now so maybe the side effects are less. My 14 yr old son is now facing the same issue with acne. We have been using a new product called epiology out of New Zealand which hasn't cured him but is helping. He seems happy emotionally for now so we will perservere but I can anticipate us eventually having to go down the Accutane path. Hope it helps just to know you're not alone in your struggle. Good luck )