Hi everyone,
Hope you all had a good Easter!
I'm new to this forum and I am just looking for a bit of advice for acne that I have on my forehead.
I am a 24 year old male and I have been suffering from forehead acne all of my adult life. I never used to let it trouble me too much much, but as I'm getting a bit older and moving away from my teenager years it's starting to bother me and affect my confidence...
The main problem with my forehead is (what I think) are closed comedones / clogged pores. I have had these all of my adult life - they are skin coloured and vary in size and are all over my forehead. They only seem to really appear in certain lights (on a cloudy day, harsh indoor lighting such as on a train, when I look in the reflection of a car window etc.) - I think the cause of this is probably using very cheap makeup products on my face when I was younger (such as concealer etc.) I hardly ever squeeze them, but when I do a small string of (what I think) is sebum comes out. I can't say for definite whether this fixes the problem, as there are so many of them I lose track of which one I had squeezed!
I also suffer from painful boils/large red spots which come up every now and then. This could be the clogged pores pushing the plug out and getting infected, but I'm not sure. These usually take a few days to calm down and these really do affect my confidence.
I have attached photos of both types of acne so you can see what I'm talking about.
I currently wash my face twice a day with a tea-tree oil wash and before I go to bed I put on some Paula's Choice 2% BHA exfoliating liquid. Since using the liquid, the visibility of the 'closed comedones' seems to go down first thing in the morning, but by the end of the day they seem to be back to their obvious, normal size. I have tried various other washes/lotions/exfoliators/face masks - but none seem to get rid of them.
I haven't been to a doctor or dermatologist yet and I have never had any prescription acne treatment, so maybe that is the next step for trying to cure it? I'm not looking for an overnight treatment, but a step in the right direction would be more than enough for me right now!
Any help or advice would be massively appreciated!
Thanks so much!
It wouldn't hurt at all to see a derm. The painful boils are nodular acne, which definitely puts you out of mild and into the moderate acne category. Without a solid plan of attack, this can quickly get out of control. I'd recommend switching from BHA to 2.5% BP and use twice daily, morning and night, along with a good moisturizer. A derm may prescribe a course of antibiotics to help calm things down, and a retinoid for all the rough bumps and clogged pores. My son's skin looked exactly like yours back in December...by January it was a lot worse before we saw a derm. But with the treatments I mentioned, his acne (just recently) cleared up. Wish we hadn't waited to see the derm, the antibiotics and retinoid worked wonders!
Good luck with whatever you decide! 🙂
Thanks so much for your response. I really appreciate it!
I don't suppose you know a good 2.5% BP to use? I am based in the UK...
I will definitely fix an appointment with a derm ASAP. I don't get the nodular acne often but at least I have photos of it now to prove how bad it does get when it does flare up.
I will post my progress on this forum for anyone else suffering with similar problems!
On 29/03/2016 at 6:57 PM, rubberduck87 said:Thanks so much for your response. I really appreciate it!
I don't suppose you know a good 2.5% BP to use? I am based in the UK...
I will definitely fix an appointment with a derm ASAP. I don't get the nodular acne often but at least I have photos of it now to prove how bad it does get when it does flare up.
I will post my progress on this forum for anyone else suffering with similar problems!
if you go to your GP, not a derm they may prescribe you with Duac Once Daily Gel, it's very good It comes in 2.5% and 5% benzoyl peroxide and is mixed with clyndamycin antibiotic 🙂