Hi,
I am a female 22 y/o. I have had acne on my back and chest for 4 years when I was younger it went away and came back about a year ago. It has gotten even worse lately even though I am on a acne pill and topical cream and use a sacylic acid body wash. I clean my skin so well and keep such good care of it I just can't believe it would be clogged pores or closed comedones (but that is what I think it is by its appearance). I have about a hundred red raised bumps and I have a couple of open white heads and black heads but the thing that really upsets me is the red bumps. The bumps are average sized (not small) and definitely do not have anything in them. They are on my neck, shoulders, upper and lower back and on my chest. They can be somewhat treated with my finacea gel and can go in a week but there is always one appearing for every one that goes so it is hard to notice the difference. Sometimes it is worse than other times as I find it hard to keep track because every day seems bad. I have attached 2 photos of my back and 1 of my chest (3rd photo is the middle of it) but it looks worse in person and there are many more bumps than you can see on the photo as the bumps cover the top and middle of my back. Does anybody know what they could be? I really want to treat them properly and it would be great to know what type of acne this is.
I had a dermatologist appointment and she didn't tell me what it was but did say my skin wasn't down to diet. This makes me wonder whether it could be down to hormones and the fact that I am on the mini pill for contracpetive called Noriday. I read that it can be bad for acne and cause spots but they should go within 3 months and I have been on this oveer a year... so maybe not. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
9 hours ago, Control Panel said:10 hours ago, XoxoXoxoXOo said:I clean my skin so well and keep such good care of it I just can't believe it would be clogged pores orclosed comedones
Acne isn't a disease of cleanliness. Make sure not to over-cleanse your skin. The only purpose of cleansing really is to prime the skin for topical medication. You should cleanse no more than twice/day. Also medicated acne washes aren't effective. I'd look for benzoyl peroxide (BPO) cream or gel (if you don't mind bleaching your clothes) or salicylic acid cream or gel. Then you can use an AHA moisturizer, preferably one that contains 10% w/w of glycolic acid, on top of the medication. The skin on the body can handle this since it's thicker. Remember to be as gentle as possible when you apply these products and try to leave your skin as untouched as possible.
Hi thaks for your reply, I have been using azeliac acid finacia which definitely treats the acne that is alrady there but doesnt stop it from appearing. I have just started treclin gel some hopefully this will work. I also bought a glycolic acid night cream (15%) for my face but found it too harsh , do you think I could use this on my body?