Adult Acne

[ExplorePS]

Hi PSers! I wish the topic was diamonds glistening on my body instead of acne attracting attention. I'm almost 40 and my forehead just recently started breaking out. It's embarrassingly red and flares up mid-day. Initially I thought it was stress induced but given the time duration, I'm thinking it might be something else. I do have a dermatology appointment booked but it's 2 months out so thought I would ask if anyone has thoughts please. Or if this is common at the age if it's hormone related?

- the only thing I changed recently was using some skincare samples. Stop putting any products on my forehead to figure out the culprit
- no makeup on the forehead anymore
- over the counter products I'm trying = Oxyclean pads that have salicylic acid and differn gel that I think is a retinoid
- washing my face at least 2 times a day; immediately after working out
- yes I'm guilty of popping them but only with clean hands during the face washing phase

I feel so silly that something that isn't a health risk bothers me so much. I feel vain and defeated at the same time. Help and thanks in advance!

 

[dk168]

Could be stress related - I had the odd break outs when I was going through stressful periods at work even now when I am nearly 60yo!

No special routine or expensive products, just unscented soap and water to wash my face, and an inexpensive face cream for dry to very dry skin that can be purchased from drug stores.

DK

 

[Bron357]

Possibly hormone related.
Please try and keep your mitts away!
Drink more water and less coffee and alcohol (if you do).
Just be aware that most acne products are very drying so I would instead advise a gentle cleanser followed by sorbolene cream (or similar unscented moisturizer).
Treat individual spots with a dab of acne cream.
Also, it is ok to wear a powder makeup over your spots, just remember to remove it each night.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

proabably completly unrelated but we have a younger teenage girl at work who had a terrible forhead, i thought oh well its just being a teenager and she will grow out of it, ive seen worse
but she went GF and the change is amazing i would not have beleaved it if i hadnt known
all cleared up in only about 10 days

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

That used to happen to me sometimes. This is what I learned and I hope it helps. In my experience if you pop one, you can extend the breakout for weeks and months, because one becomes 10 and so on and so on. An alternative is to take a wet, soapy washcloth and firmly rub it over the offending spot. Enough to break the skin and allow the site to drain, but not so hard that you rub the skin off the surrounding area. Then apply your Oxy (ouch!).

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

you know on the brighter side i have found that people (myself) that have somewhat problemsom skin, that skin does not age as bad as people who never had much trouble
we keep our youth longer

 

[monarch64]

These are what the kids are using these days:

Amazon.com

They work as long as you allow the pimple to come to a head. Then they suck all the gunk out, with the added bonus of covering the blemish while they work. They do seem to expedite the healing process.

 

[missy]

Has anyone mentioned Tretinoin? That could be helpful. I’d also recommend running labs including DHT and free testosterone

May also try zero therapy which is not using any products on your face. It can work well

 

[Mooshi]

benzoyl peroxide kills the acne bacteria, works well on spots. Instructions say to leave on overnight, but apply 2 mins and then wash off and that'll take care of it without the irritation.

Could be malasezzia if it's small itchy dots that don't come to a whitehead, nizoral shampoo (anything with ketoconazole) would work.

Also, did you know you can upload a photo of your skin to chatgpt and ask it what it thinks is going on and how to fix it?

 

[ExplorePS]

Oh my goodness, @missy I actually have a tube of this at home because of the occasional Eczema... my dentist friend asked me if it could have been "fungal" and it did get me thinking... so I did actually put on some Tretinoin and it seems to keep the "red angry" look away. Thank you!

Thanks all for all the ideas and the experiences shared from using chatgpt to how to properly and safely pop and other things to use. Appreciate the kindness...My mental health is getting restored with all these responses... but my emotions and forehead blemishes goes up and down on a daily basis.

This weekend was a positive one though with the use of the Eczema cream but I'm going to stop using it for the time being to make sure I'm not giving myself other problems. Appreciate all the support again!

 

[Mreader]

Hi PSers! I wish the topic was diamonds glistening on my body instead of acne attracting attention. I'm almost 40 and my forehead just recently started breaking out. It's embarrassingly red and flares up mid-day. Initially I thought it was stress induced but given the time duration, I'm thinking it might be something else. I do have a dermatology appointment booked but it's 2 months out so thought I would ask if anyone has thoughts please. Or if this is common at the age if it's hormone related?

- the only thing I changed recently was using some skincare samples. Stop putting any products on my forehead to figure out the culprit
- no makeup on the forehead anymore
- over the counter products I'm trying = Oxyclean pads that have salicylic acid and differn gel that I think is a retinoid
- washing my face at least 2 times a day; immediately after working out
- yes I'm guilty of popping them but only with clean hands during the face washing phase

I feel so silly that something that isn't a health risk bothers me so much. I feel vain and defeated at the same time. Help and thanks in advance!

I can’t believe that there are 2mos before a derm. Ugh! I could go to your PCP. I suffered from this same problem for years in my 30s and I was on spirnolactone for many years and it worked great. You cannot be on it if you are trying to conceive though just FYI. You can ask your doc about this medicine. Good luck!