I posted this in relationship advice initially but I wanted to also post it here as many of you have also struggled with acne as adults. My (34F) husband is in his 40s and still struggles with severe acne. He got a prescription for Accutane about a year ago (after I pushed him to see a dermatologist) but didn’t start taking it because he's worried about the side effects.

His acne is very noticeable. He gets a lot of angry, inflamed breakouts and visible whiteheads. He sweats a ton at work and has extremely oily skin, so Accutane would almost definitely make a huge difference. I also think it bears mentioning that his father has/had the same skin issues and they did not resolve with age.

I'm going to sound like an asshole…. but I'm getting to the point where sometimes I'm embarrassed by how bad his skin looks. I feel AWFUL even admitting that.

We've been together for over 10 years, and this man has almost NEVER made me feel insecure about my appearance…. I literally can only think one time he made joke about my new hair color ~8 years ago. The last thing I want is to make him feel like I find him unattractive.

How do I approach this without making him feel terrible about himself? Is there a way to encourage him without making it obvious that his skin is bothering me?

I'd especially love to hear from people who have struggled with severe adult acne. How would you want your spouse to approach this? Would you even want them to bring it up?

I (M) was shaving my pubic area and while finishing I noticed one hard lump (like a cyst), about half an inch in size in my groin area

I squeezed it a bit to feel it and a drop of blood was squeezed out, then nothing more

Right now it's barely painful to the touch, almost non painful

I am 99% sure the lump wasn't there when I started shaving and I'm kind of freaking out right now

Is it possible for an ingrown hair or something like that to cause this so fast or was it most likely there and I somehow didn't notice it?

Any suggestions on what I should do?

Should I go to the hospital, should I try to wait it out, is there anything I can do to it?

Any help at all is appreciated

Edit: update about an hour or two later, the swelling went down a bit, it's still a hard lump but it's smaller

I don't know exactly what it is but at least I'm less worried as it's almost definitely caused by shaving even if I can't really find anything specific

Hi! Im looking for skin routine help. Ive been to a dermatologist but the things they give me never work.

My routine is:

At night
Wash face - La Roche Posay LIPIKAR AP+ GENTLE FOAMING MOISTURIZING WASH
Moisturize - La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5
Soothing Therapeutic Multi Purpose

In the morning
Sunscreen - La Roche-Posay 100 SPF Athelos Milk Sunscreen

I started this new routine in August but was using the la roche posay CICAPLAST GEL B5 GLYCERIN SKIN PROTECTANT 21% as a moisturizer, given to me by my derm. I switched to the new one about a week ago, but the first day if seemed to make my face red but is fine now. Ive also tried adapalene last week and it didnt irritate it.

Ive been told my skin is too young and sensitive for la roche posay but idk if thats true.

The comedone struggle has always been part of my life. So have constant cheek flare ups with pimples on both cheeks and a little on my chin sometimes. The problem is my skin is wayy too sensitive to everything. Salicylic acid, panoxyl, niacinamide and tretinoin all make my face red and irritated.
Azelaic acid did absolutely nothing for me. Certain moisturizers irritate my face too. My face is dry as hell at the cheeks and nose. No moisturizer ever gives it enough hydration and my forehead is wrinkly and oily. Niacinamide did help a with closed comedones a bit. But it irritates my Tace now.

Im just so tired of feeling less than because of my skin. I am also so tired of red bumps or a new pimple appearing on my cheeks. Im so tempted to just not touch my face with any skincare products and see what happens but i know thats a horrible idea.

Should i just ask to go on acutane? See if that will help me?
I dont want to have adult acne. Im so annoyed.
All help and advice is appreciated! Thank you!

[Acne]

My 10yo daughter has a lot of acne on her forehead and a few on the eyebrow. We have been using the overnight acne patches.. but is there anything else that can help with her acne? She uses Goongbe kids facial cleanser, honest moisturizer and biore sunscreen

She also has stubborn blackheads and texture on her nose.

We have a traditional event planned for her in a few months and would like to get her skin to clear up a bit by then

I got this scar from picking a pimple about 2 years ago which resulted in a gnarly infection.
I haven’t done anything professional on it. Just a basic skin care routine.

Can it be improved with cosmetic procedures/ surgery?
I’m so self conscious about it and I just want to know there’s hope for it to get better.

Key points:

Male, 30, UK, South Asian skin.

Problem:

1. Picture 1 (April 2021):

I went on accutane in 2021 that cleared my acne.
This pic is from 3 months in.
How I miss my clear skin.
No pics from pre-2021 as it was really bad.

1. Picture 2-4 (10 days ago):

In the last year it’s started to return albeit much
less than before as my pores have definitely
shrunk and sebum production reduced after my
first cycle on accutane.

My skin is mostly big acne free but I get small whiteheads on my cheek and forehead. Larger blemishes that turn really red on my temple and cheek and take around a week to calm down but it’s a constant cycle that’s become frustrating.

I have acne scarring which is the red/brown pigmentation.

3) Picture 5:
I’m most self conscious about my nose and the pores and whiteheads I get there. I can clear these gently with cotton buds but the pores seem massive now.

4) Picture 6-7 (today):
As stated above, it’s calmed down after a week or so. But I still have tiny bumps and “dormant” pores that erupt in the breakouts.

5) Picture 8:
My products.

Other details:

1. My diet is very clean and healthy as I don’t have sugar or dairy which has worked in the past in reducing outbreaks. And so it’s part of my routine ever since. No smoking or alcohol.
2. I tend to get acne based around areas of my face that touch my pillow. I asked the UK sub a few weeks ago about detergents and am currently trying different products as a trial and error. Non-bio may have been a culprit in not actually cleaning pillow covers. Bio may also be a culprit in fragrances and other chemicals.
3. Paula’s choice is the newest addition to my routine and slowly introducing it to reduce pores and clear whiteheads on nose mostly.

Routine:

Morning:

1. Wash face with Mancave (not the best I know but it’s not the cause of breakouts as I’ve tested it on and off). It doesn’t strip my skin and make it too dry so I like it in the morning.
2. Cerave lotion
3. If WFH then that’s it. If going out then Aqua SPF but this is the last bottle as it’s discontinued now :(

Evening:

First day:

1. Wash with Cerave Foaming.
2. Paula’s choice on nose and face. Wait 2 minutes.
3. Cerave resurfacing on nose and face. Wait 2 minutes.
4. Seba Med on all.

Second day:

1. Wash with Cerave Foaming.
2. Paula’s on nose and face. Wait 2 minutes.
3. Tranexamic acid on nose and face. Wait 2 minutes.
4. Differin on face only. Wait 2 minutes.
5. Seba Med again.

Back to first day next.

Questions I have:

1. Is this too much?
2. Am I using correct combos? If Paula shrinks pores then does that stop other stuff reaching in?
3. Should I wait longer before each layering?
4. Am I likely to be eligible for a second cycle of accutane?
5. Are there other products you’d recommend in place of some of these?

Thanks if you read it all. Appreciate any feedback.

Edit: Apologies for post format. I have no idea what happened where it keeps doing stuff to the numbering and paragraphs. I’ve edited it so many times, I’m hoping everyone can still follow.

Since I was like 15 and started benzoyl peroxide for acne I also started skincare. Which lead to me doing all the things I wasn't supposed to do, I would literally use like three pumps of cleanser a day to get rid of the oil, use far too much moisturizer and then I went to using too little moisturizer.

Over the course of like three years I was constantly messing up my skin to the point where simply washing with water would leave it dry and flaky.
Winter has made these issues far worse for me, my face skin looks jarringly different from the rest of my body. I have deep wrinkles and old looking skin at 18 along with really bad redness. My whole nose is red, my upper lip burns, and the corner of my eyes hurt too. My derm hasn't been of much help and I have no idea how to fix the problem I gave myself.

Cleanser burns, (even gentle ones.) and leaves my face red and worse for days. I have tried so many different moisturizers but they all leave my face greasy looking while still feeling incredibly dry. It's gotten to the point where my skin basically looks extremely gross and strange every day.

Currently I don’t have much of a routine for my skin because I was afraid of using too much product on it. Every cleanser I use causes a lot of pain and burning so I just kind of stuck to a small amount of bar soap in the morning and somewhat generous amounts of moisturizer. But my visual problems were still there just without the pain. As soon as winter hit everything is more dry and hurts.

I believe my skin barrier is damaged and I have no idea where to start. Most products really irritate my skin and all my derm did was prescribe me excema cream.

So I've been looking for tinted sunscreens as I've got pigmentation and dark spots and recently learned that the iron oxides in tinted sunscreens help with that.

But I used a sample of the Bioderma tinted sunscreen last week and it looked so orange. Plus I did not like the watery texture at all. Are there any better tinted sunscreens out there? Or is it just as effective to use a tinted foundation or BB cream on top of a regular sunscreen?

Needing help with skin lotion/Moisturiser

Hi there, im needing help to find skin lotions/moisturiser that doesn't feel very slick/greasy/oily/slimey on the skin. I dont know why but I cant stand the feeling of most lotions/moisturisers. The way they make my skin feel just feels almost unstandable to the point where I sometimes wash the product off since I just cant bear the feeling of the greasiness. So im just asking for help to find one that doesn't feel very oily or greasy on the skin.

I dont know what kind of information you need to help me out so ill just give you a bit of basics.

19 years old, male. Have to take showers quite often due to my apprenticeship, budget is decent amount (max spending limit is €100)

Edit:sorry about the title, for the life of me I struggled with this title

I have been told by my doctor that I have pretty severe acne and have been advised to see a dermatologist. However, I can’t afford to see a dermatologist. For the time being, I have been trying over the counter remedies to treat it. These are the remedies I have tried:

Differin (1 and 1/2 year, discontinued): No effect, acne stayed consistent
Azaelic Acid (4 months): Faded acne scars, noticed less acne but by the end of the month hormonal acne pops up again
Salicylic Acid (4 months): noticed less acne but by the end of the month hormonal acne pops up again

I have oily, acne prone skin. Does anyone have any advice on how to clear it up? Thank you in advance.

Please bear with me, as this is my first post here (and I forgot to add a tag). My knowledge of skincare is pretty basic.

I am 27f, and my skin has started to flare up in two different ways.

Historically, it has been dry. My hands, legs, scalp and parts of my face are still dry. I have visible eczema on my eyelids and the sides of my mouth sometimes crack. This has gotten worse recently.

BUT I’ve also started getting a lot more spots, which used to be a rare occurrence linked to hormonal cycles. Now it is regular, and I’m getting them in places I never have before, such as my cheeks. They seem to pop up without warning.

I can’t think of anything I’ve done or changed to bring this extra dryness/oiliness on.

~Context~
I use a silk pillowcase, which I change regularly. I also use sunscreen most days, and a rotation of ceramide moisturiser, oat gel moisturiser, aloe fresh emulsion (the skin house), murad revitalixir and collagen. I wash my face once a day with simple face wash (and once just with water). I haven’t used retinol for months, as it made the dry skin painful (maybe something I should have pushed through). I wear makeup about once a week and I take it off properly.
~~

Has anyone experienced something similar? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

I always hear that standard practice and estheticians will usually say wait 24-72 hours after a facial to apply makeup. Its always a different amount of days for everyone I know. Where are these recommendations coming from? Are they just recommendations or actual guidelines? Are places just giving arbitrary suggestions for amount of days. I am just researching as I do microneedling for scar treatment and people around me get facial peels and hydrafacials. Is it medically backed and is there literature to back this up? Thanks! Just want to be well informed on facials and makeup application.

Hi everyone!

I finished my second course of Accutane in late December, and my skin stayed pretty much clear for about 6 months afterward. I decided to wait before introducing tretinoin to give my skin barrier some time to recover, and I started using tretinoin 0.04% micro gel on August 1. I’m now about 3 months into using it and use it every other night (trying to ramp it up to two days in a row and one break night rather than just every other night).

Recently, I’ve been experiencing some recurring acne, mainly a few cystic breakouts on my forehead and jaw, as well as persistent closed comedones around my temples. The cystic breakouts seem to happen mostly around my menstrual cycle, and my acne isn’t particularly severe, but I’m frustrated that my skin isn’t staying as clear as it was after Accutane.
I’ve also switched to a fragrance-free, acne-safe shampoo in case my hair products were contributing to the temple breakouts, but I haven’t noticed much improvement so far.

I’m hoping to get my skin back to being consistently clear, but I’m really not keen on doing a third round of Accutane if I can avoid it.

My current routine is:

AM:
Curel Moisturizing Spray
Laneige Cream Skin Toner
Cerave Moisturizing Cream
Beauty of Joseon sunscreen

PM:
Curel Moisturizing Spray
Laneige Cream Skin Toner
Cerave Moisturizing Cream
Tretinoin (every other night) or Azelaic acid (Fiancea 15%)

I’ve been using all the products (minus the prescription ones) for a pretty long time 3+ years so I don’t think that’s what’s breaking me out. But I’d really appreciate any advice you might have. Thank you!

I just need to vent. I’ve believed I had pustular rosacea and ocular rosacea (problematic dry eye problems) for a year or two. I finally sought treatment over a month ago. I picked the only dermatologists in my town who was certified by the National Rosacea Society but had to see the PA since he books out several months.

I went in believing I had rosacea and wanting ivermectin specifically. I was told I definitely had eczema and might have rosacea but that they wanted to treat the eczema. I wasn’t super enthusiastic about this as I felt strongly that my problem was rosacea but I chose to trust the PA. I was given tacrolimus cream to take 2x a day for a month until I would come back. I also thought that maybe they were trying tacrolimus first as it was less intense than rosacea treatments (don’t believe this anymore).

I was not warned that tacrolimus initially makes your skin very hot like you have a fever. So upon starting, I was freaked out by that side effect but saw online that it was normal and would pass. After about a week, the bumpy feeling on my skin was gone but the red dots were still there. I was really happy that I noticed some difference but the red dots were my real concern so I continued thinking it might clear it. After four weeks, it hadn’t improved past that initial week and I had my follow up dermatology appointment.

On follow up, they said the eczema was gone but it appears I still have rosacea (duh) so they prescribed metro cream and told me to stop the tacrolimus. Three days after stopping the tacrolimus, my ENTIRE face is bumpy, burning, and looks worse than it has ever looked in my ENTIRE LIFE. Prior to treatment, the bumpiness was only on my left cheek and forehead while I had red spots everywhere. I used the tacrolimus across my entire face as that’s what I was told to do and I thought it might clear the red dots since they acted like they weren’t even sure I had rosacea. Now, my ENTIRE FACE is covered in painful bumps on my forehead, both cheeks, and all the way down around my mouth. However, what’s insane to me is that my right side is the worse side now. I don’t even have historical progress pictures for my right side since it’s never been as bad!

I feel so hopeless and upset that I sought treatment and ended up looking/feeling worse than before. I’ve seen now that people say you should wean off tacrolimus, which they did not tell me, so I have restarted it and am going to try to wean off once this clears which means I will likely be on it on my europe trip next month. I have also seen that there is such a thing as Tacrolimus Induced Rosacea and that Tacrolimus can increase demodex mites/reactions which is associated with Rosacea.

I don’t know what the truth is as the science is unclear and each person differs but I am SO DEEPLY UPSET that my skin looks worse than it ever has when I was given a treatment for something I didn’t even think I had. I’m not saying I didn’t have eczema, but I wish we had tried something less extreme first. I don’t know if I want to go to that PA or try to go to another dermatologist. I don’t really know what to do other than restart the tacrolimus and try to wean off. I’m also pondering if I’m going to try to start the metro cream they prescribed while still on the tacrolimus. It all just feels like such a shitty situation and I needed to vent :(

I recently got off of my IUD that caused me so much pain (and acne!) and am now doing damage control with Nikki (Generic Yaz) so that i can have my skin heal and not be constantly suffering with new pimples. But other than than I was prescribed clindamycin phosphate 1% gel which I have been very hesitant to use as I know nothing about skin care (my skin was PERFECT before the IUD) and have “purged” before with many different products and the scars never seemed to go away :(. Right now my routine is wash face with gental Cetaphil face wash and moisturize with the Cetaphil cream moisturizer. But I also bought Vitamin C and water based sunscreen as I have heard good things; but haven’t used them out of fear of making things worse. Any advice on how to get rid of these without damaging my skin would be appreciated

Everyone’s skin is different yes i understand, but my friends get acne and their skin still looks so shiny and hydrated, as if it was just a small flat red dot on their face. My face is a mix of oily and dry with random acne clusters everywhere and i don’t know what to do.

i wanted to start panoxyl but i dont want my skin to purge. How can i make my skin hydrated and less oily while also not making my acne worse.

I have used Aczone/Dapsone for many years. I've been looking for more natural alternatives, but the two I've tried seem like they have been way to strong for my skin, Tula & Abura. Any suggestions on more gentle ones that work? My skin is definitely on the sensitive side.

i dont have a skincare routine cause everytime i try i always break out. this is my skin with makeup on and off. my skin is flaky when i wear foundation, especially on my nose and upper lip, but my cheeks are usually smooth. currently i use thayers blemish pads, and thats really it, it helps acne thats there. then i put foundation on and i break out. i use a mix of la girl and elf. for primer i use wet n wild. what can i do or stop doing to have a smoother base when i do makeup? i thought i had combination skin because my nose can get oily before anything else.

Hi!
I’m looking for a new daily moisturizer since my favorite was discontinued awhile back. Previously I used the Neutrogena Hydroboost spf serum, which has long been phased out and the newer comparable formula caused my skin to become irritated. I’m sick of spending a ton of money on moisturizers that I just don’t like.

My preferences are:

1. Has spf (I tend to like chemical spf better than mineral because it doesn’t irritate my skin and eyes as badly)

2. Light weight / absorbs well

3. Preferably a gel formula

4. Sensitive skin safe.

Any recommendations would be appreciated! I’d love to hear about what products other people with sensitive skin are loving <3

I'm 38 and have good skin, but am looking for a Vit C for overall radiance and brightening (and addressing some fine lines won't hurt). I don't have overly sensitive skin, but I do occasionally get some dry patches with tret use. Never had any reactions other than that. Not overly worried since tret is only at night and Vit C would be in the morning.

I have an obnoxious amount of optimum points so I would really like to get from the pharmacy, but it can be from the cosmetics area and not so much the aisles of the pharmacy (though I won't turn down a suggestion from there). What are the best Vit C serums to recommend?

For the past few weeks, I’ve been trying Neutrogena’s newest sunscreen, and I finally got my hands on LRP’s latest launch earlier today. Wanted to share some initial impressions:

Neutrogena Clear Face SPF 60
- 40ml/1.4fl oz
- Purchased at launch for $18.99 or $13.6/oz
- Not water resistant (Although a partner with the brand has claimed that it’s 80-minutes water resistant, but the packaging hasn’t been updated)
- Filters: 3% Avobenzone, 6% Bemotrizinol, 15% Homosalate, 5% Octisalate. (This does also contain butyloctyl salicylate pretty high up on the ingredients.)
- Finish: Natural/somewhat glowy. Definitely not matte, but I’d say it’s still an improvement over the greasy, plastic-y shine that most American chemical sunscreens leave.
- Eye sting after upper and lower eyelid application: Felt fine for most of the day, but makes my eyes water a bit after about six hours.
- Rating: 8/10 (deducted one point for modest glow, plus another point for no official water resistance)

La Roche Posay UVDefense SPF 50
- 50ml/1.7fl oz
- Purchased at launch for $39.99 or $23.52/oz
- Not water resistant
- Filters: 3% Avobenzone, 2% Bemotrizinol, 11% Homosalate, 5% Octisalate, 6% Octocrylene. Hard to tell from the label alone, but I suspect that they’re using their proprietary Netlock technology, so this could be the Tinosorb S Lite Aqua “version” of Bemotrizinol, but I defer to chemists to determine if that’s true.
- Finish: Almost identical to the Neutrogena. Genuinely not sure I could tell them apart. The Neutrogena “feels” a bit creamier as it’s rubbing in, but they feel and look similar once they’ve dried down. I’m happy to report that this does not leave a white cast on me. Not sure why, but some of LRP’s chemical sunscreens (Melt in Milk and their newish Sport sunscreens) leave tiny white flecks on my skin. This one fortunately does not do that.
- Eye sting after upper and lower eyelid application: Bear in mind that I’ve used this only once, but it made my eyes water pretty soon after application (within an hour). My eyes are extremely sensitive, though. Even mineral sunscreens bother them. The only “safe” options for me are the European UVmune formulas.
- Rating: 7/10 (same shine and water resistance deductions as neutrogena, plus an additional point for cost)

Another huge similarity is that they’re being marketed almost identically: both brands are making UVA protection and antioxidant claims. Neutrogena claims (with in-vitro testing) 5x the UVA protection of EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 and 1.5x the UVA protection of the Korean Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun SPF 50+ PA++++. La Roche Posay is claiming 1.5x the UVA protection of “Amazon’s #1 Sunscreen,” (which I think is EltaMD UV Clear) using in-vivo testing. Absolutely brutal that they’re both dunking on EltaMD lmao.

Overall, these are good sunscreens and significant improvements for the American market, but they’re not quite holy grails. Still, it’s a major win to get more robust and reliable UVA protection from the drugstore.

I've been using Differin every other night for 16 weeks and have noticed an improvement in acne, though it seems as if my skin is always red. It looks a lot worse on random patches of my cheeks. It doesn't feel irritated or dry at all so I'm wondering if it could be another skin issue?

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice on how to incorporate Finacea / Azelaic Acid 15% into my current routine. I am 24F suffering from frequent cystic acne around my chin/jaw and sometimes cheeks. The rest of my face is mostly clear. I have been dealing with hormonal flare ups for the last 10+ years through various birth controls, spironolactone, etc. I am currently on no oral medications and not looking to go back on any.

I started taking my skincare routine seriously about 8-10 weeks ago and am slowly seeing improvement on the rest of my face but consistent cystic acne persists (especially right before my period!).

Current routine:

AM
- rinse face with water no cleanser
- Sunday Riley Vitamin C serum
- Skin Fx Barrier Peptide cream
- La Roche Posay SPF 50

PM
- remove makeup with Micellar water
- double cleanse with Cetaphil
- Tazarotene 0.045% (Arazlo) thin layer and wait 20 min-1hr
- Skin fx barrier peptide cream

I was recently alternating between the Skin Fx cream and the Aestura Barrier cream but recently found out Aestura contains niacinamide which may be the culprit for my cystic. As of yesterday I’ve stopped using that and am using Skin FX day and night.

Incorporating Azelaic Acid 15% (Finacea)

I have read that AA is best if used in the morning. Is it ok to layer that after Vitamin C followed by moisturizer and SPF? Anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you so much in advance!