

My acne has gotten significantly worse over the past year, what do you think is going on?
Hi everyone, I’m 20 and I’ve had acne since I was around 16.
It has always been mostly pustules rather than the typical red pimples.
For the first few years it was pretty mild and manageable, but over the past year it has gotten significantly worse.
I’ve started getting a lot more inflamed spots, pustules, redness and marks, especially around my cheeks and jaw. I also started shaving much more frequently during this time, so my skin has been exposed to a lot more shaving and irritation, but I honestly don’t know if that’s related or not.
For shaving I use a single blade cartridge razor (before anyone suggests a safety razor, I used that for a while and it made my skin even worse).
Before shaving I always use a cleanser and apply a shaving soap, afterwards I use an after shave balm.
My dermatologist prescribed Acnatac (tretinoin + clindamycin), which I’m supposed to apply on those areas every other night. I haven’t seen much improvement so far, although I haven’t been using it for very long. I also use a cleanser specifically intended for acne.
I’ve attached some pictures of what my skin looks like right now.
Looking at the pictures and considering the history, what do you think could be going on? I’d really appreciate some help cause all of this is really making me less confident !