r/acne

I really need some advice because I feel completely stuck with my skin at the moment and it’s genuinely starting to affect me mentally. I’m 25 and I feel like I’m constantly worrying about my face and trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.

I had acne in secondary school, but it was never like this. I was prescribed Duac back then and my skin went extremely red and felt really hot, so we decided I was probably reacting badly to it. I was then prescribed Zineryt, which worked really well for me. Since then, I’ve generally had a flare-up every couple of years and Zineryt would usually clear it up.

But this time feels completely different.

I was on an A&E placement and after one particularly long 12-hour shift, I noticed that the skin on my middle cheeks had suddenly become really textured. Ever since then, my skin just hasn’t been the same. I’ve been left with marks, I keep getting new pimples, especially on my cheeks and chin, and it just doesn’t seem to be stopping.

The worst part is that I NEVER used to have acne like this. I feel like I’ve gone from having relatively manageable skin to constantly having something new appearing on my face.

I’ve tried Zineryt again because it helped me so much in the past, but I’m now on my second bottle and I honestly don’t feel like it’s working as well. If anything, sometimes I wonder whether it’s irritating my skin or damaging my barrier because my skin feels so sensitive now.

And I’m genuinely scared to try anything anymore because it feels like everything breaks me out or irritates me.

I use CeraVe moisturiser and have done for a long time without any problems. For sunscreen I use Garnier or the Beauty of Joseon blue sunscreen.

I don’t even use a cleanser anymore because I feel like every one I try makes things worse. I specifically tried the CeraVe Foaming Cleanser and I’m convinced it broke me out, so I stopped using it. Now I’m genuinely scared to try another cleanser.

I’ve tried niacinamide — didn’t agree with my skin.
Salicylic acid — didn’t agree with my skin.
I’ve tried other actives and my skin just seems to hate them.
I tried azelaic acid 20% around 3 times a week and my skin became really red.
I even tried the Beauty of Joseon milk toner because I thought it would be gentle, and I feel like that may have broken me out too.

So now I’m at the point where I’m scared to put anything on my face.

I was thinking about trying a barrier-supporting serum, maybe the iUNIK beta-glucan one, but even that makes me nervous because I’m so scared I’ll introduce something new and wake up with even more spots.

I just feel really stuck. I don’t know whether my skin barrier is actually damaged, whether I’m making my acne worse by trying different products, whether the Zineryt is still appropriate, or whether there’s something else going on entirely.

I’m honestly exhausted from thinking about my skin all the time. I don’t want to wear makeup, I just want to feel comfortable going out with a bare face without worrying about people looking at my skin. At the moment I’m getting to the point where I don’t even want to go out because of it, and I hate feeling like this.

I know acne might sound like a small thing to some people, but when it’s your face and you’re dealing with new spots and marks constantly, it really does affect how you feel about yourself.

What would you do if you were in my position? Would you completely strip my routine back and just stick to moisturiser/SPF for now? Should I actually be using a cleanser despite being so scared of them? And has anyone with really sensitive, acne-prone skin found a genuinely gentle barrier product that didn’t cause breakouts?

I’m honestly scared to try anything else at this point.

I’ve tried literally everything. All the prescriptions… all the topicals… leaving it alone and just using gentle products… nothing is working. I get tiny little closed comedones all over my face.

differin has completely destroyed my face

can’t believe i’m even writing this, but i fell victim to differin propaganda.

I started differin on June 20th, so i’m over 3 months in. Around mid august it was purging, and never stopped. My left cheek is ruined and won’t heal. I’m getting breakout after breakout and it’s leaving a nasty splotch on my face. I have no idea what i’m doing wrong.

My right cheek is doing alright. Nowhere near as much damage, but still the occasional breakout. I originally started differin because my philtrum would get nasty pustules every other day that take forever to heal. I had used a SA acid routine for a year, then switched to panoxyl. Niether of which did anything for my skin.

I started with 3 nights, (monday, wednesday, friday) and i’ve just now bumped it up to 4. I never really had irration with differin, my face wouldn’t be red or peeling. But the breakouts have only gotten worse and won’t go away. The only thing I have been able to tell is that I have gotten far less deep cystic pimples. I get a new smaller pimple every single day though.

My routine is La roche purifying cleanser > adapalene .1% > la roche double repair moisturizer. I ofcourse use sunscreen, also la roche brand.

I’m gonna keep trying for a few months, but it’s seriously starting to take a toll on my mental health as my skin is only getting worse. If by December I don’t see any improvement i’m going to try to get to a derm to get prescribed accutane. I’m just sick and tired and it’s sending like my skin is only going to be getting worse.

The first photo is when I first started differin. Second photo is current day.

Anything advice would be appreciated

Ive been dealing with what i believe to be hormonal acne for months now and it just seems to be getting worse.
I have tried everything, tretinoin, azaleic acid, anything i can put on my face I probably have put on my face. Ive tried changing my diet but its very hard in my household where i dont do my own food shopping, i have to eat whats in the house exc (which usually isnt anything great)
Ive even looked into acutane and whilst i think it would be helpful, the cost of private dermatology is just not in my budget at the moment. Im genuinely stumped here and my confidence is taking the brunt of it. Currently using an aveeno cleanser, treclin (Clindamycin & Tretinoin) and followed with cetaphil moisturiser. Please any advice is really appreciated i honestly dont know what to do anymore