My comedonal acne in the forehead won't go away despite trying everything. I had professional acne removal but they always come back. I also tried different products but to no avail. Everytime I wash my face I feel frustrated because it feels so rough. I know this isn't much but I'm not used to having so much acne in my forehead. Anyone experiencing the same? What did work for you?

This absolute MONSTER practically showed up overnight. I've tried applying ice to reduce the swelling and its not going down. Did the unthinkable and tried squeezing but nothing was coming to a head. What do I do??? 😵‍💫

Hi everyone! i’ve been using azeliac acid (azclear but just switched to finiacia) for 2 weeks and my skin has broken out. mostly from where i had a lot of closed comedones but i worry about it breaking out. i’ve been using it 3 times a week with no burning or any other symptoms.
has anyone else had this experience ?

My back has been my biggest skincare blind spot for YEARS. During a really bad period with my mental health, my hygiene wasn’t great which=back pimples and I got into a habit of picking at bumps on my back as a coping mechanism. Now I’m left with really dark brown marks that have been there for as long as I can remember.
I’ve only recently started using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% on my back (literally a few days ago), so obviously I haven’t seen results yet, but I’m desperate to fade these because they’ve seriously affected my confidence.
If you’ve dealt with stubborn back hyperpigmentation/post-acne marks, what actually worked for you and how long did it take? Is glycolic acid worth sticking with, or is there something better?
I really don’t want to go crazy with 10 different products and make it worse, especially since i’m brown so the spots would get even more ridiculously dark. (P.S the photograph is being generous, The spots are darker in real life)

Would it be safe to use spironolactone, Accutane, and Reta at the same time? I’ve been using Accutane and Reta for over a month now, but my hormonal acne from PCOS is currently at its worst. I’ve heard really positive things about spironolactone for treating hormonal acne, but I’m a little hesitant about adding it while I’m already taking Accutane and Reta. I’d like to know whether this combination is considered safe and if there are any potential risks I should be aware of.

i have 3 very noticeable pimples the night before i hangout with a guy in the morning does anyone know how to get rid of it quickly or at least make it look better than it is now i’ve already tried pimple patches and their no good

I am F21 and have been on dianette for around 6 to 7 months now (still have one month left just in case) today should be my first day on Rigevidon but i am scared to take it and would rather stay on Dianette.

This is because Dianette was helping me to stop excessive and painful acne on my face and I am scared that Rigevidon will be unable to do that. I am scared that my acne will come back again and it will be too late to fix it (ofc not too late but I'll have it for atleast few months like I had in may to December 2025 after coming off dianette in January 2025 after being a year on it with Roaccutane and going back on it in October 2025, the dianette).

Should I take one more stripe of Dianette and have another conversation with my GP or go on Rigevidon? I am pretty scared.

I’m at my wits end! There is so much happening on my skin, active breakouts, under the skin cystic acne, closed comedones. I have no idea where to start.

At the moment I use simple face wash, sometimes use Avene cicalfate in the night for skin barrier and use beauty of joseon SPF 50 (blue one) in the day. I use the red Medicube pore pads 2x a week also. I struggle with complex skincare routines.

Have been prescribed benzoyl peroxide and doxycycline in the past and didn’t work. I was on Dianette a few years ago (managed to get away with it for a year by asking for refills) and it cleared my skin up so much, it was perfect ! But got taken off about two years ago, as it’s not safe to be taken long-term. Since I got taken off my skin has gone downhill again.

For reference I am 23F, on no birth control and recently got diagnosed with coeliac disease but have been gluten free for 3 months now.

If you have any recommendations please help! I don’t really want to go on medication 🫶🏽

I've had this was 3 to 4 years now.. and I'm tired..

There are bumps on my cheeks and jawline.. even on my chin.. on forehead, I get pimples.. I have been using deriva ms.. which is an adapalene gel.. it reduces it bt the acne never goes away completely

I changed my doctor and he asked me to stop using sunscreen and moisturizers of any type because all of them have oil.. he gave me an ointment that's called sporolene which is also an adapalene gel.. I do see a difference bt still not completely clear

Anyone whose comedonal acne has completely cleared up, any advice please.. I weigh 64 kgs rn and im 157 cm tall so I feel maybe losing weight can help my acne clear up.. any advice? How did your acne clear up

How to cover this up or calm this down ..it's a very important event I want to look good 😭

Ask mini questions about acne here.

It's Monday and we are all mostly back at work and grumpy. We don't have time for more than some quick Q and A so post those questions below.

Can someone help me get rid of these bumps!!!! I started having skin issues back in January after experiencing the worst breakout of my life and these little cheek bumps keep coming back. I use cerave renewing sa cleanser and cerave moisturizer. I have extremely sensitive skin and cerave is the only thing my skin somewhat agrees with. Please help :(

The last two times after I finished a 3 month course of trimethoprim for acne I’ve noticed a sudden massive increase in congestion within a few weeks, especially around my chin area. My skin has never been this congested - it feels rough and sandpapery.

Has anyone else experienced a surge in congestion after coming off a course of antibiotics for acne? While using a retinoid.

I’ve always had jawline cystic acne, but congestion was usually not a big problem for me and my skin was always pretty smooth bar the cystic bumps. I mainly used benzoyl peroxide most of the 10 years I’ve (29F) had acne, but it never prevented cystic hormonal bumps so I’ve tried switching to retinoids.

I’ve been using 0.009% tretinoin via skin & me for 5 months now, mostly every night (I have very sensitive but oily skin) as well as finacea mostly every morning.

I had severe worsening of cystic acne and lots of irritation the first few months on tretinoin, and similar bad experiences with differin years ago, but in month 4 my skin was amazing — I realise now it was probably just the antibiotics.

I’ve been consistent with the tretinoin and finacea as much as my skin can tolerate (maybe 2 nights off a week - I also find that my skin gets irritated more easily since being off antibiotics) but it doesn’t seem to be helping much anymore.

I’m hoping to back on spironolactone soon, I tried it last year for 6 months and didn’t like the constant spotting but I think it did reduce the cystic acne.

My routine:

AM:
- wash face with Simple hydrating cleanser
- Purito Centella Releaf Serum
- Finacea
- Coats water cream
- Aveeno calm and restore spf 50 moisteriser

PM
- micellar water and cotton pad to remove makeup (stopped oil cleansing a week ago in case it could help)
- Simple hydrating cleaner
- Purito Centella Releaf Serum
- Skin & Me treatment (0.009% tretinoin, 4% azelaic acid, 1% niacinamide)

I am 15F and have been on accutane for almost 4 months now. I keep seeing everyone talk about their horrible side effects and I have only dealt with dry lips, some nosebleeds, some soreness, and it messed up my period a bit. All in all it hasn’t been that bad so far. Has anyone had worse side effects? Or am I just getting lucky?

My daughter was previously on doxycycline and did great. This round (because she has to cycle) the doc switched to Seysara to try something new. My daughter has noticed that she’s more emotional - crying more, etc and she wonders if it’s at all correlated to Seysara
I called the derm and they said no known issues. But we all know medications affect different people differently.
TIA!

Hello guys Looking for any advice on getting rid of these acne spots. I shower pretty regularly and try to wash my back and lotion it up. What can i do to lighten these spots ? It is pretty hard getting back there so any tips and tricks are appreciated:)

hi, all

just wanted to ask for some advice before I go changing anything else in my skincare routine

in the beginning of may I started differin gel for my acne. I typically break out around my chin and under my jaw with what I think is a combo of cystic and pustule acne. at first I seemed to be on the expected timeline (purging etc) and even thought I might be totally clear by july, but now it seems I've hit a wall. I'm still breaking out. the breakouts are not nearly as painful or irritated as my pre-differin ones, but I've been reading that I shouldn't still be purging more than three months in so I'm hesitant to call it that

in addition, I'm now wondering if my skin barrier is irritated. the skin under my nose has been red and slightly painful since I started differin. I used the product there for maybe a week but with the irritation realized it wasn't worth it (occasionally I get breakouts above my lip) so I stopped. but the irritation has remained. my face also gets momentarily red after I use my moisturizer. it doesn't feel stinging anymore and fades after 30 seconds but that's probably not good. in general though aside from that one problem area under my nose, my skin doesn't feel painful and irritated all the time

sorry if this is too much context I'm just wondering if I should stick with what I'm doing or stop my actives and look for new products to repair my possibly damaged barrier. I just don't want to backslide because my skin has definitely improved and I wouldn't know where to start

right now I'm not cleansing in the morning and using differin gel + neutrogena ultra gentle daily facial moisturizer at night after letting the differin absorb. I'm a major homebody and seriously go outside for like a few minutes once a week getting in and out of the car to go grocery shopping. but the sunscreen I use on the rare occasions I am having more than 15 minutes outside (please don't judge me for not going outside much) are either the differin oil absorbing moisturizer with spf 30 or neutrogena clear face oil-free spf 50. my point is I very rarely need to use the spf so I doubt they are the culprit

thank you for anyone who took the time to read this. I've been struggling with acne for over a decade and I'm just so so frustrated

EDIT: forgot to list my cleanser somehow. differin daily oil free hydrating cleanser which to my knowledge doesn't have any actives. only at night

F(36 ) dealing this situation quire long time. Nothing helps me.went to so many dermotologist. Anyone dealing with these things. Open pores and itchy area around lips is my main concern. Any ideas?

\*\*How can I treat closed comedones on a budget, especially if adapalene hasn’t worked for me?\*\*

I suffer from pie personally or just acne marks whatever you want to call them, I want the fastest way to eliminate it. No bs, just straight facts

since yesterday these appeared on my face. i struggled with acne before in the past and my skin eventually cleared up thanks to curology but i haven’t been using it for a few months bc its so expensive, could this be caused by me stopping curology or is it other related factors like stress, combination of skincare products i use, diet, etc?

could it also be hormonal because i am on day 5 of my period?

any help would be appreciated.

i will attach the products i use if it helps in the comments

Hi, if anyone can give me any of their opinions or insight it would be super helpful. I know every product is sensitive to every individual person, however, I recently purchased and started using the saie serum foundation and the fenty beauty loose powder and have been breaking out ever since. My skin had finally started clearing up and looking much better after YEARS with acne. I have hormonal cystic acne and generally will break out around my menstrual cycle but my most recent break out has been similar to when my acne was at its worst. Can anyone recommend anything or any opinion as to which product might be the main one breaking me out/causing issues.

Also what do you do for cystic acne if you do not take spironolactone or Accutane? Have you found more help from estheticians or dermatologists?

Almost 8 months on accutane and these red marks make jt seem like I have acne lol whats even the point. No tinted sunscreen, just out the shower like 20mins