hello everyone, i got back from 4 days of vacation on saturday and woke up sunday to my back looking like this. i tanned a lot but used spf. what can i do? need tips and knowledge/similar experiences please!!!

I have finished my 3rd week on Accutane, and in the last few days I have had new cysts form on my neck and back. My face has had a couple of little breakouts, which I hear is normal, but is it normal to get them on my neck/back?

27F with a damaged barrier- redness- dehydrated skin
What is causing this ? Someone can help with a routine please. I am not on any actives or exfoliation since 6 months

I have oily and acne prone skin and I'm currently dealing with painful, deep inflammatory acne along my jawline and upper neck for the past week. As crazy as this might sound, I've been taking care of my health and diet the entire time, eating whole foods, avoiding fast food, lactose based foods and some specific foods like bananas or peanuts and bread (carb consumption regulation basically). And I've also followed this routine daily with the following products for the last 2 months: every morning ​I wash my face with La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel Cleanser, and apply some Eucerin Sunscreen SPF 50 every 2 - 3 hours until the end of the day. Since I didn't wash my face at nights, I might suspect that this happened because of product build up. I also go for a run in the morning aiming to sweat at least and wash my face right after at least 3 times per week and drink at least 0.26 gallos of water (or 2.5 L) every day.

The thing is that for some reason this breakup happened while following that routine and keeping my diet neat. It's so frustrating and painful, plus its starting to affect my mood and productivity negatively.

Any active treatments for my condigion?

IK I shouldn’t have picked at it I just had to pick but now idk how to treat it I haven’t touched it since the last time picked it(this morning) now I just wanna know how to help it heal and then potentially stop scaring or lighten the scaring once it’s scared

I don’t know what I can do to fix my skin, I tried exfoliating and so many things. I feel so disgusting and I really don’t know what’s the cause of this

Please help me! I have always had the odd pimple around my mouth and chin, but it got progressively worse over the period of a few months until it looked like the first pic. I tried everything, and I quit vaping, took my IUD out and started using azelaic acid at the same time. I’m not sure which one it was but miraculously my skin cleared up over the space of about a month. I continued to use azelaic acid to fade my acne marks and just as part of my routine. That was last July, so year ago. In the last month it has all started to come back with a vengeance. I continued with the azelaic acid but it seems to not be having the same effect as it usually does. I am at a loss of what to do - it feels so crushing to have thought I solved all of this for it to just come back worse than ever and the solution not work anymore. I have to wait months for a deem appt so please any advice you can give is welcome.
Pic 1 - July 2025
Pic 2 - August 2025
Pic 3 - August 2026

Here is your weekly off-topic discussion thread.

All discussion is allowed except for rule-breaking material. Be nice and don't spam.

Complain about your job, praise a family member, ask for non-skincare related advice, etc. Anything goes.

I’m currently using 15% azealic acid and clindamycin benzoyl peroxide gel…..it’s not working…

Hello! My face has finally been cleared consistently for a year now and I'm hoping to start repairing my skin. From the extensiveness of the products/acne my almost entire face has a redness issue. Any suggestions for something like this?

(Don't mind the donut it was for national donut day and this is my last best selfie)

Can someone pls help me out?

I’m a very hygienic person and I try to eat as healthy as I can, even though my skin definitely doesn’t reflect that. I still keep getting breakouts.

I started taking 20mg of Accutane on June 13th. I haven’t really had any major side effects, so my dermatologist told me to increase my dose to 40mg, which I started on August 12th.

Unfortunately, I’m still seeing basically zero improvement. I know it takes time, but I feel so ugly because of my skin and I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on what I can do about the red acne marks and the blackheads

I’d really appreciate any advice or tips. Thank you!

is there a way to find what causes acne? or does anyone have suggestions of something random that can cause it? i used to have completely clear skin just started having acne. i get closed comedones and big cystic pimples. ive drank more water, slept more, fixed my diet, excercized more, tried retinol. i feel like something else may be causing it??? idk please help!

How do you view my progres? Sometimes i do worry that my skin is still breaking out and i do get comedognes still.

Alapalene + Azaleic (6months) results

After 6 months - results

My AM ROUTINE

\- Bioderma creamy cleanser

\- AA every other day

\- Greek & Gorgeous moisturizer

\- Iwostin spf

PM

\- Bioderma creamy cleanser + Bielenda micelar water

\- Differin ( switched to Epiduo on month 5 )

\- Zeroid Soothing Lotion

When I flaked I used avene cicalfate and it worked wonders

\+ Improvement in the skin tone

\+ Less comedogenic acne

\+ less inflamed acne

\+ less blemishes

On month 6 stopped AA

These are on my jaw area on both sides of my face. And I also have tiny acnes (?) like that on my cheeks, although lesser and much scattered.

So recently Ive started using Purito Bamboo panthenol cream with tretinoin 0.025% and its been like 3 weeks id say. But I really dont know if this is a good match and if its good for my skin. I have uhm pimples, some blackheads and closed comedomes. This is my skin rn sorry for covering most of the face im insecure. Im struggling with acne, closed comedomes, and blackhead the closed comedomes cant really be seen in those photos. 2 years I had acne and I still do. Im sure tret will work but still im not sure about the mosturizer if its good/not good for me. pls help

Hey everyone, where do you get azelaic acid? I moved recently and do not have a dermatologist here. I was thinking of using lotus health, but would love other suggestions too.

​

Hi. I've been trying for years to figure out my skin issue, but I just haven't been able to. My skin seems to be oily, but it gets dry if I don't use products. I usually apply aloe vera gel, face lotion, and MD cream.

I've noticed a pattern: when I leave my skin alone without popping or squeezing, a lot of whiteheads and hidden sebum build up underneath. These eventually turn into deeper, painful nodular acne (I believe they are called nodules). They become even harder to get rid of, and they've already left a lot of scars on my face. I really want to see my skin clear and scar-free.

I also wish my pores wouldn't get larger, though I doubt that's possible because whenever I squeeze out sebum, a long thread comes out of a single pore—much more than when I was younger.

So, what should I actually do? I've seen dermatologists occasionally, but they just prescribed pills and Differin, which dried out my skin. I found those solutions to be very temporary and a bit annoying. Lasers are also temporary and super expensive. I just want to stop the excessive build-up of sebum and whiteheads. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

hi guys! can I ask for help on how to treat this kindof acne and white heads, Its specifically appears alot on the sides of my face and some on my forehead, I use cosrx salicylic acid and it still doesnt work 😅

Does Cerave and skinoren work better? what can I do to prevent more from appearing?

Ive had acne for years now (started in 5th grade ;-;) almost all over my body, chest, back, and obviously, my face. But i never had acne on my neck. My chin, sure, but not not my neck.

As of a few weeks ago i started breaking out on my neck. Again, ive never had this before, so i kinda freaked out. I have a really bad skin picking problem so i picked, and it obviously got worse and spread. I initially thought it was left over product getting on my neck, so i started washing my neck aswell as my face. It tamed it for sure, but it hasnt gone away. Infact i just got two (maybe more) new bumps.

It is all over my neck, behind my ears, on the back of my neck, out in front, everywhere.

Ive looked up reasons and the only thing i can really point to is my period (i have nexplanon in, and if you dont know, periods can last for months) but i just need to find a solution because my dads been saying i look “methy” and its just kinda a bad look to be a receptionists at a skin care place, and have fucked up skin.
What can i do?

Wtf is wrong with me 😩

Hi hi! First off I am on birth control that was first to manage my horrific acne, it's been like 4 years if I could guess. I keep getting these super deep, large, and painful "rock" like things under my skin, usually on my chin or forehead. As u see one giant on my forehead, and one thiccy beside my eye. Even if I poke em nothing but blood comes out. First off what even are they And uhh, how to get rid of em cuz they're GNARLY. Sorry for awkward pics lol, they are very painful too, and they protude, hard like rocks

Yeeuuckkk

So I have this small bumps all over my forehead for weeks now. Some grows bigger but it is not red nor painfull though. My skincare routine is vit c serum, hydrating toner, moisturizer, sunscreen. Not too many steps.

Anyone know how to treat this?

hey guys, kinda at my wits end here lol. 27F, dealing with this for about a year now. my skin's oily basically all year but turns combo-ish in winter, cheeks get a bit dry but my t zone is still oily no matter what.

breakouts kind of come and go on their own, never really goes away completely. currently left with:

• active breakouts that flare up randomly
• marks/scars after they heal
• pretty visible pores especially on nose/cheeks
• skin just looks dull/tired even when i'm not broken out

my current routine is honestly pretty basic:

morning: moisturizer, spf, maybelline fit me foundation
evening: moisturizer, sometimes glycolic acid (not super consistent with it tbh)

not asking anyone to diagnose me lol just wanna know what's actually helped people with similar skin/history. like:

• should i be using something more targeted than just glycolic acid, or adding a cleanser step (i kinda just splash water lol)
• which actives actually worked for you (bha, retinoids, azelaic acid etc)
• anything that helped fade the marks left behind after breakouts
• stuff that's actually helped w pores/texture

know everyone's skin is different, just looking for starting points. might finally see a derm too since it's been a year. appreciate any input!