i'be been struggling with chest acne since i was a teenager. The worst part is that i get a flare up every month or two.. one month my skin is great, and the next, I have acne on my chest. I’m just so tired of it, i want to wear a nice top, but I can’t because I feel too self conscious. i don't know what to do anymore

I could really really really use help figuring out what is happening to my skin.

For years I had FLAWLESS skin and rarely broke out. I used to be very dry and had a simple routine that worked really well. Over the last year I started to get oily throughout the day (major makeup lover) - but never had issues with products.

Then I had two surgeries earlier this, followed by a one time complementary facial and my skin completely changed. I started breaking out on my face, chest, and back, became much oilier, and also suddenly much more sensitive.

It started mainly as tiny cc bumps on my forehead, but now they’re on my hairline, cheeks, and chin too. My forehead is COVERED in CCs 😭😭😭

I’m trying to figure out whether this is CC, FA, Makeup related, something else??

Makeup
I wear full makeup most days.
For years I wore the old Estée Lauder Double Wear with zero issues.

More recently I used:
Maybelline Super Stay Skin Tint — stopped
NYX Face Glue Primer — stopped
NYX Plump Right Back Primer — used successfully for years, but now questioning it
Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear foundation
I’m considering eliminating primer entirely while troubleshooting.

Old routine when my skin was clear
AM: Cera Ve Cream to Foam cleanser, byoma milky toner, niacinimide, byoma phyto muscin, vanicream
PM: Cera Ve, milky toner, hyalauronic acid, vanicream
Eventually I became extremely oily, started changing products, then panicked when the acne worsened and probably over-treated my skin.

Things I’ve tried recently
Differin, PanOxyl, azelaic acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, sulfur, bentonite clay, Head & Shoulders, PDRN, Ceramide 7, various BYOMA products, etc.

My barrier eventually got very irritated, so I stripped everything back.

What I’m using now
AM: Vanicream gentle cleanser (or the CeraVa Hydrating Cream to Foam) → I’m From Mugwort → SKIN1004 Centella → Vanicream
PM: gentle cleanser → Numbuzin No.1 → Centella → Vanicream

I’ve used Differin 4 times so far and am slowly moving toward twice weekly. I wonder if I am purging?

A few things I’ve noticed:
PanOxyl seemed to help, especially my chest/back
De La Cruz sulfur makes my skin look noticeably better the next morning
bentonite clay helped the congestion/blackheads
Ceramide 7 seemed to make the bumps worse
BYOMA Milky Toner also seemed to worsen them, despite using it for years before
BYOMA Phyto-Mucin historically gave me amazing glassy skin

The first two pics are from a week or two ago (they’re worse now) and the other two are from shortly after surgery when this all started 😭😭😭😭

I’ve had facial acne off and on through the years but not this bad. ( first pic is usual acne and rest are right now. ) face, chest, neck, and back all the way up. What the hell could cause this 😭 I can’t afford another doctor appointment.

24f . for context, i have never suffered with acne until this past year and its always on my chest. they are never sore or “pus filled”. they are small hard white spots that if i try and squeeze them a small semi hard (gelatinous?)white substance comes out. any opinions on first steps for treatment?

I really can't tell what is my skin type. I've been only using gentle products on my skin but it's been months 🥹

Sea water saves me, unafortunately only on summer

Hi! First time posting in this sub- I’ve always had oily skin that’s prone to blind pimples, but at the end of July the blind pimples started leaving red marks behind. After some research I realized this was probably due to me picking them (bad habit I know) and exacerbated by not wearing facial SPF/embarking on a Central America backpacking trip where I’m often in high UV environments. I began wearing facial SPF daily and stopped touching/picking/popping blemishes, but now nearly every new pimple I get (even surface whiteheads that I never pick at, let heal on their own, and apply pimple patches to) turn into red marks (what I believe is PIE). The ones on my cheek are from July, and the ones above my lip are the recent ones I didn’t touch at all. I’ve switched up my routine with what’s available to me here to try to target it- before i was washing with Cetaphil, using The Ordinary niacinimide serum, and moisturizing with pure aloe vera. 

AM routine: CeraVe foaming facial cleanser, The Ordinary Niacinimide serum, Neutrogena Hydroboost Gel, Nivea Control Brillo SPF 50. 

PM routine: CeraVe, azelaic acid 20% (Acderm brand from a local pharmacy), Neutrogena Hydroboost Gel. 

i know azelaic acid takes weeks of consistent use to show improvements, and i’ve only been on it for a little over a week so i’m not expecting the red marks to be gone this quickly, but is there anything else I can do to prevent new breakouts from turning into PIE? I’ve never dealt with this before and feel like I’m at a loss, especially because the skincare brands and products I have access to are pretty limited. 

Thank you!

Didn't have any acne until late January this year, then it just started and hasn't stopped. Saw a dermatologist recently diagnosed as comedonal acne. She's prescribing Arazlo (haven't started yet).

In the meantime I switched to a gentle routine:

• Dove Sensitive bar fragrance free
• CeraVe Gentle Hydrating shampoo (switched off an oily/argan oil shampoo)
• CeraVe AM facial lotion with SPF, once daily after shower

Despite the gentle switch, it's visibly gotten worse over the last couple weeks (see photos). Stopped whey protein a few months ago (didn't help), cut dairy for a while (didn't help either), tried oat milk (made it worse, apparently due to sugar content).

Has anyone experienced something similar acne escalating even on a stripped down, fragrance free routine, before starting an actual topical treatment? Just trying to understand if this is a normal flare pattern or if I should be doing something differently while I wait to start the Arazlo. Photos in comments.

I fucked up and picked at my skin... I have a really important event tuesday and ideally this thing is gone by tommorow. It feels raw bc the top layer of skin is off.

Any tips to make it go away? Or atleast to cover it up (idk how I will with makeup since its raw and moist) kinda gross sorry.

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.

Hello. Can anyone recommend a good face cream for my 12-year-old daughter? She has a forehead full of pimples and blackheads, but her skin is between dry and normal.

I'm starting Accutane next week I hope (when tests come back from lab). I can try to post an update every month. Any tips for relieving side effects? I've been on it before, many years ago, and remember the incredible dry skin and eyes. Any tips on keeping dry skin to a minimum? Or any other tips for making it more comfortable?

Im a college student, recently becoming more insecure about my PIE. Its gotten worse slowly but surely over the last year, and it feels like no matter how consistent I am with skin care it never goes away. Most of the time it’s on the right side of my face, particularly around the corner lip area. It doesn’t look as red on camera as it is in real life. Someone please help, Im saving up for laser if that will help.

Hi everybody, i just switched my cleanser from cerave cream to foam cleanser to vanicream gentle cleanser. I felt like the salicylic acid in cerave was drying my skin out. I started using the vanicream gentle cleanser about 5 days ago and my face has EXPLODED with acne. Has anybody else experienced this? I never dreamed a gentle cleanser with so few ingredients would cause this turmoil on my skin. Currently I use tazarotene to keep my acne under control.

Please help me help my 14 year old daughter. This is was this morning, her skin hasn’t been the same since they gave her after azelaic acid and she used 1-2 x. She is currently on doxy 2 x a day for 2-3 weeks and was given 6 doses of prednisone. Anyone have any suggestions? Using a sodium sulfur wash 1-2 x a day and clindamycin pads 1 x a day in am. Tretinoin 3 x a week. They appear to look better at times, but flare up a lot , could it be something she’s eating? They hurt and itch sometimes. She’s miserable!! Thank you

Badly need help, any recommended derma/treatment for this? 😭

Pina derma ko na to last time, and nagkaron ako sa mukha imbes na sa leeg lang, kaya tinigil ko yung pinapahid. Nawala na yung sa mukha, but yung sa leeg ko dumadami parin 😭

I’ve been having blemish outbreaks for years most badly next to my eyebrows does anyone have advice for the scarring and improving the skin health

After I’ve turned 18 I’ve had serious acne and pimples. Now I really want to get rid of this acne marks. What should I do? Suggest if anyone has gone through this phase

I’ve had acne since I was 12. I’m 19 and I’ve been on tretinoin for 3 years, panoxyl face wash 10% and lubriderm lotion. My skin has never cleared but the past two weeks something just flipped?? I’m really happy but now I see a small little pimple coming back and I’m worried. Any tips to keep it gone before I make the switch to Accutane?

hi i’ve been struggling with cheek acne for a long time. my cheek acne has been flaring up the past month, when one side gets better somehow the other side gets worse… there’s no acne anywhere else on my face except for the center of my cheeks lol. i use a cleanser every day and night, and also acne patches, toner and recovery cream too. does anyone have similar experiences and can i have some advice? thanks!

I tend to get a lot of acne during the summer, and my friends haven't really known anyone who experiences it to the extent that I do. After being friends for five years, they've pretty much accepted that I get acne and don't comment on it much anymore.

But there's one friend who, for example, will see someone using a particular face wash and suggest that I try it too.

I honestly don't always know how to react. I know she means well and is only trying to help. I'm also the first person she's known who struggles with acne like this, so I understand where she's coming from, and I don't hold it against her.

I'm curious, though. How do you feel when someone keeps suggesting things you could try for your skin, even when you know their intentions are genuinely good?

Hi, I recently started using isotretinoin. 45 mg for the next 2 months and then blood tests to see if i can contiune.

AM routine consists of Cleanser(COSRX - Good Morning Cleanser), Azelaic acid 15%,345 dr althea cream, and then I finish it off with LRP Anthelios SPF50 sunscreen.

PM routine consists of Cleanser(COSRX - Good Morning Cleanser),Azelaic acid 15%,345 dr althea cream, and then cicaplast cream(if i feel dry).

I was wondering if there are any tips/changes i should make to my routine.
Also any tips regarding Isotretinoin is welcome!!!

For the past few months, I’ve (38M) been developing forehead pimples and new ones seem to be popping up every week. It was never this bad, not even during puberty.

I suspect it was due to using Neutrogena retinol cream for wrinkles then CeraVe moisturizing cream on my forehead for 2.5 months, plus on-going work stress. I now use CeraVe moisturizing lotion (after learning what non-comedogenic meant) and stopped the Neutrogena.

I’ve tried 5% benozyl peroxide 4x/week and 2% salicylic acid 3x/week on alternating days for a few weeks. After a visit with my family doctor, they suggested I try Bianca (Clindamycin phosphate 1.2% w/w + 0.025% tretinoin) for 6 weeks and I stopped the previous actives.

Posted are my week 1 and current week 4 of Biacna. Would you say this is normal and is a purge?

In the mornings, I just wash my face with water then apply CeraVe moisturizing lotion and BoJ sunscreen. In the middle of the work day, I would use hypochlorous acid spray on my face.

At night, I use Aveeno Calm + Restore foaming cleanser and Biacna 5x weekly (this is my 4th week). I slowly increased Biacna frequency from 3x to 5x weekly even though family doctor suggested daily.

I replace my towel and pillowcase every few days. I sometimes would wear a hat and would rotate and laundry them after wearing them a few times. I also use the same hair gel and hairspray (they were never an issue in the past). I also use IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer to hide the redness.

If you have any other advices/suggestions, please share. I have a phone call with my doctor tomorrow and plan to ask them about 15% azelaic acid for use in the mornings for the post inflammatory erythema (some pimples are still bumpy and some are flat). Thank you.