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Pre-teen acne


Silverstreak

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Silverstreak

My first tween topic, although DS isn't quite nine yet!


DS is starting to get acne across the bridge of his nose and cheeks, blackheads and whiteheads. I started getting acne age 12 to 13 and DH has never really had acne, lucky ducky. So I'm out of my depth here. I wash his face daily with soap, but can anyone recommend a gentle face cleanser?


DS is tall and well developed for his age, but gee whiz, I didn't think I'd be dealing with acne just yet. He has been using deodorant since turning seven though. I'm on the lookout for any more pubertal surprises, but none just yet thankfully. I did read that the onset of puberty is starting earlier, argh.

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  • Silverstreak

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One of my grand daughters is also 9, she wears deodorant too so an early developer. She is very tiny but tall. She started getting a few little black heads around her nose too. The GP said it was not acne as such but to wash her face with Phisohex anti bacterial wash to help clear out the pores and this appears to have done the trick.

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Kiwi Bicycle

You need to look for products with salcyclic acid in them to dissolve the dead skin cells and oil blocking the pores. Not harsh scrubs.

I use The Revoloution Salacyclic acid 2% serum daily ( but you can just use it occasionally as a spot treatment) available from Priceline Pharmacy. Another great product is pimple patches which are stickers that go over and suck the pus etc out through the pore, not damaging the skin.

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Hello Silverstreak


My son is 11 years, and I noticed that some of his pores were blocked around the nose area around the same age. I found two Cetaphil products really helped. The oily skin cleanser and the all skin types moisturising lotion. We just keep the cleanser in the shower and one pump is enough for the face and body.


The cleanser does not strip the skin dry.


If additional treatment is needed, two drops of The Ordinary Lactic Acid on an area, clears pores overnight.


Non greasy sunscreen really helps too. My son uses the la roche posay suncreen spray for children - sprays it onto hand and pats onto face and body.

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Silverstreak

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions!


I buy my shampoo and conditioner from Priceline, so will have a hunt around when I'm next in.


I have heard good things about The Ordinary as well!


Sunscreen might be the culprit as well, I always make sure DS is wearing it, but a non greasy option sounds like a good idea.


Thanks again!

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Kiwi Bicycle

The Ordinary used to do the Salicyclic serum, but stopped early last year. I switched to The Revolution as it is same size, price and packaging and has similar ingredients.

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Silverstreak

Thanks [mention]Kiwi Bicycle[/mention], that's good to know!


I had a look for Phisohex, but I cannot find it online or in store anywhere!


Ended up buying some Cetaphil gentle face cleanser that both DS and I can use and I can buy The Revolution from Priceline as well if the Cetaphil doesn't work.


Bought my shampoo and conditioner online at the same time and the total meant I got free shipping woohoo!


Showed the link to DS, but he doesn't seem that interested in his pores just yet ha ha.

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Thanks @Kiwi Bicycle, that's good to know!


I had a look for Phisohex, but I cannot find it online or in store anywhere!


Ended up buying some Cetaphil gentle face cleanser that both DS and I can use and I can buy The Revolution from Priceline as well if the Cetaphil doesn't work.


Bought my shampoo and conditioner online at the same time and the total meant I got free shipping woohoo!


Showed the link to DS, but he doesn't seem that interested in his pores just yet ha ha.

 

Glad you got the Cetaphil, it certainly works too but Phisohex is available at all the chemists around here. I keep my grandchildren supplied :)

https://www.priceline.com.au/phisohex-face-wash-200-ml


Phisohex is what was recommended by my infection control specialist but of course there are many similar antibacterials around.

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VeritasVinumArte

My eldest did puberty early. His voice broke at 11yrs and had severe cystic acne by 12yrs so was on Rouaccatine by 12.5yrs. His brother followed similarly but has started Rouaccatine at 13.5yrs. Eldest is back on it at 15.5 yrs too.

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There's heaps of recommendations already that we follow. We have so many reasons for breakouts in our family.


I still get painful pimples from eating honey murcott mandarines and passionfruit and I definitely used to get them from eating chocolate ( I could feel my skin get warm after eating).


Sunscreen is what makes my kids' and even my face break out even worse than hormones ( we have that, too).

The Cetaphil sun kids liposomal sunscreen is a possibility for your son. Our skin cancer doctor recommended it. You can get it get it from Chemist Warehouse.

We try to use a hat instead of sunscreen ( thank you to the MCHN at our mothers' group who suggested we use them from the very start so that the babies were used to it). Does your son keep hats on? If so, I always has a few and washed them almost as regularly as undies.


We discovered that using gentle products was important - the Cetaphil washes worked well for us as well as the black bar from Lush ( you can go into the shop at FG and ask for a sample). We also use a gentle oatmeal shampoo by Dermaveen as the shampoo going down the face was also irritating the skin. It is great value at $15 a litre form CW and I don't even need conditioner, it is so gentle.

Yes to the salicylic acid to break down the crud.


But, and here is where it gets interesting, one of my kids suddenly had much better skin. I asked what they'd been cleaning it with. Out of sheer laziness they had started using the dettol antibacterial soap in the shower on their face. It seems that they had some sort of bacterial problem that was one cause for their breakout. I cannot believe that they could put up with that on their face, but there you go. We do live in a very hot and humid climate, though.


One last thing, does your son touch his face a lot? This can cause breakouts, too.

Good luck.

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Silverstreak

Ah, many thanks [mention]banyan[/mention]! Yes, he's good with hats, thank goodness! We are a family that are prone to getting moles on exposed skin, so DS and I wear a hat when outside.


Interesting about the antibacterial soap bar, I'll keep that in mind.


H'mm there's been a bit of face touching recently, he's got a wobbly tooth he's trying to get out! The tooth is hanging on for dear life though.

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Just a tip on the sunscreen, make sure they’re double cleansing to remove it.


I use an oil cleanser with a warm flannel and then a hydrating cleanser as my second wash.

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Kiwi Bicycle

I just want to say Fuck acne. Had it since age 11. Longest I have gone without zits is 5 years. Now anxiety has brought is back. I am so sick of dealing with crappy zitty skin and now in my 40s.

And yes, done Roaccutane, multiple courses of antibiotics and creams.

Sorry just to had to get that out.

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ineedmorecoffee

I feel you [mention]Kiwi Bicycle[/mention], oh the cruel irony of still dealing with my own zits whilst trying to help my child manage hers 🤦🏻‍♀️

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I was just thinking yesterday of asking for advice here!

DD is 11 this month and I've noticed she's starting to break out a bit. I've got her some face washes, but I'd like an actual treatment too.

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[mention]Kiwi Bicycle[/mention] and [mention]ineedmorecoffee[/mention] have you considered using isotretinoin? I've heard its quite effective as an acne treatment and keeps wrinkles at bay - only to be used when your child rearing days are well and truly over as vitamin A can cause birth deformities.


OP, as for gentle cleansers and non-comedogenic sunscreen - Cetaphil is the way to go. It was recommended by my dermatologist many years years ago and I continue to use to this day.

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I just want to say Fuck acne. Had it since age 11. Longest I have gone without zits is 5 years. Now anxiety has brought is back. I am so sick of dealing with crappy zitty skin and now in my 40s.

And yes, done Roaccutane, multiple courses of antibiotics and creams.

Sorry just to had to get that out.

 

Yep; I'm late 30's and my skin is still absolute balls. It's so fucking unfair.

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nom_de_plume

For teens - get them started on a solid skincare routine. Cleanse and moisturise twice daily plus an SPF in the morning. Use something like Cetaphil or CeraVe which have good quality, mild ingredients. If the acne still persists, then look into adding something with salycilic or lactic acid to gently exfoliate a couple times per week and also Azelaic Acid (sold as Azclear or Finacea) which is available over the counter. I wouldn't head straight for harsher products/treatments like Phisohex, Benzac or Roaccutane until you've sorted basic skincare first.


I had acne as an adult but a solid skincare routine has mostly fixed it. I use CeraVe cleanser and moisturiser and add in The Ordinary Niacinamide and Zinc in the morning, and alternate The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid and Azclear at night. I exfoliate once per week with lactic acid.

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I found the lactic acid gave me tiny pimples when I used it. I've read some women have had the same reaction. I still use it (I hate wasting things!) but only once a fortnight or so. I use the niacinamide and their retinoid and sometimes a Vit C serum because I like to try a variety of things lol. Rosehip oil is my usual mosituriser though, argan in winter if it's really dry though.


Yesterday I bought DD the Phisohex wash(but now might hold off on her using it for now) and the Revolution Salicylic acid serum and they have a spot treatment with Salicylic acid and calamine in it which she's started with at night. I'll use the serum for now lol.

She already uses sunscreen daily for school but probably isn't washing her face properly in the shower at night.

I don't like putting too much emphasis on her skin and looks but I also don't want her suffering with acne like I did as a teen(and still sometimes get).

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  • 4 weeks later...
Silverstreak

Thought I'd update, DS has been using Cetaphil for almost a month now and his skin has definitely improved. He still has a few blackheads on his nose and some acne on one cheek that has been there for a while, but no new breakouts. We've made using the cleanser part of his daily routine and I'm using it too. I didn't realise the bottle I bought was so massive, lol.


My skin is looking good as well, I tend to get occasional skin irritation due to wearing a CPAP mask, but far less now.

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