I seem to have picked up a bunch of new followers overnight (thanks no doubt to Heather's awesome shout out) and I've hit 100! That is so exciting - I remember getting my first follower and being chuffed to think that someone was actually reading my blather. Hello and welcome, new followers! And hello to everyone else too, I really appreciate you being here. I think I should do a giveaway, but it will have to wait a couple of weeks until I get Noodle Arms all sorted for high school this year. I'll definitely give that some thought and come back to it, though.
Now I need your assistance. Noodle Arms has had acne issues for a while now, and I've tried a few different things for her. The problem is that things seem to stop working after a few weeks - is that normal? I bought her the Paula's Choice CLEAN line and it worked really well for a while, then seemed to stop doing anything. Same with the Dermalogica Clean Start.
I tried the EMC2 cream that dazzledust25 talked about on youtube, but unfortunately it didn't work for Noodles at all. Neither did that Clean & Clear trio thing. She's only 12 (13 in March), so I don't want to whack anything too harsh on her little face. I've been considering Mario Badescu, but I'm not sure if that works on acne so much as on blackheads. She tends to get a fair few pimples around the t-zone - forehead and nose mostly, and she's been getting them for well over a year now.
It's been a long time since I had to worry about pimples, and in my day it was industrial strength Clearasil or it was nothing. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas?
Paula's Choice BHA! Awesome stuff
ReplyDeletei'm not one to give advice, but i will say - no matter what do not use proactiv ;)
ReplyDeleteAs She is still so young I recommend either Thursday Plantation Tea Tree face wash or the Oily Skin Cetaphil wash and a gentle moisturiser without Mineral Oil or its sometimes called Parafinium Liquidum. Maybe try The Body Shop or Neutrogena.
ReplyDeleteIf you use actives on her skin, it will have an initial freak out then begin to get use to it which is probably what happened to her skin in the past!
I suffer from rosacea and acne & I like Ego AZclear medicated wash & lotion http://www.egopharm.com.au/EgoProducts/Azclear.html
ReplyDeleteI find it very gentle but effective, here is my review on it if you want to read more http://onefinestar.com/2010/12/05/my-fickle-skin/
Good Luck!
Congratulation!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for following my teeny tiny blog too dear :)
Happy Holidays!!
She seems so young..just tea tree face was as someone mentioned and also tea tree gel for acne problem. I have always get acne since I was that age and till now..almost 26 :O
For me, it is because of my gene , my crazy sleeping schedule and the fries I eat all the times. Make sure she drinks lots of water and avoid fries if she can..for me, green tea face wash decrease my acne too.
Hope it helps a bit.
xoxo
Like you, I'm always inclined to treat acne-prone skin very gently, as over-stimulation will produce more oil. It sounds like you've chosen some really great products so far. I also tend to treat acne as a rash, and try to use as many calming, gentle, healing products as possible.
ReplyDeleteAcne treatments are best when they're preventative, so regular, gentle exfoliation with something like Lancome's Exfoliance Confort (a super gentle exfoliant) would be a good start. In terms of clearing what's there, a 2% salicylic acid gel to open up and disinfect pores (Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel is very gentle and can be used every night when needed), then a clay mask to draw out impurities might be a good way to go (something like NARS Mud Mask).
I've also used quite a bit of the Mario Badescu line and am a fan. For cyctic acne, I can't go past their Buffering Lotion as a topical treatment. Their drying cream is also very good at drying out pimples, and I find it can be used on cyctic and normal acne.
I also like the Mario Badescu Drying Mask because it helps to heal the acne-affected areas and sooth irritated skin. It also helps to absorb excess oil and prevent further clogs. You might like to try the Healing and Soothing Mask if you need something less drying though. I have also used their Glycolic Foaming Cleanser, but you might be better off using Cetaphil paired with gentle, regular exfoliation, as Glycolic Foaming Cleansers can be quite drying and can irritate acne-prone skin further.
She also might need a very light moisturiser (depending on how oily her skin is) as acne-prone skin can be dehydrated underneath, which can lead to more irritation.
I think with all skincare it's good to rotate products, as even with my skincare I find that products seems to lose their effectiveness after a while.
I hope this helps!
I wish I could help, but what I used is probably not recommended on girls that young. A dermatologist put me on Roaccutane for 3mths which got rid of my pimples for life, but it's some super strong crazy medication that I'm sure doctors would not give anyone under 18.
ReplyDeleteLilit
Have you tried Dermalogica? They have a clear skin range now that is aimed at teenage skin. The products are guarantee if professionally recommended, so you could take her in for face mapping and they could suggest products that might help? Dermalogica is the one skincare brand that I come back to time and time again. It saved my skin a couple of years back!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear she is having so much trouble.... I can only suggest keeping clean pillow cases. Also, I've always used Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10 on bumps that I could feel before I could see them. This stuff helps dry them up before they become ugly.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Acne/Persa-Gel-10-Acne-Medication/ID=prod4384-product?V=G&ec=frgl_&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku304384
Firstly, congrats Dee. You have a wonderful blog and I'm glad more people are reading it.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that worked to clear up my skin was Proactiv but there are some caveats. I am prone to allergies and for the first fortnight I got dry, itchy skin and a bit of a rash before my face hugely cleared up. I also think the three products are a waste - I don't like their cleanser and prefer my Clinique toner. It was the repairing lotion that was the real winner for me and I use my other products as normal.
I don't have tender 12 year old skin though :)
I've only heard good things about Mario Badescu so I'd be inclined to give that a shot as per Sarah's rec.
Try myskin.com or skinid.com
ReplyDeleteI like how they address the source and personalize your system!
I suffer from seriously bad acne around my chin and it's been a complete nightmare to deal with (being 25 with spots just isnt cool) I'm not kidding when I say that I've tried pretty much every single product available... Nothing has ever cleared mine completely but the Dermalogica Acne range made it a LOT less frequent and obvious - the spots were smaller and less red
ReplyDeleteThe ranges I really really disliked were Cliniques anti blemish solutions, Clearasil and the Oxy range. They all irritated my skin so I was spotty with bad skin to boot. Grrr :)
Let us know how she gets along with whatever you opt for! ♥
Hello, I'm one of your new followers! (Although not subscribed so won't show up on list.)
ReplyDeleteI've had acne for over ten years, picked it up around the time Ms. Noodles did. I've found that Cetaphil products help a lot; they're not specifically geared towards acne skin, but the cleanser is widely touted as one of the most gentle, most effective cleansers that will do its job without stripping the skin of necessary oils and such. Before I found Cetaphil I used to mess around with a lot of acne-specific cleansers that were too harsh and set my skin in oil-producing overdrive mode in over to compensate for all the oils the cleansers stripped. So, a gentle cleanser and moisturizer is a must.
Other than that, unfortunately nothing really worked for me other than prescription topical acne medications. I have two creams that I am using right now, and they work wonders. Unlike ingested acne medications, topical acne medications shouldn't cause too much trouble health-wise, other than leaving you more prone to sunburn.
I tried Proactive but it did not do anything for me. My friend swore by it, though, so it's different for everyone. It's great if OTC stuff works for Noodles, but if not it may be time to take her to the dermatologist's and get it under control sooner rather than later because scars can accumulate over time. It may be expensive initially, but over time it can save you a lot of money simply because it will work better. Just my two cents. ;-)
I use the Dr. Lewinns Medic cleanser and oil free moisturizer, and it's magic stuff. I also sometimes use the Thursday Plantation cleanser, which is also a massive winner, but get the one that contains chamomile, because the face AND body wash didn't do much for my skin.
ReplyDeletexxxxxxx
try acne.org
ReplyDeleteLots of great reviews.
I've tried a few things that have worked for me, the bar of soap - gamophen it's cheap and I've had it stop pimples in their tracks, secondly benzac I use the 10% but that is probably to harsh for her skin, maybe start with the lowest or medium strength. Goodluck! :D And the Paula's choice bha gel is great too.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your fantastic advice. I have lots to look into now! :-D
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the century =)
ReplyDeleteAnd good luck to Noodles :) I remember my first pimple. It was when I was 12, on my upper lip. I kind of liked it :D
ReplyDelete