Spots :/

It helps for me, so yeah, it might be an idea. The conventional treatments you can buy over the counter tend to contain a chemical called salicylic acid, better known as aspirin, so unless you're allergic I'd try something like that. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and helps remove oil from the skin's pores.
You're not really too old for them either, I'm afraid.
If it's really bad see a doctor; you might need a brief course of antibiotics.

 

my advice is a little different..i attack spots squeeze and get the crap out...or scratch till the skin breaks clean it all up with cleaning and disinfectant...then i apply sudocrem ...its a healing aid...the cream is available from chemists and supermarkets i think a line..

its really helpful...saved me from spots back in the school days..and when i get the odd one now it gets rid of them within a day and helps with the scabs...stops me having all messed ups kin from spots..

i think another thing to do is keep cleaning your face and at night beware of greasy hair laying on your face.... ...

and off topic moisturise it seems to help dunno why lol.

 

You'd need to check with a doctor, but topical application of aspirin may not interact with oral medication; the bottle of stuff doesn't mention anything like that. But things like Clean and Clear and so on work.
To be honest the best stuff I've had was the face wash stuff you can get in either boots or tesco quite cheaply; they also do a face scrub which is the exfoliating part. Neither are medicated, so shouldn't normally cause an allergic reaction.

 

I wouldn't exfoliate too much, because it can stimulate the sebum production and in the end just makes the things worse.
I would go for an appropriate cleanser , a toner and a moisturize for skins with acne (there are tons of brands for problems skins in every drugstores). You can also put some tea-tree oil directly on the spots with a q-tip before going to bed. It's very efficient on my skin.
And avoid too fat or sugary food for a few days. I noticed that when not directly linked with my hormones, break out often happens to me when I'm eating too fat.
In case it doesn't work or if things are getting worse, you can ask your doctor for a more appropriate treatment.
Take care, Cécile

Edit : and definitly not squeeze your spots. More than half part of the time, it makes an average spot enormous and infected...

 

Yeah, I find moisturizing helps, though mostly to avoid razor bumps. The sudocrem thing isn't a bad idea, and while it works you can still theoretically run the risk of scarring if you burst the pimples. It's never stopped me though, and they frequently get mutilated when I shave. Shaving products (I'm assuming at 16 you shave, but apologies i you don't need to regularly - I envy you if that's the case) like pre and after shaves tend to contain an alcohol which is a very efficient antiseptic and ought to help. As for the greasy hair thing, doctors tend to say that's a myth, but in my experience I tend to have fewer spots on my forehead if I have shorter hair.
I'm sure you know a lot of this already though.

 

Soap and water's pretty good to be fair. I dunno why your mum would "shank you up" - acne is a perfectly well recognized skin condition. The drugs are just to treat the infection which causes acne vulgaris. You should be okay, in my experience, with using exfoliating stuff every other day, so use it one morning, then don't for the next morning, or the two evenings in between.
If you tell me what the eczema creme is I can tell you if it is, or if you look through the ingredients list for anything like "urea" - yep, it's what it sounds like, but it's just a chemical, and it's the best known skin moisturizer. If you're feeling skint you could always... yep, make it yourself Otherwise Tesco have a range of moisturizer for men, if you feel embarrassed about using it, or most aftershave balms will do the job, but they tend to be noticeably more expensive (like a fiver for a smallish tube).

 

You'll find that skin tends to vary over time. Conditions like eczema, acne and dryness will come and go, get worse, get better.

What you're going through is a temporary phase where your skin is getting blocked pores and developing infection.

The blocked pores is usually a combination of an oily environment and dead skin cells. Usually, avoiding creams and soaps that make the skin too oily or too dry will help. Some things like sunscreens or cosmetics can block the pores, so give some thought to anything you might be using currently that made things worse.

Using a mild exfoliant will keep the dead skin removed so that it doesn't clog up your pores. Benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and beta hydroxy preparations- usually found in the acne section at grocery stores and drug/chemist stores do the trick in helping "turnover" the skin cells.

You might have to try different things to find what works best for your skin type. Some people respond better to benzoyl peroxide while others find that using a combination of things works best. Oh- and don't just try things for a couple of days and then give up. Sometimes when you start exfoliating, your acne will get worse for a few days as you begin to open up blocked pores- it's the "it will get worse before it gets better" thing.

If the over-the-counter things don't work for you, you may need to see your doctor to get stronger formulations or maybe even a short course of antibiotics.

 

Your a gay chav?? lol funny

But yeah your only 16, so its pretty normal, your still growing.

 

:/ You talk as though I wasn't aware of what slang means. I don't come across as being that out of touch do I. Dunno, maybe I should start talking using Belfastisms, and see ho long it is before I get banned for talking about my love of craic

 

its bad to call yourself a chav...* shudders* chavs yuck..... oh i remember when they used to be in swarms in their burberry and fake gold going around tryng to talk all street living of making people miserable upsetting them .

as for ex foliating be careful ... it can be a bit rough and i found it used to burn my face...was hell to do.

 

Can't say I've ever had any of the problems anybody has come up with about exfoliating - it's a bit uncomfortable, and feels like sanding your face - as you probably know, since you've tried it, but it's never burnt my face...
One word of warning, it's very painful to do it before shaving - that said you get a closer shave from it. Swings and roundabouts...

 

Change your pillowcase every night, wash your face before bed.

Trust me, dude. This works. I don't have any acne but I had a fair amount before I figured this trick out.

I've gotten like 3 friends in real life to do this after they were complaining about breakouts and they all came to me like a week later saying "why did you not enlighten me before?"

 

You got it in your eye? :s lol Sorry, I should sound more sympathetic. I do live in Northern Ireland -the whole place acts like a slum Not true, really, but it sometimes feels that way.

 

Not all exfoliation is created equal.

Most people associate exfoliation with chemical peeling agents or that stuff that is like liquid sandpaper.

The best exfoliation is mechanical exfoliation/debridement. All you need is a gentle cleanser and a washcloth. Don't scrub. Just take the washcloth on the tip of your finger and rub gently in a circular motion. The goal is to take off the surface hard layer of skin to reveal the healthy skin underneath. This also dislodges bacteria from the surface of the skin.

Some of the cosmetic companies are making disposable face cloths that come in a package similar to the packaging for diaper (or nappy in the UK, I think) wipes. Some of these cloths have hydroxyacids (BHA or AHA) in them.

Just a warning though- if you're using a retinol preparation like tretinoin or benzoyl peroxide, you will want to go light on the mechanical exfoliation since these substances already peel the skin.

 

Do you mind if I ask you what you normally eat everyday? I know you said your caloric intake fluctuates, but what kind of food are you eating? You can be completely honest, as I only want to help.

Also, you are probably right about not taking drugs at this time. Drugs have the tendency to only treat the symptoms of a problem, while not fully addressing the cause of the problem itself. This is why I would like to see how your diet is at the moment.

-Brandon