Well, that devolved rather quickly. Let’s all try to be kinder to each other—this is a noncontroversial question about teen acne!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Research shows that differin combined with benzoyl peroxide is one of the best treatments. The combination is marketed under Epiduo. However, you could use differin and a separate benzoyl peroxide wash simultaneously. Don't forget there are two strengths of differin. Accutane is really from a bygone era and has some dangerous side effects that are quite common. Don't forget, accutane is from the time when they thought pumping you full of oral antibiotics for the rest of your life was a good idea to prevent facial acne.

Just to clarify, I'm not saying accutane has any relationship to oral antibiotics. I'm just saying people are citing "cutting edge medicine" from 20 years ago

And as a scientist, let me clarify to you that some old cures work best. Accutane is highly toxic for fetuses but works better on acne than anything else. Another example: retinol is still the best anti-aging product out there, despite being quite venerable.

I'm a scientist too, but thanks for that valuable information.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Research shows that differin combined with benzoyl peroxide is one of the best treatments. The combination is marketed under Epiduo. However, you could use differin and a separate benzoyl peroxide wash simultaneously. Don't forget there are two strengths of differin. Accutane is really from a bygone era and has some dangerous side effects that are quite common. Don't forget, accutane is from the time when they thought pumping you full of oral antibiotics for the rest of your life was a good idea to prevent facial acne.

Just to clarify, I'm not saying accutane has any relationship to oral antibiotics. I'm just saying people are citing "cutting edge medicine" from 20 years ago

And as a scientist, let me clarify to you that some old cures work best. Accutane is highly toxic for fetuses but works better on acne than anything else. Another example: retinol is still the best anti-aging product out there, despite being quite venerable.

Anonymous wrote:Research shows that differin combined with benzoyl peroxide is one of the best treatments. The combination is marketed under Epiduo. However, you could use differin and a separate benzoyl peroxide wash simultaneously. Don't forget there are two strengths of differin. Accutane is really from a bygone era and has some dangerous side effects that are quite common. Don't forget, accutane is from the time when they thought pumping you full of oral antibiotics for the rest of your life was a good idea to prevent facial acne.

Actually, after pumping both our sons full of antibiotics and using every prescription topical known to man, we finally realized nothing was going to eliminate their cystic acne. We then went with Accutane. After a six month course, their acne was gone - vanished. We still regret not having started Accutane sooner since they were left with some scars as a result of our waiting too long. If our third child develops cystic acne, we won’t hesitate to go straight to Accutane. There is nothing else like it. It’s not “dated” - it’s the gold standard.

OP here. Accutane completed eliminated my acne. Nothing else did. So I’m a proponent but I want to exhaust other options first. He already washes his face with 10% benzoyl peroxide wash. I’ll ask about different strengths of Differin.

Anonymous wrote:Research shows that differin combined with benzoyl peroxide is one of the best treatments. The combination is marketed under Epiduo. However, you could use differin and a separate benzoyl peroxide wash simultaneously. Don't forget there are two strengths of differin. Accutane is really from a bygone era and has some dangerous side effects that are quite common. Don't forget, accutane is from the time when they thought pumping you full of oral antibiotics for the rest of your life was a good idea to prevent facial acne.

Just to clarify, I'm not saying accutane has any relationship to oral antibiotics. I'm just saying people are citing "cutting edge medicine" from 20 years ago

Research shows that differin combined with benzoyl peroxide is one of the best treatments. The combination is marketed under Epiduo. However, you could use differin and a separate benzoyl peroxide wash simultaneously. Don't forget there are two strengths of differin. Accutane is really from a bygone era and has some dangerous side effects that are quite common. Don't forget, accutane is from the time when they thought pumping you full of oral antibiotics for the rest of your life was a good idea to prevent facial acne.

Anonymous wrote:Is it just white heads? Try Differin -- both the wash and the topical gel at night.

No. Not just whiteheads. He does use the Differin gel but I didn’t know there was a wash. I’ll get him to try that.

My husband and I both took Accutane as teens. So far my son has had manageable acne. He uses an astringent and also those acne circle things. Accutane really is the gold standard, so if he is seriously bothered by his acne, don't hesitate to go that route. Nothing works remotely as well.

Is it just white heads? Try Differin -- both the wash and the topical gel at night.

OP here. Was there anything else you tried between topicals and Accutane? I took Accutane myself in my mid 20s but that was after many, many years of topicals, oral antibiotics, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Accutane

+1

Two sons.

ProActive

Accutane

If your son had acne as a teenager, when did his skin start clearing up? Do you think it cleared up due to some product he used or just due to age? My son is 14 and his skin is getting worse even after using a BP cleanser, clindamycin and adapalene. Did anything else help? Thanks.