OP, you've received many suggestions here. For the hormonal angle--and I am one of the promoters here--if your DD has any one of the following in addition to acne, run, do not walk, to an OB for a hormonal check: irregular periods, hairiness in places where you'd rather not have hair, and overweight. Any one of those in combination with acne would point to polycystic ovary sundrome (PCOS). About ten percent of females have this, making it quite common. If she has PCOS she can do all sorts of surface things for acne but it will not address the problem.

If she doesn't have any other symptoms of PCOS, consider one or two of the other at home approaches for a month or two, then consider going to a dermatologist.

I took Accutane years ago and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. IMO, the acne is depressing!

My brother experienced severe depression from accutane. It dealt with the acne but made him suicidal.

Accutane has major side effects to be aware of. It can be very effective but at great cost for some.

I have super dry skin so maybe this only works for that but I have been making a solution of 50% lemon juice/50% rosewater and putting it on morning and night with a cotton ball and my skin is back to where it was in my youth (basically perfect).

There is zero need for any type of medication for acne. Go to a good acupuncturist. 3-5 treatments usually fix the problem and then one treatment whenever she might get another flare up. Yes, I speak from experience as the wife of an acupuncturist from a family of acupuncturists. It treats the cause and the symptoms and has ZERO side effects or long term risks or anything bad attached to it.

Accutane is harsh- I took it and my acne did resurface in my 20s.

*However* I took it without major side effects except some minor loss of good night vision. No depression. If the acne is serious and needs to be cleared up quickly due to potential scarring, accutane could be an option. Just take under a doctor's strict orders with birth control and preferably abstinence. Accutane will cause severe birth defects until it clears the system.

The pp is right- years of cycling through antibiotics, retin A creams, etc. may not ultimately be any safer/better. I'm glad I saved my antibiotic sensitivity for the severe case of pneumonia and ear infection I got as an adult.

If your insurance doesn't cover a derm, please see your pediatrician. She can help with the initial round acne meds, or of the case is serious enough, will write a referral to a dermatologist, which will then be covered by your insurance.

In the meantime, make sure your DD keeps her cellphone clean, keep her hands off her face, and try an OTC product like Neutrogena on the spot until you can get a prescription from you pediatrician.

Birth control pills (or "hormone therapy" as we call it in our house), were a lifesaver for DDs acne. Much more common than you think. And, they're free.

go to www.acne.org. Read. You don't need to buy the exact products he is selling, but take them as suggestions. His approach might work for your DD. I would try it before asking a doctor to pump drugs into her.

My history:
painful cystic acne on my back starting in middle school. Benzoyl peroxide helped some, but bleached out my shirts, towels, sheets.... The active ingredient in ProActive is benzoyl peroxide, so be careful with it.

Dermatologist put me on tetracycline, Retin-A, and Cleocin T liquid. Helped some, but didn't clear it up. Switched to minocycline. Still not clear. FWIW, he was the department head at a leading med school teaching hospital, so not exactly a quack.

In college I went on Accutane. Cleared it up for about five years. Then it came back with a vengeance.

Side effects of years of antibiotics? Ravaged my digestive tract. Twenty years later and I'm still trying to repair it.

Side effect of Accutane? Luckily no birth defects, but depression.

What has finally worked for me (and without nasty side effects):
Switched to Dove sensitive body wash, Neutrogena liquid soap on my face with a Clarisonic gentle/sensitive brush. Rinse really well. Use an alpha-hydroxy gel on face and back. Cetaphil lotion on my face during the day, coconut oil at night. Burts Bees acne cream where my sunglasses rest on my cheekbones and around my nose if I have a cold/allergies.

Epiduo

Clarisonic acne brush and Desert Essence Tea tree oil cleanser, aveeno naturals moisturizer.

Trader Joes makes a generic version of the cleanser.

It has transformed my 35 year acne drama and cured my blepharitis (which prevented me from wearing eye makeup for 5 years).

Signed,

Someone who has tried Accutane, benzoyl peroxide, proactiv, taking birth control pills, clindamycin, retin-a, blue light laser, injections for my cysts....the list goes on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I preach all the time on this site about this, and will do so again. Most acne, if not all, is hormonal. I recommend taking her to an ob, who deals with female hormone. Most dermatologist deal with the skins surface and not the true cause of acne, so no matter how much crap you put on your face, it won't help. Accutane is very powerful and wouldn't be my first go to.

Am the other preacher on this site about this. Based on experience with my DD--three Accutane failures--I would definitely do a hormonal check before doing Accutane. Her problem was definitely hormonal and birth control plus Spironalactone have done what Accutane could not and have cleared up her acne.

+1. Two rounds of Accutane temporarily cleared up my acne, but it came back. Birth control and Spironolactone have cleared it up beautifully. Please take your daughter to a dermatologist who is willing to examine potential hormonal causes of acne, rather than just treating the surface with expensive prescription creams.

OP, please see a dermatologist.

Try proactiv! I've had lifelong issues with acne and it works very well? Acne is non existent when using regular old proactiv. Tried plus and it didn't work as well. You can get it in the malls at a kiosk or vending machine.

Take her off dairy and soy