The only thing that worked for me after many depressing years was clinique because it was fragrance free. I had huge improvement within a few weeks but skin didn't become 100 percent clear until I started taking the pill.

Anonymous wrote:The best thing that helped my 15 y.o. Is a strict diet. No white bread, sugar, flour, no dairy. No processed food. It took about 4 weeks for improvements, but then her skin became gorgeous.

The only side effect was an eating disorder.

The best thing that helped my 15 y.o. Is a strict diet. No white bread, sugar, flour, no dairy. No processed food. It took about 4 weeks for improvements, but then her skin became gorgeous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If high sugar diet, then cut it.

Completely false. Old Wives Tale

You are completely and utterly wrong. A quick google search shows studies cited by reputable sites linking diet,and yes sugar, to acne.

Epiduo and antibiotics during her periods.

Antibiotics occasionally results in yeast infections though!

Cut Margarine out and apply antibiotic ointment daily. Worked great for my dd who had overindulged on Christmas cookies over the holiday. Also, read all ingredients. Margarine is often hidden in foods.

Anonymous wrote:If high sugar diet, then cut it.

Completely false. Old Wives Tale

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This all makes me depressed.

+1

I didn't have bad acne, but my DH did so I'm bummed that my kids may go through all of this.

+2

My BIL is still traumatized by his severe acne and he is in his 50ties. Left scars, emotional and on his face. DH not as bad but still...

I am planning on taking the kid to the derm at the first sign. Sad to imagine zits marring that gorgeous tween skin.

Anyone try clay masks or oil cleanings? Anything more natural other than elimination diets?

Anonymous wrote:For those who recommend cutting dairy, is it really necessary to completely eliminate it, or is switching to organic enough to make a difference?

No, switching to organic won't make a difference. Or might only make a minor difference. The problem with dairy is that it has hormones from the cow in it (even organic does - producing milk requires hormones) and they can be inflamatory and cause acne.

I have no idea if it will help teens, because I only cut dairy as an adult.

Anonymous wrote:For those who recommend cutting dairy, is it really necessary to completely eliminate it, or is switching to organic enough to make a difference?

No, you have to eliminate it. Dairy by-products are hidden in a lot of packaged foods like bread, canned soup, etc, so be careful of that too.

The pill and Azalex.

DS--Accutane

DD--Spironalactone after three Accutane failures. (Found out she has PCOS; had I known about this possibility I would have it tested for before doing Accutane.)

Sulphur-containing masks. If you go with Proactive, make sure a ton of sunscreen is used - it can leave pigmentation spots which the ads conveniently omit.

Anonymous wrote:Antibiotics only worked for our kids as long as they stayed on them for a long time. When I finally decided enough was enough and we stopped the antibiotics, the acne came back with a vengence. Switched to Accutane for both kids and their skin is now beautiful.

This was our experience as well. (Also the antibiotics became less effective over time.)