Silk Naturals

Thanks Trainer. I'll check into the dairy products.

I'm not willing to use any Proactive products with her right now. I know the products work for a lot of people, but the backlash when you stop using them is way too severe for me to try that just yet. I think they are just too strong for the little bit of acne that she has. I've read some real horror stories about how much damage comes from stripping all the oil from the skin with it. She never has more than 3 or 4 actual bumps at any given time, and sometimes not that many.

The BHA toner from here would be the same as using a salicylic acid soap. I got a sample of that to use along with the pore refining toner to see if it will help.

Honestly, right now I'd rather give Karen's products a go at it. We've tried various drug store face washes and toners, and some "home remedies" (such as aspirin masks, honey masks, milk of magnesia, calamine) with limited success. I think getting her into a daily "care" routine (rather than treatment) may just make the difference. I need to do the same, as I'm now 34 and I've been pretty lazy about skincare for my entire life.

Please follow up and let us know how this works. I have a soon to be 13 yr old with some minor issues.

Will do SweetBecka! Maybe I can talk her into doing a weekly "blog" on it. That'd keep her on top of her routine.

I had HORRIBLE acne from about 10-17. Huge underground spots that hurt so badly I would cry touching my face, tonnes of black and white heads, just a mess.

The BC that really turned it around for me was the NuvaRing, and I highly recommend it for everyone. It's so easy - put it in, take it out three weeks later, put in a new one after a week's rest. I have been on it for a year and a half and my skin is much clearer, no mood swings, 10 day heavy heavy periods, none of it. I know to the hour when I will get my period, when it will leave, and I feel much better during the whole cycle.

My 14 year old daughter is battling with acne also. I've taken her to a dermatologist who put her on Duac and Epiduo - both did not help. Not happy with him because his attitude was - at this age, there's not much you can do! I also had him look at my red, itchy cheeks and he said- that's an unusual rash - I don't know if it is rosacea or exzema! Needless to say I won't be going back to him! We are now trying the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion and Healing Cream. Hoping something will help, because her skin is getting worse.

Karen - do you have any plans for a cream that would help with acne and red scarring?

Got my order in today (WOW that was fast). So I'm thinking I'll have her start with the Pore Refining Toner, Green Tea and Aloe Serum and Hemp. If all goes well for a week or so, we'll add in the BHA a couple of times a week. If she still needs something I'll have her add the Simple C Serum a couple of times a week.

Sound about right? And if we add the Simple C do you think it would be better when she uses the BHA or the Pore Refining?

I"m eager to try the Holy Crow myself.

It doesn't really matter, I don't think. The Vit C in the Simply C is MAP, not L-AA. It's not the kind that burns, in other words, so it's probably okay to go either way. If you wanted to be on the safe side, you could alternate between PRT/Simply C and BHA nights.

Good luck with getting it under control. My DD (16) is pretty lucky but I am afraid she is going to inherit my skin. Cystic acne as an adult is no fun especially after you have already had a kid! My hormones just went wacky, and I was completely uninformed about good skin care so I am trying to impart my knowledge (thanks to the old EDM forum and research online) to my DD so she never has to deal with what I did.

I have the same trouble getting my DD to follow a routine, and NOT pick!! I have terrible scarring from just having cystic acne, mainly because it would come back in the same place over and over, sometimes it felt like they were popping up on top of each other! I have changed my skin care and MU routine drastically and for the first time in years, I am pretty clear. I did have issues this past month and I think it was stress related. I also think I wasn't switching up my routine enough, which is something GoW recommends.

I really do hope what you have planned works, and she can get into the habit of good skincare early in life. It will go a long way to good life long habits! BTW: You don't look old enough to have a 14 yr old!

I think it'll have to help if she will stick with it. Thanks photogoddess, I'm 34. Thats why the shades in the avatar...lol.

Ladies, let me know how the routine works for your daughter. My dd is only ten, but breaking out with big zits on her forehead and nose, and a huge amt of blackheads, even inside her ears! I'm at a loss, since no matter how hard I try, she is just not interested in following a routine, and her hygiene is pardon the pun, spotty at best. I was and am pretty lucky in that my skin was never an issue for me, even as a teenager, but my dh swears she got her skin from him.
Anything that smacks of *work* to her.....she will just do a half-aassed job, and that includes washing. Any help I try to give her she rejects out of hand. I have to pick my battles with her.

Laurie