Advise on 11 Year Old with Acne

Updated on April 15, 2008
M.V. asks from Perris, CA
6 answers

Hi moms, can anyone give me some good advise as to help with an 11 year old daughter with acne. I know it can get better, but she carries most of it on her back, and is constantly picking at her back and her face whenever she is in the car or watching tv (probably at school,too). I've asked her to stop everytime I catch her and she says she can't. Could it be nerves? I've tried Proactive and over the counter medications found at Target, etc. I just cant seem to help her much. Please help.

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B.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

HI
depending on how bad it is you could take her to the Dr. to get it checked out. My daughter had it pretty bad starting at about eleven and a half, twelve. I took her to her Dr. and he put her on antibiotics for it and gave her some cream. It cleared up pretty good. Show her how to properly wash her face and apply cream and stuff and try doing this for at least two weeks to help her get into a routine. Hopefully she will continue after that.
In my experiance with the two out of three girls I have they really don't start caring about thier apperience untill they are almost thirteen.
My other daughter has a bad habbit of chewing her cuticals. We bribed her to get her to stop. A trip to the mall and a twenty to thirty dollar outfit. It was worth it to me. But she had to quit for a month.
MAybe you could show your daughter pictures of what her skin will look like later in life if she picks at her achne.
Good luck
B.

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J.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

You can try baking soda paste on her face. And try lemon juice mixed with water as an astringent. It's a natural remedy, that works well. For her back Clinique has a wonderful spray that helps with body acne. And, remember each persons face is different, and reacts differently. Proactive worked well for me for quite some time, and then all of a sudden made me break out worse. I switched to Mary Kay and am having wonderful results. Just some thoughts. Sounds like you may need to start sending her to school with a little "care package", sounds like her hormones may be changing. Good luck mom, you are doing a wonderful job!

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B.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

I had bad acne at that age, too, and was a bad picker. It was always nerves or boredom, and it is really hard to stop. You may want to mention to her that picking can cause scars, but other than that bugging her about it probably won't help! Also, it's kind of expensive, but you can try Arbonne's acne system. I tried it and it didn't work for me (which was expected because acne products usually make me break out worse- and I think I'm too old for it), but my teenage cousin had terrible acne and these products completely cleared it up- so much so that his mom started to sell the stuff. But different things work with different people. Make sure when she tries something new she uses it for 6 weeks before she switches to something else. And make sure that, no matter how greasy she thinks her face is, she moisturizes! I used to be a skin care consultant and that is a common mistake women make- it actually makes your skin greasier because your skin tries to compensate! Two other things to try if Arbonne doesn't work; Cetaphil, both the wash and the moisturizer, works for some people because it's so simple and fairly pure. Also a lot of people have had success with the Velocity line from Mary Kay. Also, look at her diet- dark sodas, greasy food, and chocolate have all been linked to acne. And tell her I feel for her!

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S.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I'll second a trip to a Dermatologist, especially a female one if you can fine one. Girls just seem to relate beter to a female doctor, I know I did. My Dermatologist at that age showed me proper face washing and got me on retin-a, common then. She also showed me some photos of people who kept picking at acne, and how scarred their faces were. I think that's what finally got me :)

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T.O.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi M.. I feel for your daughter. My first bouts with acne started about that age. I was miserable throughout middle school. My mom took me to a dermatologist and I used everything from Retin-A to Accutane. The Accutane finally worked in my last year of high school (yes I battled this for 7 years) and I gradually saw it go away. I don't know if I would necessarily recommend it because it is highly potent. I would do your research. I am sorry the Proactive did not help. I always wished they had it back then when I was experiencing it. Anyway, I do sell a system and a cream through my business. If you are interested, email me back and I can give you the website info.

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M.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I used to have a lot of acne when I was playing basketball in high school. Tell you daughter the more she picks at the worse it'll get. You may also want to try Sensaria.com, I have been using there products for over 2 years now. It is all natural and has kept acne away. Try not to use stuff that will dry your daughter skin to much because then it will make her want to produce more oil and clog her pores, then giving more acne. Sensaria has body wash and facial products designed for every skin type, it was started by a man who was allergic to a lot of things. Check them out.

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