re teenage acne pchurch swell actrix gen nz pat churchill writes my y o son has the usual teenage spotty chin and greasy nose i bought him clearasil face wash and ointment i think that is probably enough along with the usual good diet however he is on at me to get some product called dalacin t which used to be a doctor s prescription only treatment but is not available over the chemist s counter i have asked a couple of pharmacists who say either his acne is not severe enough for dalacin t or that clearasil is ok i had the odd spots as a teenager nothing serious his father was the same so i don t figure his acne is going to escalate into something disfiguring but i know kids are senstitive about their appearance i am wary because a neighbour s son had this wierd malady that was eventually put down to an overdose of vitamin a from acne treatment i want to help but with appropriate treatment my son also has some scaliness around the hairline on his scalp sort of teenage cradle cap any pointers advice on this we have tried a couple of anti dandruff shampoos and some of these are inclined to make the condition worse not better shall i bury the kid till he s no i was one of the lucky ones very little acne as a teenager i didn t have any luck with clearasil even though my skin gets oily it really only gets miserable pimples when it s dry frequent lukewarm water rinses on the face might help getting the scalp thing under control might help that could be as simple as submerging under the bathwater till it s softened and washing it out taking a one a day vitamin mineral might help i ve heard iodine causes trouble and that it is used in fast food restaurants to sterilize equipment which might be where the belief that greasy foods cause acne came from i notice grease on my face not immediately removed will cause acne even from eating meat keeping hair rinse mousse dip and spray off the face will help warm water bath soaks or cloths on the face to soften the oil in the pores will help prevent blackheads body oil is hydrophilic loves water and it softens and washes off when it has a chance that s why hair goes limp with oilyness becoming convinced that the best thing to do with a whitehead is leave it alone will save him days of pimple misery any prying of black or whiteheads can cause infections the red spots of pimples usually a whitehead will break naturally in a day and there won t be an infection afterwards tell him that it s normal to have some pimples but the cosmetic industry makes it s money off of selling people on the idea that they are an incredible defect to be hidden at any cost even that of causing more pimples jackie
