Acne scarring spots

hey everyone! 

I have been been suffering from acne for over a year it's finally coming right but I am left with a whole heap of red purple spots ALL OVER MY FACE has anyone tried anything that works to put on? TIA

Heya I would try a facial oil like Rosehip or Argan. Even coconut oil may help. Good luck I hope you find something that helps.

I've been told Vitamin E helps! I also liked Trilogy's rosehip oil for when I burnt my wrist, you can't even see the scar there now! Sure a burn isn't the same as acne but it might still help. Good luck :-) 

There are a couple of products that will be effective for you.  

First is Vitamin C which is extremely effective at healing acne scarring.  I really like this one but there are others you can try.  Do a bit of research because there are different variants of Vitamin C. This one I linked contains L-Ascorbic Acid which is the gold standard but it is also unstable in water so there are lot of different formulas out there to stablise it and therefore lots of different price points.  

You could also try the A'kin one that BR is advertising on their website but this contains a slightly less effective variant called Ascobyl Tetraiospalmitate but, it's also less irritating to skin and it's stable so will last in your bathroom drawer.  You should notice a difference within a couple of days using Vitamin C.

Another one you could look at is Alpha Arbutin from The Ordinary (you can purchase through Beautylish or ordinaries.com) which is also good for hyperpigmentation and acne scarring.  I've just gotten hold of some of this to try out.

While there, you can look at their Niacinamide + Zinc1% which helps calm inflamed skin and acne scarring.  I'm loving this too.

Lastly there is your AHA which will exfoliate the top layers of skin and encourage new skin turnover.  This may not be suitable for sensitive skin so suggest using 2 or 3 times a week to see how you go with it.  Cosrx, a Korean brand, does a very powerful AHA and can be purchased from a NZ based website.

I've listed this in order of effectiveness but it all depends on your budget so have a look around and see what you can find out :).

I too have heard of things like rosehip oil and vitamin E cream. But I think they're all fairly long term treatments.

A more expensive (and slightly painful) but effective treatment is lasering. Caci clinic and other similar clinics do lasering for acne (and other) scarring. Just be sure to read reviews about the clinic first to make sure it's a good one.

I had a lot of acne scarring and found both Rosehip and Vitamin E have been really good. I hope you find something that works hun :-)

thank you everyone! I spent over 4 hours during Easter weekend researching a lot of products! And made a purchase today of the skin care corsrx a Korean skincare that had amazing reviews which I think is one that was recommended on here for it's AHA so I will use for a few months and then write a review on here :) 

jazzmin9 glad you found something to try.  I'm interested to hear what you think of this brand.  Please keep us updated :-)

Excellent!  I hope it works for you.  Mum said that the AHA from Cosrx was the only thing that helped with her millia.

Only four hours huh?  You must have been so incredibly focused, my research takes me from one thing to another and I end up with something completely different to what I had planned out :).

I, too, suffer from acne scars, especially on my temple areas and forehead. I recently saw a Dermatological clinic offering facial with bleaching which apparently should help with the scars. Has anyone else heard of / tried this before? I really want to know if it's safe before I jump in and try it. 

Thanks in advance!

My big girl has just developed acne. Looking at getting her Proactive system. I’ll search through BR today for reviews. Any recommendations.

Proactive is horrible imo. It is super harsh. I love the La roche-posay effaclar products. You can get an anti acne 3 piece set. Highly recommend that. Good luck I hope something helps her :-)

My son had chronic cystic acne. It was so horrible and he went through a terrible time because he was extremely shy and self conscious by nature anyway.  We tried everything and in the end only proactiv worked, but it is pretty tough on skin.

Your big girl is growing up fast, Macs! I agree with Lisalou, acne needs to be treated gently, especially on such young skin. Most products traditionally marketed as acne treatments as simply just too harsh. Starting her on a basic gentle skincare regime (like the LRP Lisalou recommends) should help. If not, and it starts affecting her self esteem, then take her to see a doctor before it gets too bad and there is a possibility of scaring (don’t let her pick!). This is advice from someone who battled with acne for thirty years and learnt what not to do the hard way!

We wore using netrogena for her acne. I had it under control for three months then all of a sudden she got heaps of pimples. 

I was was looking at either Proactive. Mario Badescu Anti Acne kit . I’m willing to pay whatever to get my girls confidence back . I’ll look into that brand . Thanks lisa. 

I hear you there Macs. I left it too late and my son went through a long period of feeling bad about himself. It haunts me to this day. Poor kids.

Yes it’s great you’re doing something about it now Macs, and not just hoping she’ll “grow out of it”.
I’m not a fan of Mario Bedascu products myself. I tried one of their regimes and hated it. Some of their formulations are also pretty harsh. 

Marie I think back to my mum and she would make me put tooth paste on my pimples lol Men’s perfume omg ..I won’t be doing that on my girl .

Hopefully today after work we’ll go and look around . 

Oh no Macs! yeek I squeezed mine then put perfume on them to dry them out!

Yeap I did the same too. And perfume on cold sores. Ouch.

I don’t know how old she is but the thing that worked best for clearing my skin in the end was the pill. I was only ever on the mini pill and now can’t take it at all as it contraindicates with my medication and sends my hormones outta whack (went from a DD to an F in a couple months while LOSING weight :/). If she’s of an age where that’s appropriate it may be worth a go. 

The other thing was Ethique ‘In Your Face’ cleanser which was holy grail but now they have changed the formula and my skin can’t tolerate it, for which I’ll hate them forever ...


I’m sure you’re teaching her that it’s only her skin and she’s still beautiful as a person - mine didn’t worry me toooo much until other people started going on about it and made me think I should be worried. 


I also thoroughly agree with staying away from harsh chemical regimes and drugs like roaccutane. I’d be looking at natural options like coconut oil as a makeup remover, turmeric balm etc ahead of anything harsh. 

Oxygen are an NZ brand aimed at young skin and acne. Worth checking them out as I think it's all pretty gentle stuff. 

I never thought to try natural. Tomorrow is my day off . An excuse to go have a look lol .  Ran out of time after work today. 

I got a bottle of the Oxygen 2-in-1 cleanser in one of the previous BR vaults.  It’s formulated for teens and women with problematic/blemish prone skin, and contains anti-bacterial ingredients.   Its a foaming cleanser that has tiny exfoliating particles in but is gentle enough for daily use, and it’s cleared up my skin.  I haven’t had a breakout since using it! 

Dermalogica have a fantastic range called Clear Start for acne prone skin and they offer different products/regimes for different stages/types of acne. They're awesome at providing samples etc. too, and do travel size sets, free gifts, etc.   Vegan friendly/cruelty free too. They've just started it out as their own brand with its own website clearstart.co.nz - which has lots of helpful information. I've used dermalogica for years, and love all their products.

if ever i get a pimple i put tea tree oil on it, hasnt failed me yet. 

i hope you find something suitable for your girl, macs :-) 

My holy grail when I first started a skin care regime during puberty was Clean & Clear. Very fond memories, I don't use it now though as its not CF. Still looking for a CF pimple spot cream I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually. 

Oh I remember Clean and Clear. Is it still around? it's probably a bit more gentle than proactiv.

Tabucutie Mecca Max spot dots are CF and work - i FAR prefer to them to a cream etc, these i pop on overnight and they sort out the spot

I thought it was Maree, now I'm not sure if it was a false memory. Definitely better than proactive.  I did try that range once and it was very harsh and drying on my skin.

Thanks Trudi I'll have a look at that now.

Sephora also do spot dots- slightly cheaper but I don't like them quite as much

It's tricky eh? looking back I might've used just white vinegar for drying random spots cos it softens skin.

I've always had my eyes on the Mecca Acne dots but didnt end up purchasing because I havent had one pimple since using the Eco Tan products. 

Miss 10 is going through hormonal changes at the moment so may get some for her. My boys are getting pimples but they are quite happy for me to leave them alone ha ha ha. Boys are so different lol.