Forehead breakouts since I was 19 — might peptides help?

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SleepyPenguin

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Bit of an odd ask, but I assumed this might be the right spot for it.

I’m a 25-year-old woman, and acne has shown up only on my forehead ever since I turned 19.

It isn’t the typical teen kind, either. What I get is mainly persistent red, swollen bumps that won’t stay gone.

Everywhere else on my face is totally clear, and that somehow makes it more annoying.

I’ve lately begun reading up on peptides and wondered whether anybody here has used them for skin concerns.

I’m curious whether any peptides are ones where people genuinely saw a change.
 
kpv, possibly? Is a tight ponytail something you wear often? Or any style that pulls the hair tight at the front?

Low sugar and low dairy as well, plus plenty of water.
 
I've come across anecdotal accounts involving a few peptides, though their names escape me at the moment. Topical Retin-A (Tretinoin) is worth a serious look if you haven't checked it out yet. It isn't a peptide, but a dermatologist would probably suggest it. One warning: your skin needs time to get used to it, and for several months you may deal with irritation and dryness.
 
ladyj779 said:

kpv, possibly? Is a tight ponytail something you wear often? Or any style that pulls the hair tight at the front?

Low sugar and low dairy as well, plus plenty of water.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for replying — I appreciate that you took the time. KPV is now something I’m going to look into; it hadn’t crossed my mind before.

That’s a good point about hairstyle-related pulling. I hadn’t really considered traction. I usually only wear a low ponytail, and it isn’t tight.

Sugar and dairy are part of my normal diet, and no clear food trigger has stood out. What’s odd is that it’s confined to my forehead — everywhere else on my face is okay.
 
SleepyPenguin said:

ladyj779 said:

kpv, possibly? Is a tight ponytail something you wear often? Or any style that pulls the hair tight at the front?

Low sugar and low dairy as well, plus plenty of water.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for replying — I appreciate that you took the time. KPV is now something I’m going to look into; it hadn’t crossed my mind before.

That’s a good point about hairstyle-related pulling. I hadn’t really considered traction. I usually only wear a low ponytail, and it isn’t tight.

Sugar and dairy are part of my normal diet, and no clear food trigger has stood out. What’s odd is that it’s confined to my forehead — everywhere else on my face is okay.
Click to expand...
Azelaic acid and salicylic acid are both things I have already tried, but neither fully resolved the issue.

Tretinoin is something I am certainly considering. I have done a fair amount of reading on it, and I recognize that the evidence for it is strong. Even so, my concern has been the dryness, irritation, and the early worsening that can happen for some individuals.

Rather than staying away from it simply over the potential side effects, I may investigate it further.
 
Another odd ask: is there any sport you play where a helmet gets worn often, or anything else that sits across your forehead regularly?

For me, horseback riding does it, and during summer the inside padding of my helmet would turn nasty and leave me with forehead pimples.

Apart from benzoyle peroxide, every other typical topical I tried did nothing. I’ve used proactive—or an off-brand benzoyle peroxide moisturizer—at about 2.5% bp, never a stronger concentration, and that higher amount didn’t help either. It can simply be applied to the area that needs it.

For sunscreen, pick one that won’t clog pores; the one I’m using now contains cica.

Anyway, sorry you’re dealing with this—acne is awful, particularly when almost all of your face is 👍👍👍 while one patch is ridiculous.
 
SleepyPenguin said:

SleepyPenguin said:

ladyj779 said:

kpv, possibly? Is a tight ponytail something you wear often? Or any style that pulls the hair tight at the front?

Low sugar and low dairy as well, plus plenty of water.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for replying — I appreciate that you took the time. KPV is now something I’m going to look into; it hadn’t crossed my mind before.

That’s a good point about hairstyle-related pulling. I hadn’t really considered traction. I usually only wear a low ponytail, and it isn’t tight.

Sugar and dairy are part of my normal diet, and no clear food trigger has stood out. What’s odd is that it’s confined to my forehead — everywhere else on my face is okay.
Click to expand...
Azelaic acid and salicylic acid are both things I have already tried, but neither fully resolved the issue.

Tretinoin is something I am certainly considering. I have done a fair amount of reading on it, and I recognize that the evidence for it is strong. Even so, my concern has been the dryness, irritation, and the early worsening that can happen for some individuals.

Rather than staying away from it simply over the potential side effects, I may investigate it further.
Click to expand...
A conservative start is fine. Adapalene is a related, Vitamin A-based compound (brand name Differin) that can be obtained without a prescription. It ought not to produce the same degree of irritation as more powerful products such as Retin-A, which in technical terms is prescription-only.
 
Adapalene was a game-changer for my daughter, who is 24. Her breakouts used to be huge. It cleared her skin completely. The key is to work your way up slowly to nightly application. Begin with one night per week, then two nights per week, and keep increasing until you're using it every night. In the morning, be sure to apply a moisturizer so dryness doesn't become an issue. There can be a purging phase, yes. Usually, it's worth it.
 
Anecdote time - using GLP1 has cured my upper-arm Keratosis Pilaris completely. Only tangentially connected to your question, I know, but it is at least a "maybe it'll help".
 
ladyj779 said:

Another odd ask: is there any sport you play where a helmet gets worn often, or anything else that sits across your forehead regularly?

For me, horseback riding does it, and during summer the inside padding of my helmet would turn nasty and leave me with forehead pimples.

Apart from benzoyle peroxide, every other typical topical I tried did nothing. I’ve used proactive—or an off-brand benzoyle peroxide moisturizer—at about 2.5% bp, never a stronger concentration, and that higher amount didn’t help either. It can simply be applied to the area that needs it.

For sunscreen, pick one that won’t clog pores; the one I’m using now contains cica.

Anyway, sorry you’re dealing with this—acne is awful, particularly when almost all of your face is 👍👍👍 while one patch is ridiculous.
Click to expand...
To be honest, once the breakouts on my forehead began, I stopped wearing bangs altogether 😂.

I’m grateful that you spent the effort to craft such a considerate response, and I value that you told me about your own experience.
 
FartfulCodger said:

SleepyPenguin said:

SleepyPenguin said:

ladyj779 said:

kpv, possibly? Is a tight ponytail something you wear often? Or any style that pulls the hair tight at the front?

Low sugar and low dairy as well, plus plenty of water.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for replying — I appreciate that you took the time. KPV is now something I’m going to look into; it hadn’t crossed my mind before.

That’s a good point about hairstyle-related pulling. I hadn’t really considered traction. I usually only wear a low ponytail, and it isn’t tight.

Sugar and dairy are part of my normal diet, and no clear food trigger has stood out. What’s odd is that it’s confined to my forehead — everywhere else on my face is okay.
Click to expand...
Azelaic acid and salicylic acid are both things I have already tried, but neither fully resolved the issue.

Tretinoin is something I am certainly considering. I have done a fair amount of reading on it, and I recognize that the evidence for it is strong. Even so, my concern has been the dryness, irritation, and the early worsening that can happen for some individuals.

Rather than staying away from it simply over the potential side effects, I may investigate it further.
Click to expand...
A conservative start is fine. Adapalene is a related, Vitamin A-based compound (brand name Differin) that can be obtained without a prescription. It ought not to produce the same degree of irritation as more powerful products such as Retin-A, which in technical terms is prescription-only.
Click to expand...
I’m really grateful for your thoughtful response—it means a lot.
 
tbaby said:

KPV and the copper peptide GHK
Click to expand...
Where ghkcu is concerned, the problem is her age: she’s only 25. At 25, copper could end up being more harmful than helpful, because her body is probably still at "normal" levels of collagen production and skin-cell turnover.

That said, kpv is one I’d definitely recommend.
 
It might sound drastic, but I’d suggest seeing a skin PA or doctor and getting a prescription for Accutane. For my teens, that was the most effective step I took. Now that they are adults, acne is not an issue for them.

I’ve spotted it in grey spaces as well, though beginning with a prescription and follow-ups is likely better.
 
If the bumps are tiny and mostly limited to your forehead, a mild fungal form of acne known as pityrosporum folliculitis could be the cause — it happens when yeast grows too much on the skin. My daughter's cleared up within a few weeks using Nizoral shampoo. Apply about a dime sized amount, massage it into the forehead and hairline, let it sit for a few minutes, then wash it out. Doing this 2x's a week, hers was gone in two weeks. It runs around $25, which is a bit pricey, but for her it worked wonders. Plus one bottle lasts like a few years. Cutting back on sugar can also make a difference. It's worth a try.
 
Before you go injecting random peptides, which probably won’t do anything and could even leave you with lasting health problems, get a dermatologist’s opinion. Should it turn out to be ordinary acne, accutane is worth enduring the side effects for a while, because the result is a permanent cure. I regret waiting decades before I finally went through with it. If the cause is something different, a professional can identify it correctly and give you the right treatment.
 
Ask a doctor about tretinoin, or simply start accutane. My acne was cleared by accutane; I wish I had gone on it much sooner instead of waiting through my teens, since I am left with scars now.
 
If Tretinoin or Adapalene ends up being your choice and dryness becomes an issue, the sandwich method is worth a shot.

Start with clean, dry skin and smooth on a thin layer of moisturizer. Give it time to soak in. Then put on the medicated cream or gel. Let that dry. Finish with another layer of moisturizer. In other words, the medication sits sandwiched between two layers of moisturizer.

One more thing: don't jump straight into using it every day. For the first month, go with every other day or every third day, then move down to either daily or every other day. If there's another step before reaching daily use, I'd spend two-three weeks at the EOD stage before making the switch to daily.
 
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