Andrea Miller ad: What dermatologists NEVER tell you!

What dermatologists NEVER tell you!

As a dermatologist I treated over a 1000 teenagers with acne. Last week was my last day at work. Retirement. I'm going to share what I wasn't allowed to say for the last 28 years. Acne during puberty always has a cause. And most treatments don't actually treat that cause. Although, I prescribed them anyway. What else is a doctor supposed to do? The NHS pays for it, parents hope for the results and you do what you were trained to do. I've seen mothers come back months after treatment. Their child still had inflamed spots and felt terrible about it. Didn't even want to go to school sometimes. And I just wrote them another prescription. I knew all of this and kept going anyway. Because that was my job. Until my own daughter Emma sat crying in the kitchen at 14. I could see it on her face before she said a word. Inflamed acne with redness everywhere. She also said she didn’t want to go to school because of it. That destroyed me. Not because I wasn't a doctor. But because as a doctor I knew exactly what I would prescribe her and what it would do to her. Let me tell you what I know, and what I stayed silent about for years. During puberty something happens in the child's skin. Hormone levels rise, the oil glands become much more active and produce more oil than the skin can handle. This oil mixes with dead skin cells and clogs the pores. Then comes the real problem, a bacterium called Cutibacterium acnes lives on our skin. And it loves this trapped oil. It starts growing faster. That bacterium is what causes acne. The immune system fights back, and that creates the redness, swelling and inflammation. That is the actual cause. Now comes the part I don't enjoy telling you. Most of the creams, gels and pills I prescribed are too harsh. They do kill the bacteria, yes, but in doing so they also destroy the skin's natural protective barrier. And all the good bacteria that is supposed to keep the skin healthy. And here is the problem. Teenage skin is not like adult skin. It's still developing. It's much more sensitive. When you ‘attack’ this young skin with harsh chemicals, it becomes even more sensitive. So the skin barrier gets damaged and the immune system becomes more reactive. The inflammation comes back, only worse each time. Because the skin is now even more vulnerable than before. I saw this with my own eyes. Children sitting back in my room after 3 months of treatment, with skin looking worse than when they started. This is not a coincidence. We just would never say it out loud, because it would make patients question their doctors. And that is exactly what I didn't want for Emma. So I did the only thing I could do as a mother. I started looking for an actual solution. What can really heal my daughter's skin? Not short term but properly. What targets the bacteria without destroying her skin? I came across something I overlooked for years. Calendula based products are not some exotic miracle. Not expensive technology. Calendula is a plant-based ingredient that does something no harsh gel can do. It specifically kills the bacteria that cause acne, without damaging the skin. It doesn't destroy the protective barrier. It doesn't kill the good bacteria. It only targets what is causing the problem. And at the same time this plant has an anti-inflammatory effect. It calms the immune system so redness and swelling are reduced. The skin can finally recover. And because the skin barrier stays healthy, the inflammation doesn't come back. Emma tried the balm made with a high concentration of calendula. Already in the first week I noticed a difference. The redness was visibly reduced. And for the first time in months no new pimples appeared. Not just fewer, actually none. In the 2nd week the change was clear. The inflammation that used to dominate her whole face now became much calmer. Her skin looked overall better, more settled. Emma stood in front of the mirror in the morning and I watched her enjoying it. In the 3rd week she came into the kitchen in the morning without me checking her skin first. I just smiled at her and she smiled back. After a month, she asked me if she could go out with her friend. For the first time in months. And at some point she realised that it's getting better. When she said that, it summed up everything I’ve been doing wrong for so long. And I was glad, because as a doctor I know that was only the beginning of the healing. If your child also has acne and you watch them stop socialising. If you've already tried pharmacy stuff, and the GP or even a dermatologist just keeps writing you another prescription without really listening. If you're scared of Roaccutane, but also know that things can't carry on the same way. Then read what I found. Harsh chemicals will never improve your child's skin. And I'm now officially allowed to say that. https://enduorin.com/pages/10-reasons