The Netmums Podcast - S16 Ep12: Clear Conversations Episode 1: Why Is My Skin Doing This? Acne, teen skin care routines and confidence – with Dr Alia Ahmed

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

In this first episode of three Clear Conversations – a brand-new Netmums mini-series in partnership with Acnecide+Purifide – host Wendy Golledge dives into the emotional and often overwhelming world of teen skin. Teen guest Phoenix opens up about the sudden onset of breakouts, her skincare trial-and-error journey, and how it affected her confidence, while her mum, Sarah, shares what it’s like to support your child through it all. Joining the conversation is  Consultant Dermatologist and psychodermatology expert, Dr Alia Ahmed, who brings clarity with science-backed advice, myth-busting truths, and practical steps parents and teens can take to build healthier skin  – and self-esteem. Whether you're a parent trying to help your teen or a young person navigating blemish-prone skin, this honest and supportive chat is packed with insight, empathy, and empowering tips. Topics include: Why acne happens – the real causes behind breakouts How skin health and mental health are connected The do’s and dont’s of teen skincare routines Myths about acne, diet, hygiene and more Dr Alia’s top three skincare tips for teens Resources and links: Dr Alia: @the_psychodermatologist / thepsychodermatologist.com Acnecide + Purifide: acnecide.co.uk / Available on Amazon

Hi everyone and welcome to a special episode of the NetMums podcast. I'm Wendy Gollage and this is the first in a brand new series called Clear Conversations where we're getting real about teen skin and how parents can help support their kids through it. If your teen has breakouts, you already know the struggle. It's confusing, it's emotional and honestly it can be hard to know what works, what just causes more rows and what's just a waste of time TikTok trend today we're joined by mum Sarah and her daughter Phoenix who are bravely opening up about their experience with blemish-prone skin we'll also be joined by a skincare expert from

the brand purified by the makers of acnicide to help us decode what's really happening under the skin hi Phoenix it's nice to meet you thank you for joining us today so let's start with a question about when you first started noticing changes to your skin um okay so it was about two years ago around easter time um we were visiting family in australia and i brought so much new skincare um and my skin completely broke out and it was yeah it was a very big deal to me so did you buy new skincare just because it was something you'd seen or heard of and then it broke you out like i think maybe i had like one spot and i was like no i need so much new stuff and then yeah it got really bad after that and what was the hardest part about dealing with that

breakout at your age um i found it quite embarrassing um even though other people had bad skin i felt like those people had had bad skin for a long time and it was like um a new thing for me to have so i thought that that's what people were going to be noticing when they look at me the fact that i used to have good skin and now it's bad i feel like that makes it worse and i guess the shock of suddenly yeah thinking oh it's been good and now it's bad. Yeah, exactly. And was it made worse because you were away and it was hot? Do you feel like that was contributing? Usually I feel like my skin gets better when I'm on holiday. So I just absolutely hated it. And I wanted to, when you're on holiday, like, you want to look nice. And yeah,

it just ruined it. So where did you go for advice? You had a whole load of new skincare that wasn't doing the job. Did you just go and raid a chemist or did you actually seek any advice? I feel like I waited a little while, a couple months, like over summer. And then around October-November time, we went and saw a dermatologist, and she, like, prescribed me new stuff, I guess. And I started red light therapy as well to help with the redness under my skin. And did that help a little? To an extent.

I think the redness went down, but I still felt like my skin wasn't amazing. And I think it got worse in winter as well, especially, probably just because of the cold or the lack of humidity in the air. So my skin got very dry. And how does having breakouts affect your confidence at school? Where are you posting things on social media? I would post things on social media, but I would make sure that you couldn't really tell how bad my skin was.

I would put on makeup. I started wearing a lot more makeup during the winter, especially, because I felt like that's where my skin was, yeah, really bad. But also makeup can sometimes make it worse, so you're not sure whether you're doing the right thing. Exactly. So Sarah, what's it been like for you watching Phoenix go through the changes to her skin? I mean, your kids are going through changes all the time.

It's just one more change. It upsets me when it upsets her. But I've actually just been really proud about how resilient she's been about it. Because I know that when I was a teenager, I probably would have refused to go to school if I had one spot. I'm pretty basic with my skincare. always have been so I think sometimes I've been a little bit frustrated by the number of products that Phoenix has used I've just sort of been like you know you don't need all of that just stick some manuka honey on your face and you'll be fine but yeah I mean I it only upsets

me if it upsets her and a lot of the time she seemed very kind of matter of fact about it which I've been proud of did you feel unsure about how to how to help so I'm not what advice to give? Not really. Phoenix and I have a really good relationship, so she's come to me. You know, she's asked me to buy certain things. It worried me a little bit when she was worried about spending money on it. She didn't want her dad and I wasting money on her, and I was like, it's not a waste of money. You know, if you had a mental health issue, we would obviously pay for someone to help you with that. This could affect your confidence. It could affect your mental health. What's the difference? You know, I don't mind what it costs.

as long as it's working and you're feeling better. So no, it wasn't a case of me not knowing how to help because she would come to me and say what I could do to help. But it's hard sometimes, isn't it? Because you don't know if what you are spending money on is the right thing or if it's going to help. It's a trial and error. That's true.

And there's so much to choose from. That is true. But it would be the same with a therapist. You know, if you needed a therapist, the first one wouldn't necessarily be the right fit. You know, you keep going until you find the one who works for your particular problem. I saw it as exactly the same as that.

And I'm guessing on the odd occasion you said the wrong thing and didn't suggest the right thing. Yeah, there have been times where I've suggested, oh, you know, I've seen an ad for something and I've said, oh, this has really good reviews on Trust Pilot. Or I've said, you know, well, when I was a teenager, I just used, you know, simple soap and water and my skin was fine, and nobody needs to hear that.

So, yeah, I suppose there have been times where I've sort of got an eye roll. But I guess for you, Phoenix, it's also hard because you just want something that's going to work and something's going to help. I didn't want to keep having to try so many different things or risk it getting even worse than it already was. I just wanted to try one thing and have it actually work.

And I remember for my own experiences, someone would say, this is going to take two to three months to see any difference. That's the most frustrating sentence in the world. So what was the hardest bit for you? Was it the feeling lack of confidence? was it not knowing what to do? What did you find the hardest? Probably not knowing what to do.

And I would probably, if I was to get annoyed about it, probably sometimes took it out on my mom a little bit. That's what ones were there. Yeah, when a lot of things are getting suggested. And I mean, I do worry about spending too much money on it, especially if it's not going to work, then I do think it's a waste. I just wish there was something that was guaranteed.

Right, so let's bring in our expert. Dr. Alia, tell us a little bit about you. So I'm a consultant dermatologist and I have a special interest in psychodermatology. So that is all about the mind and the skin, how you're feeling about your skin can affect how you feel in general and that can then affect your skin so it can become a vicious cycle. So psychodermatology is something that I practice every day and it's a little bit of everything. So it's talking about medical treatment. It's talking about skin care. and your health and lifestyle, nutrition, sleep, stress. So it all goes together.

And I think people really like that, and people are looking for that now. So it's something that I love from the beginning, but I'm loving it more every day. So I'd like to first ask you, what from your very professional opinion, are the real causes of acne? Okay. So acne simply comes down to a few things. So first is that you have excess oil, and this is driven by hormones. And we all have hormones. So this is why acne can happen at any age. But in teenagers, especially, we see surges of hormones. So then you have more oil production. So you definitely need

that excess oil. Then you need the right sort of bacteria on your skin. And you also have an element of what is known as poor clogging. So your skin pores become clogged with dirt and oil. Then you get inflammation. You have the right bacteria. And all of this together helps you to form a spot. So these are the basic main causes of acne. altogether this is what can be inflammatory acne so mild moderate or severe acne which is more the deeper more painful spots that people can experience as well so my mom always used to swear that it was because I ate too much chocolate is that just nonsense it's a common myth and we do not know enough about nutrition so that's one thing that we are learning about every day but

the studies that we do have they're not really robust in to point out one particular type of food there have been some studies that have shown that foods with high glycemic index so things that we all know that we probably shouldn't be eating too much of they can be linked to more breakouts but we need to know more so i usually say to people if you're having acne and you're also applying dietary restrictions then don't be too hard on yourself eat what you're supposed to eat eat in moderation avoid the things you're supposed to avoid and yes you can have some chocolate it's it's not going to make things a lot worse and as Sarah was saying we also often think it's not about washing our face enough is that the case

not necessarily no so yes cleansing is important and actually there are some trends at the moment where people are telling you not to wash your face so that is what I would avoid in acne I would definitely say that you should cleanse your face but having acne is not a sign of being unhygienic or unclean so that's where I think the issue or the controversy arises because people will say oh, well, you just don't wash your face enough. But the person is already washing their face and making them feel like there's something unhygienic because they've got acne, which is not true.

Okay, so it's not about dirt, it's about biology. You mentioned bacteria, clogged pores, excess oil. How can a routine help with the problem? So it is important to have a skincare routine and I completely identify with what Phoenix said about, you know, you want things to work quickly, you do want a guarantee, I'm going to use this product and it's going to work. Obviously it doesn't happen like that.

all the time for everyone and your skin does take about a month to turn over so we don't necessarily always say if you use this product or even this medicine once is going to make a difference immediately so you need to give one to three months and it can be frustrating so that bit i completely understand but when it comes to skincare routines and thinking about your skin and how to make it better when you're having acne and breakouts it's nice to use simple routines so cleansing is important treating is important with active ingredients and also moisturising is important, which people forget, especially when they have acne. And what about the worry that using treatments might dry out your skin? I remember when I had acne problems, some of the treatments I tried, my skin would come off in like sheets.

Yes. So there is a worry that treatments can make it worse. Yep. So I think what happens with treatments is that active ingredients, whether they're prescribed or whether they're in skin care, they can cause irritation. That's one of the known side effects of those ingredients. But obviously when you buy a product, it will say, use this twice a day, and then you will follow that instruction to use it twice a day. Are you listening, Phoenix? We'll follow that instruction.

But then, when people come to see me in clinic, I'll say, well, these are actually quite a nice selection of products. Why didn't they work for you? And someone will say, well, actually, it's because they cause too much irritation. So what I normally say is actually slowly incorporate products. If you've got a new face wash, then use it first once in the morning, and then increase it to twice. and then you can add in your new moisturiser or your new active product so everything has to come on gently

so don't try everything at once exactly okay so phoenix would that have been helpful information to know at the start of your journey i think so yeah definitely um with not using with keeping it simple um that would have been the biggest thing for me because the temptation is to buy all the products and put all the products on that like i know yeah they just

the branding as well makes you want to buy So Dr. Alia, it's time for me to put you on the spot, I'm afraid. Can you share three top tips for starting a routine? Sure. So cleansing, as I mentioned, is important. So really you should be washing your face twice a day with a cleanser that makes your skin feel clean. Not necessarily dry, but clean. We do have to be careful about irritating the skin,

so you want to use a cleanser that can hydrate and moisturise at the same time. also yes looking for those active ingredients that are there to treat acne salicylic acid for example that's really important because it helps to unclog pores ingredients that reduce oil like zinc for example ingredients that can soothe your skin like glycerin so looking for these ingredients is something that you should think about in the treating area and then yes moisturising because acne treatments can dry your skin so it's important to keep the hydration level up and also i do always say you must be thinking about using sunscreen because what people worry about with acne two or three years down the line is the mark that it has left behind and actually if you don't use sunscreen appropriately

marks can become darker and they're more difficult to get rid of or to blend out later so you said that using a cleanser is really important but there are so many and you can walk into a chemist and there's a shelf full and they all look as you said the packaging is nice and they all look shiny and lovely. How do you know where to even start? What should a teenager or a parent be looking for in the cleanser? Sure. So cleansers, especially when you have acne, they need to look after your skin barrier so your skin is able to tolerate the active ingredients that you're putting on to help your acne. And they also need to be hydrating so you're not experiencing the side effects of the treatments that you're using. So things that I would look for and these are present

in the purified daily cleanser are ingredients like zinc because they help to reduce oil and shine and also ingredients like glycerin which helps to promote the skin barrier helps to regenerate helps to repair it so you have a good combination there so look for the cleansers that are for acne prone skin and that contain ingredients that will reduce oil reduce shine at the same time look after your skin barrier and you mentioned that it's really important to use moisturiser when I had acne as a teenager I was always terrified that putting moisturiser when was going to make my skin oilier and clog my pores and make the whole problem worse which I assume is nonsense it's not exactly nonsense okay but you have to choose your

moisturiser carefully so you need to look for moisturisers that are non-comedogenic hold up what non-comedogenic means that they don't promote acne or they don't promote spots so they won't drive the process further they tend to have a lighter formulation so they'll feel more like a gel rather than a very greasy cream on your skin and it's important to look for ones that suit your skin and have added benefits so the purified moisturiser actually also has SPF in there and that's really helpful when you have acne because it's designed for acne prone skin so it's got all the ingredients there that you need to reduce the chance of your acne getting worse but it also contains sun protection so that the blemishes and marks that you get from acne don't get darker when you go in the sun I think we need to

take Dr. Alia to a chemist with us and just stand her and say that one and if there's just one tip for, actually I'm going to ask you two questions. If there's one tip for a parent listening today, what would you tell them? So I would say to parents that it really is, it's not just acne. This just acne is an issue. And I think if parents go back and remember when they had acne or people around them had acne, it wasn't just acne for them either. So sometimes you're meaning well and good and you say to your child, well, it is just acne, you're going to grow out of it, it's going get better but actually it does have a mental health impact it does affect confidence and it can impact that person long after that phase of their life because they may have scarring they may have

blemishes that then become an issue for them so i would say to parents it's not just acne and be reassuring talk about acne be open about it discuss what products are working what's not working and if things are not working out then do see a healthcare professional early and what would that one tip be for someone like phoenix who's listening today So for the teenagers with acne, I would say look at your skincare routine, look at these important steps like cleansing, like targeted ingredients to treat, like moisturising, like using sunscreen. But if this is not working for you, then do ask for help.

So is that stuff that you wish you'd known when this first happened and you've got all of your products? Yes. And then you're like, they're not working. Definitely. Before I ever had bad skin, I would never use SBF. Now I use it every day, obviously. but yeah you're just saying that because she's no I promise I promise and did you find it hard with all the stuff that's on social media everyone's a skincare expert and I might ask you this question everyone's a skincare expert everyone knows what's good was that extra noise really hard yeah definitely and I also think everyone has such different skin so getting advice from someone on the internet just because it's work for them doesn't mean it's going to work for me and how do you find that extra noise does it impact what you see

your patients? It's interesting because actually patients, even really young patients, teenagers will come with a whole skin care routine that's been inspired by a content creator. And although I see that and I think it is positive in a way because it's making people think about, okay, well actually what cleanser should I use or what spot product should I use? It can get very noisy and the thing that you hear most is I was overwhelmed by the options. I didn't know what to choose. In the end, I went for this, but then this didn't work for me. Then I went for this. And then the list goes on and on. So I think social media is helpful for creating the interest around skincare, but I think a lot of people need a lot more help from an expert into choosing what to actually

buy on the day. Well, thank you all so much for being here today in Phoenix. Thank you for telling us your story and talking all about your acne journey. And to anyone listening, remember, there's lots of help out there and there are solutions to help clear up your acne.