The Netmums Podcast - S16 Ep14: Clear Conversations: ‘How do I get rid of this spot FAST?!’ Flare-Up Quick Fixes for Teen Skin

Episode Date: August 25, 2025

In the final episode of our teen skincare special in partnership with Purifide, by the makers of Acnecide, Netmums host Wendy Golledge tackles the dreaded “why now?!” breakout – those spots with perfect timing to appear right before prom, birthdays, or big family events. Joined by mum Sarah, her daughter Phoenix, and Consultant Dermatologist Dr. Alia Ahmed from Purifide, we share real-life stories, expert advice, and quick fixes for calming flare-ups without panic or last-minute product scrambles. From spot patches with powerful ingredients to confidence-boosting strategies, this is your go-to guide for those skin emergencies. In this episode, we cover: Quick, dermatologist-approved fixes for those “emergency” spots The truth about water, diet, and skin health How to support teens’ confidence when a breakout threatens to ruin the day Filtering social media skincare advice so it’s safe and effective When to seek professional help if spots just won’t go away Why big events can trigger flare-ups (and how stress plays a role) Whether your teen’s prepping for prom or simply wants to feel confident in their own skin, this episode is packed with reassurance, expert tips, and real-life perspective.

Hello again and welcome to the final episode in our teen skincare special here on the Netmums podcast. I'm Wendy and today we're talking about flare-ups, those spots that seem to have a sixth sense and appear like magic just before your prom or your birthday or even just a family photo. We're joined by Mum, Sarah and daughter Phoenix who's sharing how she deals with those inevitable just at the the wrong time breakouts and as always we've got our expert from purified by the makers of acnicide on hand to give us some emergency tips on what can actually help phoenix welcome back thank you so much for joining us again so can i ask and i'm sure you do remember a time when a breakout got in the way of a really big moment um yeah i think you really said it but prom um prom was such a big one in year 13 um yeah i was super worried that my skin was gonna be all over the place before but

i tried to drink loads of water before um i have a big event to try and help yeah i just i don't even if it doesn't work i just try but yeah it can be so hard though can't it because you're worrying about the event and then you feel a spot coming and you're worrying about the spot and then the two make each other worse i think because you're worrying about it it makes it worse it's like you make it happen you manifest it and I don't know why but they do always happen

just at exactly the long time so how do you help when this happens I know there's not actually anything you can do but what do you do to try to make it better

um phoenix I sort of tend to laugh our way out of most things it will just generally be yeah we'll make some kind of silly joke

and we'll end up laughing I always tell her that she looks beautiful no matter what, which, you know, is true. That's not just even me trying to make her feel better. It's just a fact. Or, you know, I'll tell her some kind of anecdote about a similar thing so that she knows that, you know, she's not alone, you know. It happens, you know. I can't remember if I broke out before my wedding day, but, you know, I probably did. And, yeah, I don't know, hopefully I help. You did. Oh, good. Okay. I always remember someone saying to me when I had

little babies that when they're flying on a plane they sound louder to you than they do to anyone else on the plane and I think it's the same with big spots and big events no one else is looking and everyone else is worrying about their own skin so

my mum used to say to me when I was like very sort of self-conscious about my body when I was younger and I wouldn't want to go to the beach and she used to say you know no one's looking at you they're all far too worried about themselves and there's a lot of truth in that. So let's talk to our expert Dr. Alia. Is there actually anything teens or anybody can do

when that megaspot turns up just before the POM or the birthday party or the big date or whatever it is that it decides to appear before? Yeah, of course. There are lots of things you can do and just to very quickly mention the biology of it. So actually stress can increase oil production and oil is one of the things that drives acne. So spots or breakouts happening at the times where even though you're happy, I'm sure you're excited to be going to prom, but there is a stressful element to it or an emotional distressful element to it and that can drive these types of breakouts. So one of the things that I think is really easy to do is obviously to stick to your skincare regime if you have one. The other thing is to, yes, use something to target that

spot or that breakout. And spot patches, I think, are really helpful for this, but targeted spot patches. So they should contain ingredients like salicylic acid. The purified power patch does contain that. It also contains other ingredients like Canadian willow herb like Centella to soothe the skin as well. So it's soothing inflammation and it's pushing that emerging spot down so you don't have to worry about it. Also discouraging you from touching it. But I think planning for these things is important. So already having a skincare regime, if you have breakout prone or spot prone skin, thinking actually okay, I've got an event coming up. What if I do

break out? What strategies have I got? Have I got those spot patches? Have I got some cover up? Am I comfortable to wear makeup? Asking these sort of questions? Parents asking their child, children asking their parents and having that conversation early, I think that's important. So it's not the mad dash at like 4 o'clock

for a 7 o'clock event. Exactly. Which will drive the stress, which might drive the breakout. And Phoenix mentioned drinking lots of water. Is that something that will help? Not on the day, obviously, but in the runner. I don't think there's not a wealth of evidence to support hydration and how hydration can stop you from developing a breakout. However, what we do know is that inflammation in the gut can drive skin conditions.

And then if you're drinking lots of water, you're having the right type of diet, you're keeping your gut moving, you're reducing your internal inflammation. And maybe that has a positive impact on your skin. And drinking water, staying hydrated is not a bad thing. So I say go for it. Alongside a regular routine, can you over? overuse these quick fixes is there a problem can you use them too much you can potentially but you should obviously follow instructions so for example with the spot patches they work for up to four

hours but you can wear them for 12 hours so four hours is the maximum benefit of wearing that patch and then you can keep it on for 12 hours so I don't want to hear from my patients that will I put on a patch every hour for example so you can overdo it yes but if you follow instructions you should be okay. And how else can teens improve their confidence and how they feel about their skin when a big breakout is threatening to ruin the day? Yeah, so I think that having those open conversations is important.

So talking about skin openly with people that you trust because sometimes conversations are well-meaning, but they don't help because you get a lot of unsolicited advice, someone saying to wash your face, someone saying don't eat chocolate, for example. Also, in order to improve self-confidence, It's actually looking in the mirror, looking at your skin, being more comfortable with what you see. If you do want to think about covering up using makeup, doesn't matter if you're female,

doesn't matter if you're male, go for it. Why not try? Do these things earlier so that you're more comfortable with them for when you really need them. And do you find, Phoenix, do you and your friends chat about things like this? Because I know when I was younger, it wasn't always that we spoke about skin care. It was just kind of like something that you hid and were embarrassed about. Is that the case? No, me and my friends definitely talk.

talk about it. My best friend, she has quite bad eczema, so she, like, it's not the same skin problem, but we both have skin problems, and she'll get flare-ups on her face like there and there, since sometimes those flare-ups are a bit red, so yeah, we'll talk about it quite a lot, actually. And Sarah, how

have you helped Phoenix to kind of feel confident when she's got a skin break-out? You sound like you kind of laugh about things, and you do do it through humour, but how else have you helped her to kind of stay okay with what's going on? I don't know. I guess just through having a good relationship and through being open with one another, just letting Phoenix know that she can

talk to me about anything. You know, nothing's off the table. And as I said, you know, I've brought her up, you know, from a really young age to just, you know, believe that she is beautiful inside and out um and i've sort of tried to set a good example i suppose through my own um sense of self-worth and confidence um and yeah i mean hopefully that's all had a good effect um yeah so phoenix what would you say if there's a teenager listening to this who's struggling with their confidence because of their skin i think the biggest thing is just to remember that it really isn't the end of the world and you're going to be worrying about your skin while everyone else is worrying about their own skin. No one, no one cares. Honestly, no one cares. It's so hard though, isn't it?

Yeah, 100%. 100%. And Sarah, any advice for parents out there who are trying to be supportive and feeling the pressure? I would say, just listen to your teenager. Don't offer too much unsolicited advice. Try to steer them away from social media where possible, where they're getting conflicting advice. If your teenager is suddenly one week asking you to go. and buy this product and the next week asking you to buy another product maybe it's time to sort of gently intervene and say maybe all of these products are doing more harm than good talk to them about their skin barrier because that's something a lot of teenagers probably don't know about and they don't realize that what they're using could actually be you know stripping their

skin barrier and making their skin more prone to flare-ups but just you know just give them lots of unconditional love because at the end of the day how they look doesn't really matter does it you know they're your kid and just let them know that as far as you're concerned they're gorgeous and so dr ollie how about you any advice for teens who are struggling with breakouts and their parents sure so actually the first thing to remember is that acne spots breakouts these are common things most people across the world will have some form of spot breakout at some point in their life so what you're experiencing is actually normal but when it becomes not normal is when it's stopping you from doing the things that you

want to do so if that is happening then you should if you're a teenager speak to your family if you're a parent of a teenager and you see that they're struggling you should bring this up with them i would also suggest that you are patient you do stick to skincare routines if they're working for you at least give them a chance to work rather than grabbing anything that you can find and yes you have to be careful about where you're getting your information from so if you're getting a lot of it from social media, maybe limit that, maybe look at what information you're getting and really think about the credibility of that information as well. And do you guys, Phoenix, do you and your friends find that there is lots of, are you kind of bombarded by skincare advice online? Yeah, definitely, especially

on TikTok. I feel like anyone can go on and say they're a specialist, say they know what they're talking about when they really don't. And I do just tend to ignore it if it's not actually someone who I know. But it's hard to know how to filter that information. Yeah, very much. And it is tempting. It's tempting to want to try everything. But if you keep trying all these different things, nothing's going to work.

So what's your advice, Dr. Alia? How do you filter all that social content that isn't necessarily verified? Yeah. So if you are following a content creator, I find a lot with young people, because I see a lot of young people in my clinic with spots and with breakouts, and what will happen is they will follow someone that looks like them, or is the same age as them.

And then that person will be using a product for their skin issue, which is common, and then you will think, well, if I look like them and they're the same as me, then I should just use the same thing. It's not true, though, you see, because what works for one person's skin may not work for the other persons. So we can't generalise that much. So I would say if you're going to listen to advice about skincare, then look at the professionals, look at dermatologist, look at their qualifications, look at what they do in the skincare area. Do they have their own brand? Is it their own line that they're promoting? or are they talking about lots of different products? Do they have the right knowledge?

And are they sharing it in a way that you understand what they're saying? And if that you can find, then brilliant. If you can't, then be a little bit careful, take the advice that you want to take and then go and discuss it with someone who will definitely know what they're talking about, like a consultant dermatologist. And you mentioned earlier about it being a problem for lots of people.

Do you think it's a problem that's getting worse? I definitely see many more patients with acne than I ever have. and that's in all age ranges including adults as well and we're not sure why this is happening is it that people are more inclined to come forward because they see a lot of social media and a lot of perfect skin and they think that their skin should also be like this or is it because the global incidence of these issues is rising and there's lots of factors in that that we need to look at environment lifestyle hormones so there's lots of research going on in that area so definitely i see more people

and more people want to pursue spot-free skin, which is fine, but doing it in the right way is very important. But you were saying, won't you, that this ideal of pursuing spot-free skin, it's not actually as bad as everyone thinks. I mean, I don't think acne is necessarily an unattractive feature. I think we're in an era where people are kind of moving away from these beauty standards. And, yeah, I think me and my friends are very open about it.

I don't really wear much makeup anymore to try and cover it up because I don't really think there's much point. So if there is a problem, at what point should we come to someone like you for advice? Where's the line? When should you seek help? My advice would be that if you're suffering from regular breakouts, regular spots, then you should see a healthcare professional after three months of trying your own techniques. So that could be your skincare regime. For example, if you've tried it for three months, it's not working, you're still consistently having spots, you should see a healthcare professional

because we can often add things in. It doesn't mean you have to throw all your skincare products away. Skin care can be very supportive alongside medical products, but you probably do need to have some level of medical intervention if it's gone on for more than three months. Thank you all so much for coming and having this conversation with us. I feel like we've offered some advice. We've helped people feel seen and supported. And hopefully anyone out there listening will be able to know what to do and where to go to get some advice. To find out more about Purified, you can follow them on Instagram or TikTok or search for them on Amazon.