I have a lot of tiny bumps that never actually form to a whitehead... how can I get rid of them?

I'm a seventeen year old girl, and I've had these little bumps on my chin for as long as I can remember. Now they're starting to form around and on my nose too, my forehead, and a little on my cheek, which is unusual for me.

I'm not sure what kind of skin I have... I'd have to say combination. I never really get too oily, only around my nose area by the end of the day. I wash twice a day, with a normal cleanser in the morning, and then I wipe with acne clearing pads at night. In the morning, I moisturize with Aveeno's clear complexion moisturizer. Also, another little issue may be the bi-polar weather I'm currently experiencing; one week it'd be freezing, the next would be mild and warm, then repeat.

I don't usually get whiteheads; like I said, most of my acne are these annoying little bumps that don't look very good. I use Neutrogena's acne-clearing foundation to cover it up.

How can I fix this problem? Does anyone recommend some products? Thanks so much!

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a clinical evaluation it would be difficult to say what these bumps could be due to. Possibilities that may need to be considered include cysts, boils, folliculitis, viral lesions etc. Without a diagnosis at hand it would be difficult to suggest anything. It would be best to have this evaluated by a dermatologist or a primary care physician for an evaluation and appropriate management.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!