Hormonal Acne??

[Princes3nunu]

What helps with hormonal acne on your cycle? Anyone have any tips/suggestions? I only break out on one side of my face. Thanks 

[axelg]

I’ve dealt with the same issue, always on the lower half of one side around my period. What’s helped me is cutting back on dairy, using a gentle salicylic acid cleanser, and adding zinc supplements. I actually found a great combo of those products on a Pharmacy B2B site. Also, tracking my cycle helps me prep my skincare a week ahead. 

[itsfi]

Ugh, hormonal acne. I'm very sorry you are experiencing this @Princes3nunu; it's a pain to deal with. I agree with the post about seeing a dermatologist; that will likely be your best bet at addressing or trying to pinpoint a treatment plan best suited for you. 

That said, finding some products and practical "to do"s to possibly minimize the degree of your breakouts or, if this applies to your situation, the dark spots or hyperpigmentation that may results from acne, can be very helpful. 

Before I get into things that have worked for me, I wanted to touch upon something you mentioned - is the side of your face where you have been experiencing breakouts the side you sleep on? The side on which you use your phone? If so, it's not at all uncommon for breakouts to occur on that side, hormonal acne or otherwise. Wiping down your phone often (very often) and washing your pillow cases and sheets even more frequently (or perhaps switching out your detergent or putting them through the wash/rinse cycle twice - one with detergent followed by one without), might help). 

Product Recs:

My skin is currently normal-to-dry, sensitive and dehydrated. I've experienced hormonal acne for years. Yeeeaaars - when my skin was oily; very dry and now, though it has been so much better in the last 18-24 months. Some of that, I attribute to the passage of time; some of it to changes I've made to both diet and my skincare routine. Each person's skin will be different, but here are the current products I reach for (and have been for a few years) that I've found to help with my breakouts, before, during and after my breakouts. 

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil for Skin Elascicity 1 oz/ 30 mL: Some of products here can be drying on my skin. The Ordinary rose hip seed oil is a staple in my skincare routine but when it comes to breakouts, I often reach for this as a spot treatment - to add moisture to areas that are drying because of products I've used around my breakouts

The combination of Peace Out 2% Salicylic Acid Early Stage Acne Dot 8 Patches  and The INKEY List Hydrocolloid Invisible Patches 22 patches / pack to treat zits. NOTE: timing is important when it comes to these two items: 

• Early stage acne dot should be used when you feel a pimple coming on, the "early stage" of a blemish.

• The pimple patches are best used on fully-formed whiteheads - they'll suck out the gunk and help to flatten the pimple.

I find these products to be best worn overnight, but the pimple patches can be worn in the daytime as well. Just note that you don't want to have your zit covered all the time. I know, I know - there were / are times when I think "why not?! I'd love for it to be covered so no one can see it." but it's better to not have it covered up all day long.

EADEM Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum with Niacinamide and Vitamin C 1 oz/ 30 mL has worked wonders for my skin to lighten / reduce the appearance of dark spots that I get from zits as well as my sunspots. I use this day and night, after the CosRx snail mucin essence and before my moisturizer.

PC BHA 9 and innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Detoxing Clay Mask with AHAs + Oil Control ​ 3.38 oz / 100 ml the one in the photo is the old packaging) - I use one of these products once, maybe twice a week, the week before and during the start of my cycle. The PC BHA 9 is potent so I use it sparingly. The innisfree mask is more gentle and helps to decongest pores. Another option you may want to consider is the #SEPHORA COLLECTION Gentle Exfoliating Peeling Serum with Niacinamide + Lactic Acid 1 oz / 30 mL . Again, I do not use all of these at once or even in the same week. 

Dr Jart Cicapair line is great for redness. This particular product, the Dr. Jart+ Mini Cicapair™ Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment 0.5 oz/ 15 mL I've used as a primer or, in some instances, in lieu of foundation. It reduces the appearance of redness. This is a green tinted cream but there's also a serum in the line if you prefer a lighter, more liquid like consitency. 

Also for redness, LANEIGE Cica Sleeping Mask for Moisture Barrier Support (not pictured) is good for calming down the appearance of redness overnight. It goes on after your moisturizer.

One thing to note, if you are going to introduce new products to your routine, be it any of the above or any of the ones recommended by others, I strongly recommend that you introduce one product at a time, giving a sufficient amount of time between introducing another product - a couple of weeks even - after doing a patch test and experiencing no irritation from the test. Some products are good but may not be good in combination with other products. Also, this approach will make it easier to determine what, if any, product is the most likely source of the irritation. 

One more thing - I've noticed for myself that my acne, hormonal and otherwise, can be affected by my diet. Eating (and avoiding) certain foods year-round has minimized the intensity of my breakouts. Some things I've cut out entirely or have tried to cut out most of the time; others, I try to limit or manage - look, I'm going to have one or two (it'll be two, lol) Girl Scout cookies this week. 

[sadchinadoll]

I struggle with hormonal acne, the main things that have helped me are Tower 28 Beauty SOS Intensive Redness Relief Serum with Hypochlorous Acid 2 oz / 59 mL Tower 28 Beauty SOS Daily Hypochlorous Acid Spray for Breakouts & Redness 4 oz/ 120 mL  Tower 28 Beauty SOS Daily Skin Barrier Redness Recovery Moisturizer 1.86 oz / 55 ml  . My skin barrier needs a lot of soothing during my cycles so I tend to focus on being gentle / simplistic with my routine. Wash my face with cleanser (tend to reach for la roche Posay) , use eye cream or eye serum, tower 28 serum, then tower 28 moisturizer. The spray I use throughout the day when I sweat a lot. If I have a massive pimple (under or on top of skin) I use Kate Somerville EradiKate 1 oz/30 ml . Hormonal acne sucks, hopefully you can find a routine that your skin is happy with. 

[Bxterfly]

Have you seen a dermatologist? No one here is a medical professional.

[orange4321]

Although a dermatologist would be a really good option it’s also a really hard one to get so just sticking to skincare that works is the best way to get healthy skin

[nexgen]

I’m experiencing the same situation and was just about to ask the same thing!