Hormonal Acne

[ItsMaddieeee]

Hello! This is my first post here.

I was wondering if anyone else struggles with hormonal acne and what they do/use to help with it. It can get pretty annoying to deal with and my skin never stays clear for more than 3 weeks. 

[quspork]

@ItsMaddieeee Have you been to a dermatologist for an evaluation? What's your current skincare routine? 

[ItsMaddieeee]

I haven’t been to the dermatologist mainly because I don’t think it’s too severe, just an annoying inconvenience. 

I have a full skincare routine

Morning:

Cleanse 

toner 

moisturizer 

spf

night:

oil cleanse

Regular cleanser 

toner 

sometimes serum

Moisturizer

[ItsMaddieeee]

@WinglessOne thanks for the tip that helps a lot 🙂

Here are some more specifics on the products I use,

Oil cleanser: Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil
Cleanser: Hero Cosmetics Gentle Milky Cleanser (this says it has oat, jojoba, and PHA)

Toner: Rovectin Lotus Water Calming Toner (it has hyaluronic acid and butylene glycol) 

Moisturizer: SoonJung 10 Free Moist Emulsion (has squalene, panthenol, and madecassoside.)

Spf: CORSX Aloe Soothing Sun Cream

A few of these products are new, like my regular cleanser and oil cleanser so im still seeing if they improve my skin. So far no irritations.

[quspork]

@ItsMaddieeee After you've made sure any new products aren't causing any sort of negative reactions in your skin, I'd try adding in an acne-fighting product two or three nights week after your cleanser. My recommendation would be to start with a BHA, but you could also choose a retinol product or a benzoyl peroxide product. 

[WinglessOne]

@ItsMaddieeee  Quick BIC tip: be sure to @ the person you reply to, so they'll get a notification. Otherwise they might never see your reply. 

Do any of your skincare routine products contain an acne-fighting ingredient like salicylic acid (BHA), benzoyl peroxide, azelaic acid, etc.? Also, do you use vitamin A (retinoic acid, adapalene, retinaldehyde, retinol, etc.) in your routine? We usually like to see brands + product names of routine products to get a better sense of what ingredients you already use. This helps us avoid recommending products that might overload or irritate your skin with too much of a type of ingredient. 

If your hormonal acne is cystic (bumps deep under the skin that never come to a head and may be tender/painful to the touch), you'll want to see a board certified dermatologist or your primary care doctor for personalized treatment options. Many of the usual anti-acne ingredients available OTC are ineffective for cystic acne.