What skincare routine can help with my hormonal acne?
October 22, 2015 4:48 PM Subscribe
I recently started on Jolessa birth control and the main side effect seems to be a lot of non-cystic acne on my face. How should I fight it?
I'm in my late twenties, do not wear makeup ever, and have never had much of a skincare routine. I'd like to try changing up my products before resorting to a dermatologist visit or dietary change. I have always had greasy skin and minor acne, but it has definitely ramped up a lot over the last few weeks.
Currently I wash my face in the shower with off brand Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash and every night I wipe my face down with a makeup removal/cleansing cloth. I do not do anything else to it at all, not even moisturizer. I like the cloth because it's easy and I don't understand face splashing. The skincare aisle is so intimidating. Help me out?
I'm in my late twenties, do not wear makeup ever, and have never had much of a skincare routine. I'd like to try changing up my products before resorting to a dermatologist visit or dietary change. I have always had greasy skin and minor acne, but it has definitely ramped up a lot over the last few weeks.
Currently I wash my face in the shower with off brand Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash and every night I wipe my face down with a makeup removal/cleansing cloth. I do not do anything else to it at all, not even moisturizer. I like the cloth because it's easy and I don't understand face splashing. The skincare aisle is so intimidating. Help me out?
I've had acne most of my life, and this new regimen was life-changing for me:
- hot cloth cleansing each morning and evening
- hyaluronic acid serum
- straight up putting oil on my face
I spent decades avoiding oil (and often going without moisturiser entirely) but it turns out oil was exactly what my face needed. I use two drops in the morning after my cleansing and serum, rubbed between the palms of my hand and patted onto my face. At night, I use more. I started with the olive oil from my kitchen and now use a semi-fancy face oil blend, but I don't think the type of oil actually makes that much difference.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 5:27 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
- hot cloth cleansing each morning and evening
- hyaluronic acid serum
- straight up putting oil on my face
I spent decades avoiding oil (and often going without moisturiser entirely) but it turns out oil was exactly what my face needed. I use two drops in the morning after my cleansing and serum, rubbed between the palms of my hand and patted onto my face. At night, I use more. I started with the olive oil from my kitchen and now use a semi-fancy face oil blend, but I don't think the type of oil actually makes that much difference.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 5:27 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
I also have hormonal acne. I have found that moisturizing with pure 100% jojoba oil has been a game-changer for me - I rarely get bad pimples now.
posted by barnoley at 6:03 PM on October 22, 2015
posted by barnoley at 6:03 PM on October 22, 2015
Everyone is so different in what causes or helps with acne, and it can change as you age, too. I think the main thing I would recommend is to pick an approach and give it a good couple of months to tell whether it's working.
posted by lakeroon at 7:29 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by lakeroon at 7:29 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Check out r/skincareaddiction. I started following a basic regimen back in May, and I think my skin looks much better now. I certainly feel much better about my skin if nothing else.
While I still get cyclical breakouts, they are much less aggressive and much shorter lived than they used to be, like on the order of zits for a day or two instead of zits for a week then angry red blemishes for another week.
I keep it really simple: Cetaphil gentle cleanser, Stridex (BHA), and CeraVe moisturizer. Spot treat at the time of a breakout with a benzoyl peroxide cream. Aztec clay mask whenever I feel overly greasy.
Bonus: the regimen has totally zapped my SFs and my nose doesn't look like a strawberry anymore!Wheee!
posted by phunniemee at 8:37 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
While I still get cyclical breakouts, they are much less aggressive and much shorter lived than they used to be, like on the order of zits for a day or two instead of zits for a week then angry red blemishes for another week.
I keep it really simple: Cetaphil gentle cleanser, Stridex (BHA), and CeraVe moisturizer. Spot treat at the time of a breakout with a benzoyl peroxide cream. Aztec clay mask whenever I feel overly greasy.
Bonus: the regimen has totally zapped my SFs and my nose doesn't look like a strawberry anymore!Wheee!
posted by phunniemee at 8:37 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
As lakeroon mentioned, there is huge variation in what will/won't work to treat one person's acne. You need only read the product and treatment reviews at acne.org to recognise this.
Now, I had sort of the opposite problem as you: the bc pill actually held my acne in check, and it was only a few months after coming off it that terrible, deep, painful acne erupted, mostly along my jawline/lower-face region. It was AWFUL.
Anyway...what seems to have worked for me in clearing this up has been to use a very gentle cleanser, one that won't strip away ALL the grease from your skin and make it too dry. I use alpha hydrox foaming facewash. I think if you can find a cleanser with an even lower ph level (aiming for 5.5), that would be even better. I've just used this product for years and have had no problems, so that's mainly why I stick with it.
And do not do much manual exfoliation of your skin. Again, you don't want to "strip" it and irritate it, which can exacerbate acne. I'd suggest no more than once/week, and very gently (and not for very long) with a muslin cloth.
The key thing for me in resolving my acne was to focus on chemical exfoliation. So every single morning, before I put on my make-up, I use a beta hydroxy acid (salicylic acid, 2%) combined with a very simple moisturizer that does not contain sunscreen. I also add to this 2 drops of an alpha hydroxy acid in the form of mandelic acid serum (which I discovered here on the green).
Then if you need sunscreen, after waiting 5-10 mins to let the above soak in (dry), I use Elta MD's UV Clear sunscreen (spf46). This is specifically formulated for acne-prone skin and -- bonus! -- it does not leave your face a ghostly white colour. Nor are you a grease-bomb.
At night, I trade off amongst a variety of products, again being either based on alpha- or beta- hydroxy acids (a couple of these are, again, from the Alpha Hydrox skincare line, e.g., their alpha hydroxy acid-based lotion, which this time contains glycolic acid, and their swipes, the latter of which can be cut in half to get more use out of them). And for night moisturizer, I will use the same simple one that I use in the day.
This might seem complicated, but the basic premises are: (1) to avoid irritating (over-drying) your skin and, at the same time, (2) use chemical exfoliants (some with anti-bacterial properties) to prevent your skin from getting all plugged up.
Hopefully the above could help you ride through the period (3 months or so) of your body getting used to your new brand of bc; if not, maybe you'll need to switch to a different brand.
Good luck!
posted by Halo in reverse at 4:18 AM on October 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
Now, I had sort of the opposite problem as you: the bc pill actually held my acne in check, and it was only a few months after coming off it that terrible, deep, painful acne erupted, mostly along my jawline/lower-face region. It was AWFUL.
Anyway...what seems to have worked for me in clearing this up has been to use a very gentle cleanser, one that won't strip away ALL the grease from your skin and make it too dry. I use alpha hydrox foaming facewash. I think if you can find a cleanser with an even lower ph level (aiming for 5.5), that would be even better. I've just used this product for years and have had no problems, so that's mainly why I stick with it.
And do not do much manual exfoliation of your skin. Again, you don't want to "strip" it and irritate it, which can exacerbate acne. I'd suggest no more than once/week, and very gently (and not for very long) with a muslin cloth.
The key thing for me in resolving my acne was to focus on chemical exfoliation. So every single morning, before I put on my make-up, I use a beta hydroxy acid (salicylic acid, 2%) combined with a very simple moisturizer that does not contain sunscreen. I also add to this 2 drops of an alpha hydroxy acid in the form of mandelic acid serum (which I discovered here on the green).
Then if you need sunscreen, after waiting 5-10 mins to let the above soak in (dry), I use Elta MD's UV Clear sunscreen (spf46). This is specifically formulated for acne-prone skin and -- bonus! -- it does not leave your face a ghostly white colour. Nor are you a grease-bomb.
At night, I trade off amongst a variety of products, again being either based on alpha- or beta- hydroxy acids (a couple of these are, again, from the Alpha Hydrox skincare line, e.g., their alpha hydroxy acid-based lotion, which this time contains glycolic acid, and their swipes, the latter of which can be cut in half to get more use out of them). And for night moisturizer, I will use the same simple one that I use in the day.
This might seem complicated, but the basic premises are: (1) to avoid irritating (over-drying) your skin and, at the same time, (2) use chemical exfoliants (some with anti-bacterial properties) to prevent your skin from getting all plugged up.
Hopefully the above could help you ride through the period (3 months or so) of your body getting used to your new brand of bc; if not, maybe you'll need to switch to a different brand.
Good luck!
posted by Halo in reverse at 4:18 AM on October 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
P.S. I missed the edit window:
Another product I rotate into my night-time regime is based on azelaic acid, and it is called skinoren. It attacks bacteria and unclogs skin at the same time. And I swear that my skin looks nicer every morning after I use it. I've used the gel and cream formulations, and both seem to work for me. Some people say that cream version actually causes break-outs though, so if you are going to try it, go for the gel version first.
posted by Halo in reverse at 4:26 AM on October 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another product I rotate into my night-time regime is based on azelaic acid, and it is called skinoren. It attacks bacteria and unclogs skin at the same time. And I swear that my skin looks nicer every morning after I use it. I've used the gel and cream formulations, and both seem to work for me. Some people say that cream version actually causes break-outs though, so if you are going to try it, go for the gel version first.
posted by Halo in reverse at 4:26 AM on October 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another vote for the Skincareaddiction subreddit. Here's a link to their beginner's routine page.
posted by joeyjoejoejr at 8:39 AM on October 23, 2015
posted by joeyjoejoejr at 8:39 AM on October 23, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks for all of the recommendations, everyone! I'll probably try most of these and see what ends up working for me. There's tons of great info here.
posted by possibilityleft at 9:44 AM on October 23, 2015
posted by possibilityleft at 9:44 AM on October 23, 2015
EXISTENZ IS PAUSED's suggestion of oil is a good one: using oil cleansers and oils have been super helpful with my acne.
BHAs are also good, but were not a magic bullet for me.
posted by troytroy at 8:41 AM on October 25, 2015
BHAs are also good, but were not a magic bullet for me.
posted by troytroy at 8:41 AM on October 25, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
As far as acne goes, I've had a lot of luck with the Acne.org regimen. It's a little overwhelming, but if you start with their Benzoyl Peroxide solution and just treat your face with care, it goes a long way.
posted by getawaysticks at 5:05 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]