My Skin Journey: Dealing with Hormonal Acne

DISCLAIMER: This is not a blog post that is a cheat sheet to curing hormonal acne— this is simply my personal journey also, nothing here is a medical recommendation, I am only sharing what I have used and what has worked for me.

When I first discovered it

Not a lot of people know but I struggled with hormonal acne and still struggle with skincare issues to this day. I went from really clear skin with a minimal skincare routine to having my face covered with cysts and pimples and now OBSESSING over skincare products. I never had any issues with acne before, in high school I would get a zit here and there but nothing major. My skincare routine consisted of washing my face with Neutrogena or dove soap, using Noxzema pads to spice things up whenever I felt my face needed a little pick me up and topped it off with a good ole body lotion. *I cringe at the thought of using body lotion on my face now lol* I first noticed my face changing once I got to college, my freshman and sophomore year of college my acne wasn't too bad I noticed that I would get more pimples than often but nothing too severe or damaging. I think the beginning of junior year (2016/2017) is when I really started having issues with my acne.

Life pre-acne 2015 - Sophomore in College

What caused my acne

Having acne is often linked to or triggered by stress, diet, hormones and certain medications. At the time I had just about as much stress as any other college student, looking back I don't remember stressing over anything unusual (midterms, passing classes, etc. ) as far as my eating habits I don't think much changed from the first two years of college, if anything I ate less because I was no longer on a meal plan lol. I never took any medications so I knew that wasn't it either, all I knew was that I kept having these monthly breakouts and I did not know why. Once I started to track new breakouts I noticed that I would normally break out around my menstrual so I took to google to figure out what the issue was and later diagnosed myself with hormonal acne. According to healthline.com "it’s estimated that 50 percent of women ages 20 to 29 have acne and it affects about 25 percent of women ages 40 to 49." Once I discovered I had hormonal acne I tried everything in my power to treat it, I hated the idea of having these huge and sometimes painful/ cystic bumps on what was once my perfect skin. I thought getting rid of this was a quick fix that could happen over night but I slowly realized this was going to be a process.

Beginning stages of acne 2017

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How I tried to treat it

At the time I tried every skin care regimen I could find, I became OBSESSED with finding a quick fix to help solve my issue. I would sit all day on google searching for at home remedies and every Youtube channel that had acne content I was subscribed to. At the time "skincare twitter" was a thing as well so anytime I seen anyone post their acne journey with before and after pics I was in the comments scrolling through trying to find the products they used. I tried everything from "moisturizing" my face with coconut oil, to trying to remove "dark spots" with tea tree oil, I went through the witch hazel phase and even at one point tried putting rubbing alcohol on my face. I've tried putting toothpaste on my face to reduce the size of pimples, lemons to help with discoloration, Aloe Vera gel to help treat break out areas and Apple Cider Vinegar as a toner. I have tried literally every acne hack you can think of and honestly somewhere between trying all of these quick hacks it only made things worse.

Acne prime 2018

How it made me feel

I had gotten to a point where I was willing to do anything to fix my skin. I no longer felt as confident because I felt my acne was so distracting especially with me being so light complected. Even when I tried covering it up with makeup there was no hiding it, my skin had gotten so bad I had terrible discoloration where my face was practically two different colors (second picture) on top of the red bumps I already had from the acne. I found myself not going out as much and rarely taking pictures and if I did most likely I edited my acne or had on some sort of filter. I had even gotten tired of documenting my progress because I felt like it just kept getting worse. I was tired of going through phases of my acne fluctuating up and down. I decided I was tired of trying to find a quick fix and was done listening to what "skincare twitter" had to say and find out what would really worked for my skin.

What actually helped

So I finally made an appointment to meet with a dermatologist and I told her everything that was going on and she confirmed my mild case of hormonal acne. I told her I was willing to try anything to help get my face together, so she recommended that I get on a birth control that would help regulate my hormones which would help my acne. Now if you know me you know I actually hate taking medicine but at this point I had just reached a breaking point. I took the birth control(BC) for about a month and a half and honestly I just did not like how it made me feel. Looking back at pictures I can say my face did show a little progress (picture 1 below post BC) but I just did not like the way it made me feel, I had mood swings and was super emotional (if you've taken BC, you might be able to relate) and at this point I just felt like it was not worth me continuing to take it so I stopped. I went back to my dermatologist and told her the complications I was experiencing with the BC and asked if there was another option, she later prescribed me with a retinol cream, tretinoin 5% which is basically a cream that gets worse before it gets better because it purges and detoxifies your skin. I used the cream for about 2 months and seen minimal changes from what the BC had already done and honestly It was just not working fast enough for me. I was still a little impatient so I stopped using that as well. At the time my skin care regimen consisted of Shea Moisture's african black soap collection, I used the soap, the toner and the mask and would use a spf lotion to moisturize and for a while that helped keep my acne calm and maintained what the BC and cream had already done. In October of 2018 I decided to start getting facials and for me personally facials seemed to be the biggest help in my acne journey, I faithfully got a facial every month and I seen a lot of progress with my discoloration and I stopped having cystic breakouts. My esthetician taught me the importance of having a consistent skincare routine which sometimes meant I had to break away from drugstore (cheap) skin care products. My esthetician used ClarityRx products during my facials and while at home I believe I continued to use the Shea Moisture kit and eventually transitioned into other products - which I'll share later on the blog. She also taught me the importance of not picking my face, often time when you pop pimples you're just releasing more bacteria on your face, and lastly to make sure I am taking proper precautions to maintain my skin, changing pillow cases, disinfecting my phone, washing my makeup brushes, switching out face towels etc. From me personally I feel like the combination of the products and the consistency of the facials really help my skin as well as following the tips my esthetician gave.

June 2018 October 2018 December 2018

Post BC before facials 1st month of getting facials Facial progress

Advice for dealing with acne

1. Make sure you are practicing proper hygiene and DO NOT pick/touch your face

2. Be patient, the average skin cycle is between 5-6 weeks you will not see results right away

3. Take care of your mental health! Stop stressing, you are only making things worse. Things like acne can take a huge toll on your confidence. Continue to build yourself up. Be nice to yourself

4. Find what works for YOU! Everyone's skin is different, not all advice is good advice

5. Get a consistent regimen, sometimes you may have to break away from drug store products

Though I have seen a huge change in my skin, I am still on a journey of recovery. I still get a bump or two from time to time but it is nothing close to what it was. I am thankful to have made it this far. Throughout my blog I will continue to share helpful tips and skincare products that have worked for me. If you are going through your own acne journey, just know that it will get better!

No filter or touch up with and without makeup

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