Skincare stuff

[Velar Fricative]

Hi! I never post here but I probably should because I like makeup. But my plea for suggestions is more related to skincare.

Anyway, I've battled acne since my teen years but it's gotten really bad lately. I think having my last kid in June jacked up my hormones or something because lots of things have changed in my body (could also be that I'm 35, turning 36 in a month). The acne is brutal though. I can tell they're due to changing hormones but they're large, red, and sometimes painful. Most often on my checks, chin and sides of my neck. Really bad the closer I get to my period. I've been using Dermalogica products for a while and they don't seem to be cutting it anymore, so I think once I run out of them I'd like to try something else. But I don't want to buy expensive stuff only to have them not work either. 

I'm due for an annual skin check in July so I'll give myself time to use up my products and then maybe my derm will offer something else for me. I feel like because they are likely hormonal, there might be medication I can take that she can recommend. However, I can't use hormonal birth control anymore. 

If you told me 20 years ago that I'd still be battling horrible acne, I wouldn't have believed you. Thanks for any help or advice you can give! Commiseration is welcome too.

[satsuma]

Sorry When I had hormonal acne, I was given a prescription for benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin and Differin (which is now OTC). The former Rx was super expensive because my insurance didn't cover it, but I didn't think to shop other pharmacies and instead just picked up the Differin. My co-worker took spironolactone when her progestin-IUD was causing acne flare-ups. That's an option if you can't take OCPs, but are using a super reliable form of contraception (it is anti-androgenic). Otherwise, I believe most of the options are topical retinoids, topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics, and oral isotretinoin. You could try Differin while you wait for your appt since it's super cheap now. I hope you find something that helps.

[Velar Fricative]

Mar 29, 2018 11:53:47 GMT -5 satsuma said:

Sorry When I had hormonal acne, I was given a prescription for benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin and Differin (which is now OTC). The former Rx was super expensive because my insurance didn't cover it, but I didn't think to shop other pharmacies and instead just picked up the Differin. My co-worker took spironolactone when her progestin-IUD was causing acne flare-ups. That's an option if you can't take OCPs, but are using a super reliable form of contraception (it is anti-androgenic). Otherwise, I believe most of the options are topical retinoids, topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics, and oral isotretinoin. You could try Differin while you wait for your appt since it's super cheap now. I hope you find something that helps.

I didn’t know about Differin, thanks!

[tiramisu]

I had hormonal breakouts after going off birth control. I believe it was a clindamycin gel that helped get them under control.

I use BHA every day to keep my pores clear. I keep products gentle and non-irritating as much as possible but do use a very low level of retinol as well and products with lots of antioxidants. But I think a BHA is another possible start of Differin doesn't work the way you'd like. I use Paula's Choice 2% BHA and they also have a BHA 9 that's great for spot treating. I just buy the sample size and use it as needed.

[claudiakishi]

I get the same kind of acne - cystic, red and painful, and it always scars. I have been using Differin for almost a year and it’s been working pretty well. I was also on an oral antibiotic for a little bit but it really bothered my stomach so I decided to just try Differin on its own and I’m pretty happy. I also just got some Paula’s Choice products like BHA and the Retinol cream. It’s too soon to see a difference but they are (knock on wood) not irritating my skin.

[OrangeBanana]

I had similar problems after I had my second child when I was 30. I'm 38 now and feel like I just got the acne all under control in the last year or so. It sucks so bad to have adult acne.

I had visited my dermatologist and she gave me a prescription for Aczone which worked miracles for my skin. My problem was that the original acne was never clearing up before new acne emerged. Everything was inflamed and so irritated. I was told to use a salicylic face wash and a basic moisturizer. That's it. My skin needed a break from all the acne products I was using. I think sometimes we are so desperate to get the acne under control that we try everything and anything but it just all winds up being to much and actually makes the problem worse.

Once I started the Aczone, I saw improvements in a week. After everything became was less inflamed and was starting to heal, I was prescribed Differin (over the counter now!) and that really cleared everything up but it was hard on my skin. Start slowly with Differin though!

I quite using the Aczone because insurance was being a pain and making it very expensive. I didn't really need it after that though. I don't use Differin anymore either. My prescription ran out and then it became available over the counter but I just never went back to it.

As for my skincare routine now, I found that taking out all those products that are labeled for acne out of my routine helped a lot. They tend to strip my skin and when it's dry, that's when the acne flares up again. I do alternate between two cleansers, one containing salicylic acid and the other a more hydrating cleanser. A gentle toner like Thayers will help too with moisture, redness and irritation.

For treatment products, Paula's Choice BHA has been fantastic. It's gentle and effective. I use this in place of the Differin. I mostly just use this at night since I like the liquid formula the best and it kind of can be sticky. For a moisturizer, I have one with spf for daytime and then something thicker for at night. I use a few different night ones. They usually have some sort of fancy anti-aging, antioxidants type formula to them. I've really had to play around with a few to find ones I like.

Another product I really like is the COSRX Pimple Patches. If I have a really bad pimple that needs to go asap then I'll use one of these overnight or even put one on if I'm just at home during the day. It won't work well unless you can get the pimple to gently open up a bit so if it's mostly cystic acne these won't be a good solution.

I wish you all the luck in finding a good healing solution for you!

[Velar Fricative]

Wonderful suggestions, thank you everyone! I might make an appointment with my dermatologist sooner rather than wait until the summer. I have wondered if my makeup is problematic too, but I generally use the same stuff I've used for a while, although it's likely that it's my skin that's changed even if my makeup was okay for my skin before.

[jaycee]

Mar 29, 2018 16:22:42 GMT -5 OrangeBanana said:

I found that taking out all those products that are labeled for acne out of my routine helped a lot.

Definitely the same for me!  I was using really harsh cleansers and when I replaced them with something very gentle (philosophy's purity), it made a big difference for me.

Also, as I've gotten older (I'm 35 now), I have just stopped messing with shit I read on the internet or see on youtube and asked my dermatologist for a lot of help.  He stresses the more simple the better for me and gives me prescriptions for things that really really help (retin-a, spironolactone and clindamycin).  

Good thinking with making an earlier appointment with your derm, velar fricative.  Acne is no joke and can really impact self esteem.

[auntie]

My skin went nuts when I was about 26.

What helped me was seeing a dermatologist; dinosaurs roamed the earth back then, so tx may have changed/improved. I did antibiotics and Retin A which cleared things up in a few months. Can you get in sooner?

[Velar Fricative]

Mar 31, 2018 11:06:14 GMT -5 auntie said:

My skin went nuts when I was about 26.

What helped me was seeing a dermatologist; dinosaurs roamed the earth back then, so tx may have changed/improved. I did antibiotics and Retin A which cleared things up in a few months. Can you get in sooner?

Yup, soonest available was 5/1 but that’s fine with me.

[ESF]

Mar 29, 2018 14:17:08 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

I really think a major key to fighting acne is fixing your skin’s moisture barrier.

So find products that repair it. My skin cleared up so much when I did that because it’s able to heal and not so inflamed.

For me, drunk elephant products work, and lots of rosewater toner, very gentle products.

And once I got my moisture barrier repaired, I can add active ingredients. But honestly, I’ve found I don’t need to do much anymore.

I agree.

I used to get these breakouts right on my chin, typically just before my period started, and my t-zone would feel like an oil spill. I finalized realized it was caused by the fact that I was drying out my skin and it was overproducing the oil to compensate.

I am not sure what you are using for a cleanser, but you might want to make sure it's got a low ph value, and if it's not, switch to one that is. High ph cleaners dry out the face and ruin the moisture barrier. (if you google your cleanser name and "PH", someone has probably tested and reported on it somewhere on the internet.) Unfortunately, there's a shortage of my favorite low ph cleanser right now, so I can't recommend a good one, other than the Drunk Elephant bar soap. There are cheap ones out there though.  This change alone probably won't be enough to completely solve your problems, but it's probably a good place to start.

[MrsAxilla]

Apr 1, 2018 15:27:29 GMT -5 ESF said:

Mar 29, 2018 14:17:08 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

I really think a major key to fighting acne is fixing your skin’s moisture barrier.

So find products that repair it. My skin cleared up so much when I did that because it’s able to heal and not so inflamed.

For me, drunk elephant products work, and lots of rosewater toner, very gentle products.

And once I got my moisture barrier repaired, I can add active ingredients. But honestly, I’ve found I don’t need to do much anymore.

I agree.

I used to get these breakouts right on my chin, typically just before my period started, and my t-zone would feel like an oil spill. I finalized realized it was caused by the fact that I was drying out my skin and it was overproducing the oil to compensate.

I am not sure what you are using for a cleanser, but you might want to make sure it's got a low ph value, and if it's not, switch to one that is. High ph cleaners dry out the face and ruin the moisture barrier. (if you google your cleanser name and "PH", someone has probably tested and reported on it somewhere on the internet.) Unfortunately, there's a shortage of my favorite low ph cleanser right now, so I can't recommend a good one, other than the Drunk Elephant bar soap. There are cheap ones out there though.  This change alone probably won't be enough to completely solve your problems, but it's probably a good place to start.

Thanks for the opening to plug my favorite cleansers, ESF!  Neutrogena naturals purifying gel or cream cleanser both have a pH of 4.5, which is excellent, and are available most places.  I’m also a recent convert to Thayers rose witch hazel.  Alcohol free and low pH.  My skin sucks it up and looks fabulous!  (:::knocks on wood cuz I’m way overdue for a monster zit: