Hormonal acne

[Lollypad]

Hi all,
Hoping someone might have some experiences/ products that might be able to help. I’m getting a lot of proper zit spot clusters (about 6 of them at once) on my chin at the corners of my mouth. They tend to peak just before my period but honestly they don’t really go away for the rest of the month they just recur.

I’m not on any birth control (came off it on August, we’re not TTC or anything I just had been on it for over a decade) so it shouldn’t be that? I never had bad skin as a teenager so never really had to deal with it before.

Annoyingly the rest of my face is in better shape skin-wise than it’s ever been - drinking 3l of water a day, cleanse, tone, moisturise twice a day, it’s just these chin spots. It also feels like a very minor problem to speak to a GP about at the mo, so thought I’d try here first for any help or ideas

have tried:
- body shop cleanser and toner - that just made the rest of my skin feel quite uneven, so went back onto Pixi Cleanser and Toner
- origins miracle spot thing, dries them out a lot quicker but does do much to stop them recurring
- boots tea tree - again, helps dry them out but doesn’t stop with the recurring.

 

[KitKat2000]

Highly likely it is your body still re-adjusting after coming off the pill. Took mine over a year to settle down after coming off it.

Introduce a cleanser with Salicylic but do so gradually so your skin can adjust, only use it on the chin area if that's your troublesome area. Cera Ve do a very reasonably priced one, or The Skin Nerd and Image Skincare both have one too.

Also if you are wearing a mask daily, cleanse skin straight after taking it off and avoid products on the chin containing oil, opt for oil free instead.

I should also mention if they are scarring, Niacinimide is good to reduce the marks left, I use the Ordinary one and find it very good so maybe check it out!

Best of luck

 

[slugella]

Benzoyl peroxide really helped me. If you're in the UK you can get Acnecide from Boots or local chemist, it's over the counter but you don't need a prescription. I use it every morning but maybe start slowly if you try it as it can be a little drying until your skin gets used to it, and make sure you're wearing SPF as it makes your skin a bit more sensitive to sunlight. It is pretty intense so you definitely only need a little bit and may not be best for people with sensitive skin so maybe have a look into it before buying.

Dr Sam on YT has some good videos on hormonal acne. I don't really rate her products but she does recommend other brands too.

 

[Twinks10]

I second Acnecide, Salicylic acid and Niacinamide. I only use the Acnecide on the spots directly but it quickly clears them up but I use The Ordinary’s Niacinamide and Zinc daily, sometimes twice daily and it’s worked wonders for my skin. The Ordinary also do a Salicylic acid but it’s been out of stock for a while, not sure if it’s in stock now and I haven’t tried that but I do use their Salicylic mask usually around the time of my period and that helps with spots.
I suffered badly as a teenager and have been left with lots of scars and pigmentation so I know how horrible it makes you feel. My skin is much better now, still get an occasional flare up, usually hormonal or stress but The Ordinary products have been amazing for me.
If wearing a mask is aggravating your skin, it did mine, then maybe try a visor. I got some from Amazon and they’re quite cheap.
Hope this helps.

 

[Lollypad]

Highly likely it is your body still re-adjusting after coming off the pill. Took mine over a year to settle down after coming off it.

Introduce a cleanser with Salicylic but do so gradually so your skin can adjust, only use it on the chin area if that's your troublesome area. Cera Ve do a very reasonably priced one, or The Skin Nerd and Image Skincare both have one too.

Also if you are wearing a mask daily, cleanse skin straight after taking it off and avoid products on the chin containing oil, opt for oil free instead.

I should also mention if they are scarring, Niacinimide is good to reduce the marks left, I use the Ordinary one and find it very good so maybe check it out!

Best of luck

Ah I sort of assumed because my periods were back to normal everything else would be, didn't realise I'd still be feeling the affects elsewhere thanks!

Thanks so much everyone - I've just done a little Boots order of the Ordinary niacinimide + zinc and the Acnecide gel, will see how that goes!

 

[Base2019]

Hi all,
Hoping someone might have some experiences/ products that might be able to help. I’m getting a lot of proper zit spot clusters (about 6 of them at once) on my chin at the corners of my mouth. They tend to peak just before my period but honestly they don’t really go away for the rest of the month they just recur.

I’m not on any birth control (came off it on August, we’re not TTC or anything I just had been on it for over a decade) so it shouldn’t be that? I never had bad skin as a teenager so never really had to deal with it before.

Annoyingly the rest of my face is in better shape skin-wise than it’s ever been - drinking 3l of water a day, cleanse, tone, moisturise twice a day, it’s just these chin spots. It also feels like a very minor problem to speak to a GP about at the mo, so thought I’d try here first for any help or ideas

have tried:
- body shop cleanser and toner - that just made the rest of my skin feel quite uneven, so went back onto Pixi Cleanser and Toner
- origins miracle spot thing, dries them out a lot quicker but does do much to stop them recurring
- boots tea tree - again, helps dry them out but doesn’t stop with the recurring.

Please stop the pixi toner, especially if it’s the glow tonic ones, they are so harsh on your skin, esp on breakouts.

I would consider cutting back a lot on the skincare until your skin settles itself, too many products isn’t the way to go esp if the spots are still reoccurring in the same place.

Look into silk based pillow case, cleansing wipes for your phone, do not touch your face, monitor your dairy intake and maybe consider supplements to get you on track quicker Would highly recommend accumax by advanced nutrition programme. They contain vitamin a though so please don’t use if TTC at any point.

All the best, I know it’s so crap when your not used to having spots xxxxx

 

[slugella]

Please stop the pixi toner, especially if it’s the glow tonic ones, they are so harsh on your skin, esp on breakouts.

I would consider cutting back a lot on the skincare until your skin settles itself, too many products isn’t the way to go esp if the spots are still reoccurring in the same place.

Look into silk based pillow case, cleansing wipes for your phone, do not touch your face, monitor your dairy intake and maybe consider supplements to get you on track quicker Would highly recommend accumax by advanced nutrition programme. They contain vitamin a though so please don’t use if TTC at any point.

All the best, I know it’s so crap when your not used to having spots xxxxx

Totally agree with cutting back on products. I used to use so many because of influencers but sticking to a simple cleanser and moisturiser (i like Avene and La Roche Posay products) alongside acnecide has been way better for my skin, and so much cheaper too!

 

[LuLuLemonade]

Things that worked for me below (have PCOS and off pill a year). The main thing I realised was my skin goes in a cycle and I needed to have a routine that changed to...

1) Silk pillowcase, cleaned weekly
2) Tracking those few days before your hormonal breakouts when your skin's perfect on your cycle. I've realised mine is when the pores are more naturally closed before my hormone 'crash' on my ovulation time. So I started doing my peels and a simple face steam on those days to release anything trapped. The Ordinary AHA is really good for this. And super cheap.
3) For deep cysts ones beneath the skin, hot compresses of water + tea tree a few times a day seem to be the only thing that works. But it really does.
4) A light retinol the rest of the time on and Nicamicide (not sure if I spelt that correctly) to remove the pigmentation from old spots (The Ordinary again, but I wouldnt use either when my skin is super active).
5) Salt baths / sea swimming (zero clue why)

Hope that helps!

 

[mcfeez]

I've never had a lot of spots but started getting a lot small spots on my chin for a while there. I found the Niacinamide and Zinc product from the Ordinary help me a lot!

 

[Jessy725]

Things that worked for me below (have PCOS and off pill a year). The main thing I realised was my skin goes in a cycle and I needed to have a routine that changed to...

1) Silk pillowcase, cleaned weekly
2) Tracking those few days before your hormonal breakouts when your skin's perfect on your cycle. I've realised mine is when the pores are more naturally closed before my hormone 'crash' on my ovulation time. So I started doing my peels and a simple face steam on those days to release anything trapped. The Ordinary AHA is really good for this. And super cheap.
3) For deep cysts ones beneath the skin, hot compresses of water + tea tree a few times a day seem to be the only thing that works. But it really does.
4) A light retinol the rest of the time on and Nicamicide (not sure if I spelt that correctly) to remove the pigmentation from old spots (The Ordinary again, but I wouldnt use either when my skin is super active).
5) Salt baths / sea swimming (zero clue why)

Hope that helps!

Hey hey, I have some more questions just to clarify: so the peels etc on the days your skin is good before the crash? (sorry English is not my first language')

also how exactly do you do the compress?

Thank you!