Hormonal acne

[Ineedaholidayyyy]

I've suffered with hormonal acne for about 5 years now, it seems to have coincided with stopping the contraceptive pill.

I am on the wrong side of 30 now and fed up of it , each month is the same, I'll have 2 weeks of having clear blemish free skin, followed by 2 weeks of painful cyst like spots on my chin and jawline.

I finally went to the Doctors about 3 months ago as I'm so fed up of it. I feel like I'm getting it under control with the treatment i have started which is great, i still get the odd spot or 2 but they are smaller and less painful.

The problem is , I've now been left with some large scars on my face and I'm wondering if anyone can suggest anything that may be able to help reduce the appearance of these scars?

Anyone?

Retinol, vitamin c, chemical exfoliators have worked for me

@LittleSparklyStar thank you , any particular brands?

I used an exfoliator made from Dead Sea salt, worked really well.
Factor 50 unless there’s total cloud cover. Altruist is a good one.
Have you tried cutting out gluten? That was the turning point in mine.
Sorry, my suggestions might not help with any scarring but might help recurrence.
typos

Thank you. No I haven't tried cutting out gluten or dairy, I've heard for others this worked. When I was taking the pill my skin was OK , I was on the pill for 16 years before stopping it about 2 years ago. I'd rather not go back on it though, as I've no need to take contraception anymore. The cream the doctors have prescribed seems to be helping so I'll stick with that , but now just need to work on reducing the darkness of the scars.

It depends how big the scars are. I have a deep one that will probably never go away, from a single spot I had years ago.

I've struggled with hormonal acne too and I would personally really recommend Dermatica. Their skin glow formula is the only thing that has actually improved my skin. I went to the doctor's a few years ago too and the stuff they gave me (Duac) just dried my skin out so badly, it did get rid of some of the acne but it was horrible. It also bleached my towels and clothes when I accidentally got it on them!

Dermatica is great - it's a retinoid so stings a bit at times - but after using it for 5 months has actually given me a lovely glow which I've never experienced before. I actually feel good about my complexion now.

(I don't work for them btw - just have been pleasantly surprised by them!)

I wish I could help, I got this whilst on the pill stopped taking it and now I can't get rid of this issue and it has gotten a lot worse. I have tried all sorts but nothing works. Creams washes etc

The only thing making ANY sort of difference is sudocrem and Nivea cream. I don't know what to blame but before ever taking contraception I spent all my life with clear skin. Hope you find a solution that works.

@froggirl the scars aren't deep thankfully, they are just darker in colour so hopefully I can find a cream that can help to even my skin tone. Thanks for the recommendation.

I've been prescribed epiduo and that's the same, it can bleach and I've got to be very careful in the sun. It really dried out my skin and made it very red at first,my skin looked awful but I preservered and eventually it seemed to help and I have seen some improvements.

Glad it's starting to improve. It can be such a knock to confidence when you feel like your skin looks awful.

Have you seen a dermatologist? That's probably your best bet to be honest rather than fiddling around with things yourself. There will be a million and one products that promise to do what you want, but very few of them actually will.

I never had any form of acne as a teenager before starting the pill. I'd get the odd spot, but nothing major.

I always have sudacreme in, I plaster it on sometimes but I don't know if it makes any difference! There was a cream many years ago caller quinoderm that got rid of any spot , it was amazing but it was discontinued and I've never found anything that works as well 😥

Yes it does affect my confidence when it's bad, but things are looking better hopefully. I've not seen a dermatologist, but I am going to start booking in for regular facials soon . I'm getting married next year and I'd love my skin to be clear on my wedding day and not have to worry about spots.

Have you tried bio oil for the scars?

My daughter has acne and says the best thing she's used for the scars is skin 47 serum

The only things that helped me are tretinoin cream, prescription anti inflammatory pills from doctor a few times a week and using a dermaplaning with a facial razor specifically for women.

Have you looked into changing your diet? Gut is strongly linked to skin. Sugar, dairy and wheat can all cause skin problems.

I’m 46 and still get hormonal spots! 😩
Or I did do until very recently.
Having tried all the usual stuff in the past (La Roche Posay, Paula’s Choice, Acnecide etc - Paula’s Choice worked pretty well for a while, then stopped working as well as it did before)

Ive been using a brand called Monday Muse for about 3 weeks, and can honestly say its been a game changer. There’s a serum called The Juice, which is a milky consistency - smells and feels a bit like liquidised cucumber, which calms and soothes spots and has done a good job of reducing redness and dark scarring.
I also use their cleanser, which leaves skin feeling amazing.
Plus there’s a powder exfoliant and also a tablet supplement which I take with water each day.

All very unique products, different to anything I’ve used before - my skin is clearer than it’s ever been .

My diet is fairly healthy, I don't consume too much sugar or greasy foods that I know can affect skin. I trialled cutting back on dairy once as I've read about the links between dairy and hormonal acne, but it didn't make any difference.

Sudocrem seems to help me, its a godsend I think.