Unfortunately I suffer from hormonal acne.
It's rubbish, it's upsetting, it's a down right pain in the ass.
I mean I'm an adult for crying out loud, when I was a young teen upset with the state of my skin I always thought I'd grow out of it, however I have poly cystic ovaries and sadly this is one of the symptoms...
or...
I have yet to grow up...
It has taken me years of researching, trying and testing ways to control it as best I can and finally I have a routine I have found works best for me that I am so, so happy with.
I know, of course, not everyone is the same, and what may work for me might not work for someone else. However I do want to share my skin care routine in hope that someone may be able to pick and choose parts of it to try for themselves and hopefully it will help someone else out.
Bio Oil
Tea Tree Oil
Evening Primrose Oil
Simple Cleaning Wipes
Sudocrem
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is great for acne sufferers.
It contains natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties that help disinfect pores, dry out blemishes and prevent further break outs.
It is available as a concentrated oil or diluted in to different skin care products.
I personally use Superdrug's own Tea Tree Skincare range.
It is a gorgeous affordable range of about 10 different daily skin care products, face masks and essential oils which combine tea tree oil and peppermint extracts.
There are loads of great products in the collection which I use often however my three every day favourites are the exfoliating scrub, foaming face wash and micellar water cleanser.
I love a product that you can feel working on your skin and leaves it feeling super clean and refreshed.
Evening Primrose Oil
Discovering evening primrose oil was the turning point in managing my hormonal break outs.
In order to treat hormonal acne you have to treat it at the root of the problem, the hormone imbalance. Evening Primrose Oil contains omega-6 fatty acids which have many benefits but, most importantly, help regulate your hormone levels.
I was scrolling through Pinterest and happened across a post that mentioned the benefits, and despite thinking it was a long shot, I was at the end of my tether and was willing to try anything.
Taking Evening Primrose Oil once a day has made a HUGE difference to my skin, it controls my spots now to a point where if I get a spot it will usually only be the one around the time before or after my period.
One, I can deal with.
Thank you Pinterest!
Evening Primrose Oil is pretty easy to come by, the one I get is stocked by Holland and Barrett and it's available in different quantities but I have noticed it in the vitamin and supplement sections of some supermarkets. It has no gross taste or after taste and if you're a bit rubbish at taking tablets they have smaller ones available.
The other products I use almost as religiously as I do tea tree and evening primrose are...
Simple Cleansing Wipes
Simple is my absolute favourite brand when it comes to cleansing wipes. I have definitely tried them all, at the moment the cleansing wipe of the moment has got to be their Micellar wipes. I find them softer than all the other wipes and have plenty of product on them for getting your make up off effectively.
Bio Oil
I was really aware of the scars and marks that had been left on my skin by spots and blemishes and if you're the same I would highly recommend using Bio Oil. It's fantastic for hydrating your skin, evening up skin tone and thankfully, reducing scars and blemishes.
I love applying it to my whole face a few times a week at night and waking up with brighter, hydrated skin.
Sudocrem
Despite all of my above tricks, they are much to my dismay not a cure to hormonal acne, just a way of controlling it. So when that inevitable blemish comes up Sudocrem is my go to cream to help the healing process along as fast as possible.
