I've been on Spironolactone for just a little over 2 weeks and my skin has gotten SOOOOO dry. I used to have extremely oily skin. My skin is now super dry, flaking, and the moisturizer I've always used (Aveeno ultra-calming) is no longer working. I tried Cetaphil moisturizer as well- didn't work.
I feel like I need to exfoliate my skin because of all of the scales and flakes, but I've always heard this is something that people with acne shouldn't do. The only moisturizers that are working are really oily, thick ones such as Aquaphor Healing Ointment. I know that I shouldn't really be putting this on my face because it's not non-comedogenic or oil-free. But I just don't know what to do because my skin is SO dry.
Does anyone have any really effective moisturizers for extremely dry flakey skin? What about exfoliators? Anybody have luck with any of these? I would appreciate some advice because I don't know what to do from here!
Hey Rachel246,
I have been on Spironolactone at 200mg a day for 6 months now so hopefully I can shed some light!
Firstly, Spiro is a diuretic so it takes water out of the body and you pass it through your urine. It means that your skin secretes less oil but it also means that if you don't drink enough water, your body will be severely dehydrated and it needs to adjust to the drug. It's super annoying when people say drinking more water will help but it genuinely works, I was experiencing dry mouth and tiredness and drinking more H2o dramatically changed that.
So happy that you're experiencing results after 2 weeks, that's amazing! I'm still on Spiro for hair loss as well as accutane for my skin.
What I'd recommend for dryness and flakiness would be Dr Hauschka cleansing cream as it's a gentle exfoliator and cleanser. You can get a trial size from their website if you want to try it out!
For my moisturiser, I use Kheil's Skin Rescuer moisturiser which is stress minimising so it reduces redness and is also great to put on before makeup. I wouldn't say that it's for everyone because it is very rich (especially on oily parts of the face) so go in to your local store and ask to try it.
Hope this helps!
xxx