Acne and Pregnancy

[funkydiva77 0]

hi there, has anyone had their acne disappear when they became pregnant??

[Angi 0]

Mine was quite a bit better when I was pregnant, which shocked me because my skin is usually super sensitive to hormonal change. It eventually went back to its usual state post-pregnancy, though.

[Hopingthisworks 0]

I've had three successful pregnancies, and no, mine did not improve while pregnant or nursing. Not much better, not much worse, just about the same. Good luck to you though!! Just remember to be careful about the products you use while pregnant--even over the counter topicals. It's best to always ask your OBGYN and I always asked the people in the pharmacy too since they usually have more info than the doctors do.

[funkydiva77 0]

bump

[kel 1]

im pregnant at mo and im using BP and my skin isnt worse or better either,bout the same

[ruthw 0]

Yes, me! I am 34 and have had moderate to severe acne since I was about 12 (I had blackheads since age 5, according to my mother!). I have been wondering if the dramatic improvement in my acne during pregnancy could hold the key to effective treatment for me.

I never get acne flare-ups in my menstrual cycle. I don't get any PMS symptoms except for very mild breast tenderness. I believe that there's probably a hormonal connection there. When I was pregnant my acne cleared up completely, but it came back after I gave birth. I was nursing exclusively, but the prolactin apparently didn't have an effect on my acne. I've never been on the BC pill, so I don't know if my skin would react to it in the same way as real pregnancy hormones.

In general it does seem like women are more likely to have acne flare up during pregnancy than get better. I would be very interested in research or anecdotes that would correlate women's acne response to pregnancy with its response to the BC pill and non-pill-regulated menstrual cycles. Or information about sex-hormone-related disorders, such as PCOS, and how they relate to acne.

In my 20s I got evaluated by an endocrinologist for abnormal hormone levels, and he said I was normal, but I don't have any idea what the tests involved.

In HS and college I went on 2 courses of Accutane, for about a year each. While on it, my skin was perfect, if a little dry, but afterwards the acne came back, and parts of my skin are permanently drier now. Before I used to have uniformly very oily skin--I could clean my face with rubbing alcohol and have no ill effects.

Antibiotics never seemed to help me noticeably. Retin-A and Rx-strength BP did help, but eventually I decided the hassle of going to the dermatologist and getting the prescriptions filled wasn't worth it and I went back to OTC BP and oil-free moisturizer with AHA.

As I've gotten older (mid-20s+) my acne has become less inflammatory and mostly whiteheads. Now I only occasionally get cysts, but usually b/c I've been picking something. I'm a chronic picker, and not just of my skin. My acne used to be concentrated in certain areas of my face (nose, chin, temples), but now it's more evenly spread out. It's also cleared up a lot on my back and chest--when I was a teenager I hated to wear a swimsuit b/c my back was so bad. I guess this could be an effect of the Accutane rather than age, but it's impossible to tell.

Hope my "case history" is helpful to others.

RW

There is another thread about pregnancy at

[ruthw 0]

Oops, I guess I can't post a direct link that way. Anyway, the other thread is called "Do you know anyone who's acne cleared up..., after they got pregnant?". HolisticJane comments there saying it happened to her.

RW

[lishasacious06 0]

hi there, has anyone had their acne disappear when they became pregnant??

Sadly enough my acne went from mild to severe while pregnant. So yeah, that was hard.

[Kriszti 1]

Nope. Mine was worse in the first trimester with my son and so far, with this pregnancy. In fact, my skin is awful right now since I was told to stop using BP (and it was finally working too!) My acne seemed a little better in the second and third trimesters with my son, but I would get occasional flare-ups. Not sure how it'll be this time around.

[abalone 0]

hi there, has anyone had their acne disappear when they became pregnant??

My acne cleared up completely with my first pregnancy and then came back after about one year of nursing. With my second, there was no difference--acne as usual. And I had two girls!

As an aside, the BCP did work for me before my pregnancies.

[kel 1]

im 16 wks now and have doing regimen as outlined for 2 wks,doing application 1x a day before. my skin is clear,not sure if regimen or pregnancy or combo of both. good luck to any pregnant ladies!

[MrSebastian 0]

Two female friends of mine got mild acne after giving birth. I'm not sure exactly when it happened (during or after pregnancy), but none of them had acne prior to the pregnancy. As far as I can remember, they had acne for less than a year.