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What I found helped my hormonal acne..

MemberMember
2
(@mld93)

Posted : 06/30/2016 3:21 pm

Firstly I'll start with alittle bitof abackground on myself:

- I am a 23 year old female
- I have had acne for the past 10 or so years
- I feel as though I have tried EVERY different treatment / medication / creams on the market! (and have spent a TON of money in doing so!)
- I have Polycystic Ovaries whichis thecause of my hormonal acne (together with a family history of acne - so my genetics pretty much set me up for having bad skin!)

The only medication out there which I found helped my skin (completely cleared it) was the contraceptive pill Yasmin. The effects it had on my skin were absolutely incredible. However, I had other undesirable side effects such as a low sex drive and low mood which made me come to the decision to come off of the pill about 6 months ago. I wanted to manage my skin - I wanted to really get to understand what made it worse and how I could improve it naturally as I was so tired of taking tablets.

The first thing I did was read a book called 'The Hormonal Acne Solution' which I bought on Amazon. For those suffering with hormonal acne, I would definitely recommend reading this book. It helped me understand why and how acne formed together with offering diet and natural treatments to help cure my acne. It is a really in-depth, simple to understand book.

After reading this book, I I completely eliminated dairy, sugary / processed foods; I started putting an acne face mask on weekly (from Amazon also); I used natural face powder (Bare Minerals) and used a Benzyl Peroxide soap and spray twice daily which helped prevent new spots forming (which it really did). I used a product called Zenmed Rosacea face cream which worked wonders on reducing the redness on my face (it's from America and is pretty pricey, but it helped calm down my face). In addition to the above, I started drinking litres of water a day and began taking some multivitamins which I found in my cupboard. The combination of vitamins in Pharmaton are perfect for clearing up acne (I actually stopped taking them for a few weeks and started them again a week ago after my acne REALLY flared up again and it's already calmed down and almost gone).

In addition to the above, I found that stress really has an impact on my acne. So to help that I make sure I find time to relax in the evenings, go to the gym (the Benzyl Peroxide spray works magic after the gym as it prevents spots forming) and I have lots of green tea in the day and camomile tea before I go to bed (with some honey to make it a bit sweeter).

I hope this gives you all a few ideas on how to manage your acne. I know everyone is different and I think there's a lot of 'trial and error' to see what works for you better, but just think the only advice is to try and understand your body and find out what works better for you x

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MemberMember
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(@snarkygirl)

Posted : 06/30/2016 8:18 pm

4 hours ago, MLD93 said:
Firstly I'll start with alittle bitof abackground on myself:

- I am a 23 year old female
- I have had acne for the past 10 or so years
- I feel as though I have tried EVERY different treatment / medication / creams on the market! (and have spent a TON of money in doing so!)
- I have Polycystic Ovaries whichis thecause of my hormonal acne (together with a family history of acne - so my genetics pretty much set me up for having bad skin!)

The only medication out there which I found helped my skin (completely cleared it) was the contraceptive pill Yasmin. The effects it had on my skin were absolutely incredible. However, I had other undesirable side effects such as a low sex drive and low mood which made me come to the decision to come off of the pill about 6 months ago. I wanted to manage my skin - I wanted to really get to understand what made it worse and how I could improve it naturally as I was so tired of taking tablets.

The first thing I did was read a book called 'The Hormonal Acne Solution' which I bought on Amazon. For those suffering with hormonal acne, I would definitely recommend reading this book. It helped me understand why and how acne formed together with offering diet and natural treatments to help cure my acne. It is a really in-depth, simple to understand book.

After reading this book, I I completely eliminated dairy, sugary / processed foods; I started putting an acne face mask on weekly (from Amazon also); I used natural face powder (Bare Minerals) and used a Benzyl Peroxide soap and spray twice daily which helped prevent new spots forming (which it really did). I used a product called Zenmed Rosacea face cream which worked wonders on reducing the redness on my face (it's from America and is pretty pricey, but it helped calm down my face). In addition to the above, I started drinking litres of water a day and began taking some multivitamins which I found in my cupboard. The combination of vitamins in Pharmaton are perfect for clearing up acne (I actually stopped taking them for a few weeks and started them again a week ago after my acne REALLY flared up again and it's already calmed down and almost gone).

In addition to the above, I found that stress really has an impact on my acne. So to help that I make sure I find time to relax in the evenings, go to the gym (the Benzyl Peroxide spray works magic after the gym as it prevents spots forming) and I have lots of green tea in the day and camomile tea before I go to bed (with some honey to make it a bit sweeter).

I hope this gives you all a few ideas on how to manage your acne. I know everyone is different and I think there's a lot of 'trial and error' to see what works for you better, but just think the only advice is to try and understand your body and find out what works better for you x

hi, this is great to hear. I have PCOS or ...something similar, and I'm taking yaz again cause my skin got bad when I stopped taking it.
I don't eat dairy at all but I still could cut out some sugary stuff. Do you drink green tea too?

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(@mld93)

Posted : 07/01/2016 2:52 am

Snarkygirl - thanks for your post. I do drink green tea, yes. Although I don't notice any noticeable improvements to my skin when I drink it - I just like the taste of it :). If you have hormonal acne I'd really recommend the book I mentioned above. It has literally been a god-send. I never understood why my acne got worse with certain things but it explains the science behind things like how sugar contributes to acne :)

 

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(@snarkygirl)

Posted : 07/01/2016 5:30 am

Thanks I will read it. I also ordered a book on anti inflammatory foods because I have a lot of allergies and migraines I think they all may be linked. Some studies show allergies are linked to a lot of problemns including ADD/ ADHD and acne.

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(@jennifer-cheung)

Posted : 07/03/2016 9:33 pm

Hey! Glad to know that improving your diet or skincare routine has helped with your hormonal acne! For a lot of people, that sounds impossible though. I personally am on a very strict holistic diet too. It's kind of paleo - gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, processed food free, and vegetable oil free. I would say that the diet definitely has helped with my skin, BUT it doesn't really prevent the acne from forming. The hormonal imbalance is what causes the acne. The diet can help with decreasing the inflammation, but it doesn't banish the acne for me. 

I doubt if a clear diet or like a holistic lifestyle can really "cure" hormonal imbalance. I think going for the natural route is every acne sufferer's dream. After all, fixing hormonal issues by going on synthetic hormones is just forever trying to cover the problem but not actually solving it. But yeah I'm glad for you, truly! :) 

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(@snarkygirl)

Posted : 07/04/2016 8:52 am

11 hours ago, Jennifer Cheung said:

Hey! Glad to know that improving your diet or skincare routine has helped with your hormonal acne! For a lot of people, that sounds impossible though. I personally am on a very strict holistic diet too. It's kind of paleo - gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, processed food free, and vegetable oil free. I would say that the diet definitely has helped with my skin, BUT it doesn't really prevent the acne from forming. The hormonal imbalance is what causes the acne. The diet can help with decreasing the inflammation, but it doesn't banish the acne for me. 

I doubt if a clear diet or like a holistic lifestyle can really "cure" hormonal imbalance. I think going for the natural route is every acne sufferer's dream. After all, fixing hormonal issues by going on synthetic hormones is just forever trying to cover the problem but not actually solving it. But yeah I'm glad for you, truly! :) 

I agree Jennifer, avoiding certain foods can help with the oiliness and the inflammation of spots but for me at least, it never cleared me. I'm on Spiro for only a month and seeing good results. I think for me, it may be the extra boost I needed.
I respect your commitment to eat so healthy! I did much the same for about a year and a half but tbh I was miserable on that diet and it was bad for my mental health. Now I eat healthy the majority of the time but alloiw one or two splurges a week. Last night I was bad ;) but it was 4th of July.

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(@jennifer-cheung)

Posted : 07/04/2016 8:49 pm

11 hours ago, snarkygirl said:
I agree Jennifer, avoiding certain foods can help with the oiliness and the inflammation of spots but for me at least, it never cleared me. I'm on Spiro for only a month and seeing good results. I think for me, it may be the extra boost I needed.
I respect your commitment to eat so healthy! I did much the same for about a year and a half but tbh I was miserable on that diet and it was bad for my mental health. Now I eat healthy the majority of the time but alloiw one or two splurges a week. Last night I was bad ;) but it was 4th of July.

I wish I could try Spiro! But Saw Palmetto alone already gave me severe anxiety, so I could predict that Spiro may do the same to me. In blocking the 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, I think it just blocked away my calmness or "feel good " feelings too. But I'm glad it does the job for you! 
Yes I agree that sticking to a holistic diet is a mental challenge indeed haha! But I guess it's worth it :)  

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(@snarkygirl)

Posted : 07/05/2016 1:17 pm

16 hours ago, Jennifer Cheung said:
I wish I could try Spiro! But Saw Palmetto alone already gave me severe anxiety, so I could predict that Spiro may do the same to me. In blocking the 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, I think it just blocked away my calmness or "feel good " feelings too. But I'm glad it does the job for you! 
Yes I agree that sticking to a holistic diet is a mental challenge indeed haha! But I guess it's worth it :)  

just in case it matters, I felt odd on saw palmetto and even minocycline but feel no changes from Spiro.  I also couldnt tske evening primrose oil cause it gave me racing thoughts. I'm only on 50mg. But it your blood pressure is low it may not be for you either. Mine is actually a bit high so its a bonus for me :)
 

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(@jennifer-cheung)

Posted : 07/05/2016 8:37 pm

7 hours ago, snarkygirl said:
just in case it matters, I felt odd on saw palmetto and even minocycline but feel no changes from Spiro.  I also couldnt tske evening primrose oil cause it gave me racing thoughts. I'm only on 50mg. But it your blood pressure is low it may not be for you either. Mine is actually a bit high so its a bonus for me :)
 

Interesting! But by "odd" what exactly was that you were feeling? Coz I'm someone with a family history of anxiety and depression issues, so maybe that's why it affects me more. 

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MemberMember
264
(@snarkygirl)

Posted : 07/05/2016 10:45 pm

2 hours ago, Jennifer Cheung said:
9 hours ago, snarkygirl said:
just in case it matters, I felt odd on saw palmetto and even minocycline but feel no changes from Spiro.  I also couldnt tske evening primrose oil cause it gave me racing thoughts. I'm only on 50mg. But it your blood pressure is low it may not be for you either. Mine is actually a bit high so its a bonus for me :)
 

Interesting! But by "odd" what exactly was that you were feeling? Coz I'm someone with a family history of anxiety and depression issues, so maybe that's why it affects me more. 

with saw palmetto I felt almost like I might be allergic to it ( itchy) and the minocycline aside from slight nausea and loss of appetite, I felt panicky. I have a lot of depression in my family...several suicides also. 

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