Managing Hormonal Acne
When it comes to hormonal acne, we tend to associate it with our teen years—up until we realize we’re STILL getting breakouts in adulthood. Ugh! When will it end?! 😫
The answer to that question is, well it differs from person to person. Factors like genetics, stress, and lifestyle affect each person’s skin. If you struggle with acne that just keeps coming back, read on to learn more!
How Do You Get Hormonal Acne
Depending on your age, you can either have teenage hormonal acne or adult hormonal acne.
Hormonal acne usually occurs when there’s a change in our hormones and this happens during our teenage years—hello puberty; and/or well into our adulthood—stress and aging and other changes going with our body, oh my!
As growing teens, our bodies are going through a lot of changes: growth spurts, menstruation, you name it, and this triggers the cycle of breakouts.
In adulthood, hormonal acne usually occurs from 20s-40s and it’s most common in women. Women’s bodies develop during their 20s to prepare for pregnancy and with this new flux in hormones, breakouts will start to happen.
Other factors that affect hormonal acne are genetics and stress! If acne runs in the family, it’s likely you’ll get them too. Stress hormones, like cortisol, can also result in breakouts.
What Do They Look Like
Teen hormonal acne shows itself mostly on the nose and forehead area. There’s an overproduction of oil, and pimples are mostly the red, under-the-skin type of cysts that are quite tender to the touch.
For adults, hormonal acne is frequently found on the chin, jawline, and neck area.
How Do You Treat It?
Depending on the severity of your hormonal acne, you can choose to either look for over the counter (OTC) skin care products or get professional advice from your dermatologist.
If you have severe hormonal acne, it’s best to schedule an appointment with your dermatologist so they can provide you with prescription strength products like Retinoids.
If your hormonal acne is more mild, here are some tips we recommend:
Have a trusted skincare routine and stick with it!
Be consistent with your skincare routine by making sure you wash your face twice a day for at least 60 seconds, never skip moisturizer, and apply sunscreen every morning.
Incorporate soothing and anti-inflammatory ingredients into your routine
Centella Asiatica is a great example of an anti-inflammatory ingredient, which can be found in our Leaf Drops Serum!
Tea Tree also reduces inflammation and what better way to incorporate this by applying the AM Spot Fighter patch, which is infused with Tea Tree, to your pimples! This will keep you from touching your face and will let your spots heal.
Adjust your diet
It’s best to have a proper, balanced diet so that our skin doesn’t get worse! Eating more foods that are high in antioxidants and are anti-inflammatory can help reduce hormonal acne and promote better skin health.
Good foods to include are: strawberries, blueberries, green apples, black beans, salmon, carrots and spinach.
Try to limit your intake of processed food, dairy, and foods high in sugar as they can increase inflammation.
Hormonal Acne is not fun at all but we hope we were able to shed some light on how to manage it! Know that this is pretty common and you are not alone. As long as you stick to your routine, check in with your dermatologist, and stay patient, you’ll definitely get results. You got this!
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