How I fixed my hormonal skin issues
So those who have followed along for a while would know I had terrible issues with my skin over the last year or so.
Pretty much after having kids, my skin completely changed. Like the DNA of my entire skin is completely different. I used to be quite olive and always tanned, but after kids, the second the sun looks at me, I burn.
Even the skin on my face, and my hair as well, is all completely different.
Read more on hormones:
- Can PMS get worse with age?
- Becoming a mother is a bit like being a teenager
- Can this hormone really affect your pregnancy?
‘Everything changed after the Mirena was inserted’
Just after I had Teddy, I had the Mirena inserted, thinking this would help calm my skin and let me get on top of heavy periods – boy was I wrong.
While it did help reduce my periods, it gave me an assortment of other issues, including flaring up my skin! After six months I had it removed, and this only made things worse.
My skin became really sensitive and broke out with really painful and harsh pimples – the kind I’d never really experienced before. These were mostly around my chin and jawline, but some on my forehead, and the biggest ones would always be RIGHT between my eyes on my brow-line – the worst!
Up until this point, I didn’t have much of a skincare routine. I always used face wash and moisturiser but nothing too complex.
The journey to fixing my skin
In a bid to try and resolve my skin issues I tried using different products. I got the Go-To Skin Care range after a few people recommended it, but it absolutely made it worse as my skin hated it and I found it quite heavy (Goodbye over $200 of products. Ouch).
I cycled through a few more products, some quite exxy from specific skin and beauty places, as they were supposed to be more a pharmaceutical grade but alas, it all just made it worse!
Then I tried the Ordinary serums, again came highly recommended, but it did sweet FA. I did, however, get Rose Hip Oil and swapped this to my moisturiser morning and night and loved it, so not a complete fail.
Eventually, the best advice I was given came from Mel Watts’ husband, Nolan. Who said he just stopped using anything, stopped using face-wash and creams and eventually his skin cleared up. So that’s what I did.
It took a little while, and it got worse before it got better, but I feel that actually stopping all of these lotions and potions is what helped to start clearing my skin. A few months in (still used face-wash, my skin’s too oily not to), the painful and cyst-like acne started to go away.
Products I used
In that time a girlfriend of mine recommended a product called Drops of Youth Liquid Peel. She said that she’d had much of the same issues I did and started using this a couple of times a week and saw a dramatic change.
I wasn’t completely convinced, but I liked the idea of it taking the top dead layer of skin off so I gave it a go. SHE WAS NOT LYING!!
Within a week or two of using it, I saw a huge change in my skin. It felt better, was brighter and had fewer pimples. Now I have almost none! And I only have to use it once every couple of weeks now and the bottle is still super full.
I also ran out of my expensive and fancy face wash around the same time and started using one I just had sitting in the cupboard for Jezz (cause I didn’t want to waste my fancy stuff on him). The Voeu Face Scrub, just from Woolworths!
It’s now my go-to and works great with my skin. I know it might be a tad harsh for some people, but my skin loves it and must respond well to a good buffing.
Those two things have been so far the two best products I’ve found to help my oily/hormonal skin. They’re not expensive or hard to find and the scrub is $4.
Brighter, softer and less redness
That being said, my skin is still not 100 percent. I still get the odd breakout, I still have those little tiny pimples all over that bother me, and I’m keen to find a few products to help keep it better hydrated, looking brighter and softer.
But at least I’m not getting those constant acne-like pimples and feeling like I have to wear make-up. Because truthfully I don’t like to wear any unless I have something on.
I’ll keep you posted on how I go with my skin journey, as I said I’m not there yet! But these are a few things I did and products I used that helped me start to tackle the issues I had that really bothered me and affected my confidence.
This post originally appeared on House of White and is republished here with permission.
