As someone who struggled HARD with hormonal acne for 10 years, I feel your pain. You have probably tried multiple things, researched endlessly, made changes, and perhaps even gone to the dermatologist for the latest prescription.
The first thing I want you to understand is that acne is your body's way of communicating with you. I know it may seem like a rude way to communicate, but something you are doing is NOT working. This could be a bit of a puzzle to fully understand and make the proper changes, but please hear me, I am NOT for bandaid solutions. The topical creams that force your skin to stop breaking out are also negatively impacting your hormones, have toxic ingredients, and serious long term impacts. Let's look at some other options that look at your acne holistically.
This guide is to help you understand your skin better, encourage you to make lifestyle changes to help treat your acne, and provide you with long term solutions to prevent the breakouts.
Breakouts: Your Skin's Detox Signal
Acne isn't just about dirt and bacteria; it's your skin's way of detoxifying. Acne is complex, usually influenced by diet, gut health, genetics, hormones, and external factors. Avoid the band-aid solutions and grasp the importance of a whole-person approach to achieve lasting results.
Common Causes and Underlying Conditions:
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Diet
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Gut health
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Toxic skincare products
- Pore clogging ingredients
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Genetics
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Hormonal fluctuations
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Medications/Antibiotics
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Weakened immunity
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Stress
Skincare Recommendations for Acne:
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Gentle Cleanser: Optimize your skin's natural oils by using an actual gentle cleanser (or oil cleansing) that cleanses without stripping your skin of its beneficial natural oils. A good cleanser keeps your skin's microbiome in tact and allows your skin to naturally thrive.
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Stop Over-cleansing: No need for a morning cleanse, unless you worked out. When you over wash your face, you disrupt your natural oil production, which is actually very healthy for overall skin health! Over washing leads to our skin producing more oils, which leads to clogged pores and breakouts. A night cleanse is enough for most people.
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Simplifying Skincare: Drastically simplify your skincare to nourish your face without using unnecessary, and often times toxic and harmful, ingredients. Most women have a long routine with dozens of products, which equals hundreds of ingredients. All you actually need is a gentle cleanser and effective moisturizer. Our favorite is a high quality traditionally rendered tallow balm, which boasts only 3 ingredients. Keep it extremely simple, yet consistent.
Hormonal Acne: Addressing Toxins and Balance
Toxin exposure is very real, especially xenoestrogens, which disrupt hormonal balance and contribute to acne. Learn lifestyle tips and product choices to detoxify your environment and support your body's healing process. The more changes you make, the better. But if this list overwhelms you, start small! Make one small change a week. These changes will not only impact your skin, but your overall health too!
Common Estrogen-mimicking Toxins:
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Parabens
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Preservatives
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Pesticides
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Plasticides
Lifestyle Recommendations for Hormonal Acne:
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Real Food Diet: There is really no way around a whole food, or what I like to call, real food diet. This is the most important and powerful recommendation that should not be overlooked. Real foods are those that your ancestors would recognize as food. Generally speaking and without overcomplicating things, those foods are: meats, eggs, vegetables, fruits, raw dairy, natural oils and animal fats (not seed oils), fermented sourdough, and nuts. Buy them in the most raw (read: unprocessed) form possible. Find a local coop where you can buy a wide range of meat and animal products from healthy animals. Organic is superior, but if budget doesn't allow then avoid the "Dirty Dozen" for the most contaminated fruits and vegetables.
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Food Journal or Food Intolerance Test: A simple food journal can tell you so much about what is working for you. Simply jot down in your phone what you had for each meal. When you have a breakout go back and see what could have been the trigger in the past 72 hours. It's a bit of a guessing game at first, but with time you will see a pattern. An elimination diet (typically sugar, dairy, or wheat) can also be so informative! Alternatively you can get a high quality immune reactivity test to know which foods cause a reaction. I recommend a Multiple Food Immune Reactivity Screen (Cyrex Array #10) if budget allows.
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Eliminate Toxins: Create a toxin-free living space by replacing one product at a time. This means tossing the soy candles, processed snacks, and toxic cleaning supplies. Opening the window, even during the winter months, will do wonders for the air quality in your home considering the fact that air quality indoors is worse than even the busiest cities outdoors.
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Avoid plastic: Opt for glass, silicon, rubber, and other natural materials as much as possible. The plastic leaks into products, which eventually ends up on and in your body.
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Stress Management: Prioritize stress-relieving practices to reduce cortisol levels and support overall health. For me that is prayer and time spent outdoors. It's almost impossible to have high cortisol levels when the sun is shining on your face!
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Bare Face: The desire to cover up your face may be high, but as much as possible allow your skin to be and breath. Bonus points if you get outside in the fresh air. I call this a fresh air facial. Getting fresh air and taking a break from makeup is so nourishing for the skin.
If you feel you have made most of these changes and are still struggling after a minimum of three months of commitment, I would recommend seeking a holistic practitioner that focuses on testing hormones, stool, gut health, parasites, food sensitivities, etc. You want someone to do a thorough testing, not simply guess what the the root cause may be. I have a practice I have worked with successfully with some nationwide locations, reach out if you need a recommendation!
Conclusion
Acne is an invitation to deeper healing. Shift your perspective, tune into your skin, and incorporate these holistic recommendations into your routine. Make it simple and make one change at a time. Start with the recommendation that you have the most improvement to do. By understanding internal imbalances, you pave the way for clear, glowing, and acne-free skin.
Be blessed.
