TTMA your skincare regimen

[britta]

I'm PWing today. Sorry, not sorry.

So. Pregnancy really wrecked havoc on my skin. I didnt have great skin at baseline, but this is next level. I need help.

For the last 2ish years, I've been partial to M.ary Ka.y products. I use pretty much everything in the Time.wise line (if anyone is familiar) for skincare, including their cleansing brush, and all my cosmetics are MK as well. Between this regimen and my BCP, my skin was...ok. I would say maybe mild acne, definitely cannot go without foundation. I stopped my BCP to TTC and my skin got a little worse, but I still felt pretty mild, sometimes cystic though. Once I became pregnant all hell broke loose. Moderate cystic acne concentrated on my lower cheeks/jaw line. I switched to their acne specific line without results, so then switched back to my usual, chalking it up to pregnancy. I'm 11 weeks PP now. My skin actually improved pretty drastically from birth to about 6ish weeks and has taken a nosedive since, back to moderate cystic acne in the same spots, as well as down my neck. 😩😖

I'm willing to branch out and try something different, especially since, even prior to TTC/pregnancy, my acne was still present, though mild. I have to believe there's something better out there. HALP??

[erien22846]

I'm afraid I'm not much help but hope someone has good advice for you. I just use hand soap to wash my face. I have the same number of blemishes using face wash or hand soap. So I choose convenience and use hand soap.

Is the MK cleanser medicated? The drugstore acne soaps often have salicylic acid. Maybe you need something like that to get it under control?

Acne is bacteria and I've read it is becoming resistant to conventional treatments. Not sure if that's just fancy prescription treatments or OTC washes too.

[becole]

I just got a clarisonic face brush and I use aveeno gentle foaming cleanser to wash and L'Oréal gel moisturizer after. This has been my go to and I rarely have breakouts with this. It's like my skin just needs gentle gentle gentle.

[britta]

erien22846 their acne line is medicated. The cleanser and toner both have salicylic acid in them and the spot treatment has benzoyl peroxide. I didn't see much improvement when I used them. Maybe because of pregnancy though? Perhaps I should try it again.

Previous to using MK products, I used a Neutrogena cleanser and scrub that also had salicylic acid it. I actually saw a little improvement switching from that to the MK Time.wise stuff (unmediated), in that my skin no longer felt really tight and stretched.

I'm beginning to think I may need to see a dermatologist if I really want to see any improvement. 😕

[iwantbacon]

britta I'm a big fan of the dermatologist. My acne was never terrible, but I thought the lotions they gave me worked well. Once I'm done breastfeeding, I plan to use them again.

[sanibel21]

I'm still waiting for my acne to come back post partum. I havent gotten my period back yet though, and it was very clearly linked to parts of my cycle.
I wash with Cetaphil face wash. I've read use a lot of wash gel for a small amount of time.
I don't use facial moisturizer, though I have heard that will help.
The best spot treatment I've ever found for me was a combo benzoyl peroxide (which bleaches fabric) and clyndamycin. So brand name benzaclin or duac. It's rx because of the clyndamycin and it's expensive. So I think you can get each called in separately, or get the benzoyl otc and have the clyndamycin called in, and it ends up being cheaper. I don't use it when pregnant or breastfeeding though I don't know the safety of it for sure.
This regimen does not give me perfectly clear skin, but it's better than nothing. So I'll be reading others tips too!

[iwantbacon]

@sanibel Duac is good stuff!

[ksyknelvr73]

I could have written this myself. Same boat exactly. Honestly, I am waiting for my BC to kick back in and help clear it up. My specific kind really does wonders for my skin after a few months of getting in my system.

I use Mary Kay foundation as well and I like it. I use Cetaphil to wash my face because it really gets EVERYTHING off my face. I also use the Peter Thomas Roth face wash with glycolic acid based on a recommendation someone here gave me for pregnancy safe acne products - I found thay it really kept my acne at bay while pregnant so I figured it would help now too.

Also just got my first PP period so I know that is adding to my issues.

[erien22846]

britta I don't like the way salicylic acid makes my skin feel either. So dry and tight and stretched like you said. Consulting a dermatologist might be a good idea if nothing else is working.

[britta]

sanibel21 I would definitely recommend adding a moisturizer to your routine. I don't know that it'll help with any acne flare ups, but it certainly doesn't hurt. I was afraid it would make my skin more greasy/oily, but it turns out that actually got better using a moisturizer (provided you use one that's meant for oily/combo skin). Something about your skin will actually produce MORE oil, in an attempt to naturally moisturize, if you're not using something. It was hard to wrap my head around, but I'm glad I did it. Re: benzaclin. Our PCP in high school actually prescribed that for my sister. They said mine wasn't bad enough(?). I was jealous. She didn't really use it much though. And yes to benzoyl peroxide bleaching fabrics. Until about 2ish years ago, all my pillowcases were bleached out from me pretty much using it all over my face.

ksyknelvr73 we're like twinsies. Which foundation do you use? I'm partial to the Time.Wise Matt.eWear. Re: BC. Have you been able to start yours back up? My OB wanted me to wait until the Sunday after I start my first natural PP period. 😩 I've contemplated saying eff that. If people can get IUDs put in before their period comes back, why can't I start my pills???

So, I was doing some lurking over on Parenting and found that the commonly dermatologist prescribed medication, Differin Gel, has been approved by the FDA to be sold OTC in the prescription strength. I had to do some research because not familiar with it, but it looks like it's a retinoid, which is very successful at treating acne. And also good for anti-aging. It's available at the Walgreens in the next town over where I do my grocery shopping, so I'm going to pick some up. It's pricey, but if it works it'll be worth it to me. I think I'll keep my current regimen the same, so I'm not shocking my skin with so much at once.

[ksyknelvr73]

britta my foundation is the medium coverage...I like that it is a little bit thicker and seems to cover more of my imperfections.

I just started my BC since I actually got my period finally. My OB told me the same thing as you - to wait until I got my period. I did wait but I was getting super impatient. I don't really know if it would mess with anything...it seems like it shouldn't matter. My BC does such a good job with my skin that I probably won't do anything else besides from spot treatments.

[iwantbacon]

Whoa whoa whoa--differin is available OTC??? I've used that in the past as well with good results.

[britta]

Jan 2, 2017 21:45:24 GMT -5 iwantbacon said:

Whoa whoa whoa--differin is available OTC??? I've used that in the past as well with good results.

Yaaasssss.

I went and checked at the Walgreens next town over today. It was sold out already. 😩😩 I think Walgreens and one other pharmacy was going to be carrying it.

ETA: $29.99