Managing Hormonal Acne

Hormonal acne is something that affects both men and women, and it is a persistent condition that can cause a lot of problems and frustration. One of the reasons that it is such a problem, however, is a lack of skincare education.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that keeping your skin blemish free requires long term care. If you go back to treating your skin ‘normally’ when you are not suffering from an outbreak, then you will just have another outbreak – because the cause is hormonal and bacterial.

Bacteria live on everyone’s skin. The combination of bacteria and excess oil produced by hormones is what causes bacterial acne. The oil on our skin produces an environment that it is easy for bacteria to thrive in. That is why it is so common for teenagers to get acne, and for women who are adults, and who are about to get their menstrual period.

Hormonal acne ranges from the easy to treat to the incredibly severe. It is important that whatever kind of treatment you start using, you start trying it and follow it consistently for a few months to see if it will work. Even a powerful treatment can take a while to really kick in, and a lot of people make the mistake of getting frustrated, not sticking to the treatments, and giving up before they really see results.

For mild cases, a simple pattern of using cleanser, exfoliating, and then treating with a basic product every day can work. For other people with more serious acne, it makes sense to be a little more proactive. Using mild over-the-counter products with antibacterial properties can be helpful, as can using salicylic acid-based products to help to keep your sking fresh and clean. Benzoyl peroxide is an option for people who have very bad acne, but it can cause some dryness and irritation – so you should use it only as a last resort, and make sure that you cleanse your skin regularly as a part of it.

Tea tree oil based solutions can be a nice option for people who want to get rid of their hormonal acne but who are concerned about their overall health. It is something that you can simply add to a standard bath, or just use a drop of at a time.

Retinol, which is also known as Vitamin A, is an over-the-counter treatment that is becoming more and more popular because of its general antioxidant effects, and it can again kill off the bacteria that cause acne. There are also some good alcohol based toners, but these should be used sparingly because the alcohol can encourage your body to produce more oil, which means that in the long term they can make your acne worse. Finding the balance with these treatments is a must, and will contribute towards improving the overall health of your skin. You can also manage acne by taking a little more care over your diet.