Current skincare for hormonal acne

I've spoken a few times about my hormonal (menopausal, ugh!) acne & after a re-jig of my skincare, I seem to have found the perfect products that have really helped to clear up my skin in the last 7 weeks so I thought I'd share them with you.

Cleansing

After using my Simple eye makeup remover cream, I take the bulk of my makeup off with the Garnier Micellar water & then follow up with a deep cleanse using the Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil.  I love this silky, lightweight oil as it never feels greasy or leaves a film on my skin.  I always use a clean flannel every day to remove this as the lightweight muslin cloths leave too much product behind for my liking - Primark luxury facecloths/flannels are excellent.

Exfoliate/toner

These Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Pads by Nip + Fab are a recent discovery, bought on a total whim one day when I spotted them on offer but I'm soooo glad I found them!  I noticed a huge difference in my skin after using these for just a few days - my blemishes starting clearing up immediately & redness was reduced.  Don't be put off by the 'glycolic acid'  or 'exfoliating' tags as these pads are so gentle on the skin but incredibly effective.  The acid is the exfoliating agent whilst they also contain witch hazel to tone, hyaluronic acid to hydrate & blue daisy to soothe.

If my skin is having a particularly bad breakout, I give it a light spritz with this Serozinc by La Roche-Posay.  I don't think it particularly treats blemishes but it helps to mattify the skin without drying it out.

Treatments

Another new purchase is La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I.  This is a targeted breakout corrector cream & I apply this on any new blemishes.  You only need a tiny amount & it really helps to immediately reduce imperfections & reduces the chance of scarring.

Another wonder product from LR-P here & one I've spoken about before on the blog - Effaclar Duo+.  This lightweight gel-crème helps to rapidly clear up any breakouts & refine the skin's appearance & I'm now on my third tube of this.  It's really helped to reduce the scarring on my chin & any redness is immediately soothed - I love this stuff!!

Hydrate & nourish

More new products, this time from Vichy.  After Vichy kindly sent me the Liftactiv Supreme to try (read my review here) & I loved it so much, I decided to buy their Aqualia Thermal serum.  It's so important for all skin types to keep really well hydrated so I always use a hydrating serum under my moisturiser.  I had been using Hydraluron & Clarins Hydraquench but I really like this from Vichy too.  One pump is enough to cover my whole face, neck & décolletage & teamed with the rest of my skincare routine, my skin still feels really well hydrated when I wake up in the morning.

My skin has cleared up enormously since using this regime & scarring is reducing all the time.  My breakouts are not so regular - or horrific! - now & overall, I'm much happier.  It's amazing how much having acne can zap your confidence!

Are there any other skincare recommendations out there?

Vichy Dermablend

Just after my birthday in April I had a monumental breakout leaving me with very red, sore, bumpy - and extremely unattractive - skin, mainly around my chin area.  I know this was down to a huge hormonal surge due to my ongoing peri-menopausal symptoms (read about it here) & it was really leaving me feeling very depressed & self-conscious.  Without going on some very heavy-duty acne treatments, which I didn't want to do, I knew I was going to have to give my skincare routine & makeup a huge shakeup so I really couldn't have been contacted at a better time by the lovely folk at Vichy.

They asked me if I'd be interested in trying their Dermablend Corrective Foundation & their new Liftactiv Supreme moisturiser, and knowing the benefits of the Dermablend range, I took them up on their very kind offer!  After choosing my shade & skin type from the options on their website, I received a parcel from them a few days later & discovered they'd also very kindly enclosed a Dermablend Corrector Stick to me to try.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Dermablend range, it is known & well-loved for it's fantastic camouflaging abilities, covering skin imperfections such as scarring, redness, uneven skintone etc. without leaving your skin feeling like it's been totally caked in thick, heavy makeup.  The SPF 35 foundation has a medium consistency & blended evenly.  The website recommends to apply using fingertips or a damp sponge, although I'd like to try it with a Beauty Blender too so that's next on my list to order!  It's easily buildable should you require more coverage but for me, I only used a very small amount for my entire face & neck.  I chose the lightest shade Opal, which was just a tad on the pale side for me, especially as I now have a hint of a tan on my face but I will buy another one in a slightly deeper shade - it's just that good!

The SPF 30 corrector stick, as you can see comes in a twist-up bullet & has a much thicker consistency, but the coverage is seriously unbelievable with this!! I had at the time of photographing, a big red bump on my chest & I very lightly patted the teeniest amount of this over the top with my fingertip & it just vanished with absolutely no hint of redness to be seen.  And it did not shift or melt away all day, amazing, really!  You can see this with the before & after shots I've taken.

As I have rosacea & acne scarring, I am the perfect candidate for trying this & showing it to you because I am truly very impressed with these products!  Unfortunately (for me, that is!!) this means that I have to be completely bare skinned & makeup free for all the world to see which is some feat seeing as I haven't been seen in public sans maquillage since 1990!!!  But to be totally fair to the product & to show it's coverage honestly, here are my totally untouched before & after shots, redness,  lumps, bumps & all!!

Completely bare skin, eeeek!

With a very light application of Dermablend foundation, no other makeup

Dermablend foundation & corrective stick, blush, eye makeup & nude lip balm

Muuuuch happier!!  (I was also testing my new Eyeko liquid eyeliner pen, review to come!)

Such a happy camper aren't I, I honestly don't feel as miserable as I look here!!  But look how it's completely evened out any redness & even though a couple of bumps can still be seen on my chin, the coverage is amazing!!  It's so highly pigmented, you really do need the tiniest of amounts so the tube will last for ages, you can't fail to be impressed!

What do you think?!  Is anyone else a fan to the Vichy Dermablend range?  Keep an eye out for my review of the Liftactiv Supreme, coming very soon!!

So, early menopause is a b*tch.........!!

Now, I have been pondering on writing this post for a loooong time as it is just so personal but I figured there must be other ladies who are a similar age going through a similar stage in their life, so here goes.....!!

About 18 months ago, I had it confirmed after many sets of blood tests that yes, my suspicions were correct & I was going through early-menopause.  To be honest, it came as no shock at all as it runs in all the females on my mum's side of the family but still, I was only 38 at this point so it left me feeling a bit "oh bugger!" as I'm the youngest one yet out of our family.

I guess the point of this post is to fill you in on the joys of things I've been experiencing lately & basically, to have a bit of a moan & get it off my chest!

Irregular periods

So this is the main reason I thought I was beginning to go through menopause.  My periods became really irregular & I could go months with no period or have 3 within a month, fun yes?!  They are still very weird although seem to be dwindling again (24 hour long period?  Yes, that'll do nicely thanks!)

Whiskers

Ah yes, the dreaded facial hair!  Every day I have to have a wee plucking session to rid my chin of the foul black, spiky needles sprouting out of it.  Not nice but nothing a pair of tweezers can't fix!

Thinning hair

My hair has always been really thick but it's thinning so much, it feels like I have hardly any round my hairline.  I do of course, it just feels yukky.  But again, I can live with it.

Spreading waistline
This, I'm not liking!!  I've been many dress sizes over the years from an 8 to an 18 but I've always had a waist.  I have been feeling my waistbands getting a wee bit tighter lately & my tummy is definitely erm, spreading, shall we say!?  Nope, not liking this......

Mood swings
You think PMT is bad, it's not a patch on menopausal mood swings.  They've been that bad, I've been pissing myself off!!  I've had days where the stupidest little thing sets me off in such a rage, it's ridiculous.  But no amount of deep-breathing or counting to ten works, it just has to come out.  Unfortunately, it's normally my husband who bears the brunt of it, poor Mr F!!  Equally, I've had times where hysterical crying is flavour of the day!  I volunteer regularly at my son's primary school & one afternoon I'd gone in to help & the teacher hadn't received my email with all the project work on it ready to print.  Cue full-on meltdown in the staff toilet!!  I was sobbing that much, I just ran out the school & went back home.  Totally irrational but it all just felt too much & I absolutely could not function for the rest of the day.  Unfortunately, you have to go with the flow & get it out your system but there have been days where I've genuinely thought, "this is it, I'm actually cracking up!"  Not nice.

Hot flushes
I seem to go in cycles with these.  I can go months with nothing & then have a month where I'm getting full-on flushes.  It literally is like someone flicking a switch & the temperature rises, sweat springs from every orifice, my cheeks are beetroot bright & then 20 seconds later, poof, it's gone & everything's back to normal!!  Bizarre but bearable.

Acne
Humpf, this one I am certainly most unhappy with!  I've always had great skin, never had spots as a teenager, am meticulous with my skincare routine but still, I've developed acne on my chin - and sometimes cheeks - and it's bloody sore!!  I can tell when I'm having a hormonal surge as my chin just goes mental with big, angry red bumps appearing all over it.  My GP wants me to try & ride it out for the time being before prescribing anything stronger for it but this is the thing that's really getting me down to be honest.  God, that makes me sound so superficial but I feel really self-conscious all the time, I just don't like it at all :(

I was referred to the hospital to attend the Menopause Clinic (I know, I know, I laughed too!!)  The doctor I saw wants me to start with HRT due to the fact that I'm more susceptible to getting osteoporosis because of my age but I'm not sure about this yet, I'm still thinking about it. But the best bit, it's located within the Sexual Health Clinic (ie STD clinic) so the paranoia was setting in wondering if the teenage lads were thinking "hmmm, she looks too young for the menopause, I wonder if she's got crabs?!"  Definitely a day for no eye-contact, heh heh!!!

So there we are, it's been fun central in my body for the last 18 months!!!  And to any other peri/early/post-menopausal women out there, I salute you & feel your pain!!!