Acne anyone?

[Snow~Pea]

I have been really broken out for the last 2 1/2 months, after 28 years of great skin. I have always gotten the occasional zit here and there, and then dry patches in the winter months. But never before have I had what I would consider an acne breakout. Now my face looks like a map of the constilations.
I have been using the same makeup for the past 2 years at least(bare minerals), and same cleanser/toner/moisture(alba organics hawaiian) for almost a year. Only things that changed are that I quit smoking, and DH and I are TTC. I have considered both of these as possible causes.
So I have been using Nature's Gate Organics Acne Treatment System for almost a week now. So far have not noticed a diff, but want to give it a fair trial. Anyone else tried this product? Or have any other suggestions? TIA -R

[Snow~Pea]

Anyone? I am open to anything at this point, I'm desperate.

[mommy2xman+1]

I have struggled with adult acne and found that taking barley juice and upping my water intake really helped. I use the Just Barley capsules, because I can't stand the taste of the barley grass - especially when I'm pregnant.

[philomom]

I dot my worst ones with tea tree oil. That seems to help take the oil out.

I have a friend who swears by dabbing them with a smidge of damp baking soda.

[texaspeach]

have you recently gone off hormonal birth control? that might be the cause.

[LucyRev]

My friend (Lovely is her MDC username) says drinking an ounce of aloe juice mixed into fruit juice has done wonders for her acne. I still haven't tried it, but I think I'll get some soon. My acne completely went away while I was pregnant and then came back with a vengeance when my period returned last month.

I have also taken large doses of vitamin B5 (when I wasn't pregnant or nursing) I'm not entirely sure how the body deals with the excess. It really worked though. If you Google B5 and acne you will find some studies that are pretty interesting. I also took vit c, e, zinc, and MSM. I just can't remember to do all that anymore.

[Snow~Pea]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

have you recently gone off hormonal birth control? that might be the cause.

No, I have been off of BCP for about 2 years now I think. I am not ruling out hormones as a cause though. I have one theory that TTC is making making me extra hormonal. We have always been "careful" up until we started TTC, so maybe my body is making extra hormones in response to the unprotected sex. Or maybe I am just allergic to his guys .

Originally Posted by LucyRev

My friend (Lovely is her MDC username) says drinking an ounce of aloe juice mixed into fruit juice has done wonders for her acne. I still haven't tried it, but I think I'll get some soon. My acne completely went away while I was pregnant and then came back with a vengeance when my period returned last month.

I have also taken large doses of vitamin B5 (when I wasn't pregnant or nursing) I'm not entirely sure how the body deals with the excess. It really worked though. If you Google B5 and acne you will find some studies that are pretty interesting. I also took vit c, e, zinc, and MSM. I just can't remember to do all that anymore.

That would be a pretty great bonus to get pregnant and have my face clear up! I will have to do some research on the B5, make sure it is safe while TTC before giving it a shot, maybe the aloe would be a better option to try first.

Thanks everyone for your help! I don't have any of the things mentioned handy other than Baking Soda, so maybe will try that first. Thanks again. -R

[krzy_cndy]

You may want to post in the Health forum, because I've seen similar threads. A friend of mine battled with acne while her thyroid problems went diagnosed. In addition to Armour, I think she takes high doses of B vitamins, with more of B5(?).

[bocks_box]

I'm no help, I know, but I just had to reply that every time I read your subject line, it makes me want to say, "No, thank you. I have plenty here." :

[vioburn]

My skin has cleared up a bit since I started taking a fish oil capsule every morning. The only thing with that is, you have to be careful of the vitamin A while you are TTC.

[pixiepunk]

is it possible you're already pregnant? pregnancy is pretty much the only time in my life that i've had bad skin.

i've been washing with honey for the last few weeks and it's been drying the zits up, keeping new ones at bay, and leaving my skin feeling plump and soft. it's awesome. my skin's not totally clear yet, but i'm getting fewer and fewer zits, and i imagine in another couple of weeks they'll be all gone.

another thought - have you changed your shampoo/conditioner recently? my skin often reacted to hair products. there was a period of time i had a break-out of zits on my back that was entirely caused by a new shampoo and conditioner. once i figured it out and stopped using them, my back totally cleared up. and now that i don't use shampoo at all, i've noticed the skin on my back, chest and arms is softer and less prone to the occasional zit.

[Snow~Pea]

Originally Posted by pixiepunk

is it possible you're already pregnant? pregnancy is pretty much the only time in my life that i've had bad skin.

i've been washing with honey for the last few weeks and it's been drying the zits up, keeping new ones at bay, and leaving my skin feeling plump and soft. it's awesome. my skin's not totally clear yet, but i'm getting fewer and fewer zits, and i imagine in another couple of weeks they'll be all gone.

another thought - have you changed your shampoo/conditioner recently? my skin often reacted to hair products. there was a period of time i had a break-out of zits on my back that was entirely caused by a new shampoo and conditioner. once i figured it out and stopped using them, my back totally cleared up. and now that i don't use shampoo at all, i've noticed the skin on my back, chest and arms is softer and less prone to the occasional zit.

No, I'm not pregnant yet, I wish that was it. I think I even tried to convince myself at the beginning that I was just one of the girls who still has their period while pregnant. But, with charting my temps, I am def not pregnant yet. I am going to return the Natures Gate kit this week and try honey, have read too many good posts about it to ignore. Don't think it is shampoo either, because were using the same for a year at least. We did switch to a new kind recently, but way after the acne started, and I think it is really the same(is Trader Joes brand, which we suspect is made by giovanni which we switched from). I did start styling my hair differently, used to straighten it, now just let it be naturally curly. I think I am pretty much using the same products, really just get it wet in the morning, wash it about once a week.