Skin problems

[twouglyducks]

Oh man, my skin is so AWFUL right now!! I look terrible, I hate going anywhere. I was doing so well since I quit using cleansers and starting washing with baking soda and orange oil, using almond or apricot seed oil to moisturize. I was only wearing a bit of concealor, blush, and mascara. Now, I'm back to full on makeup b/c i look so ugly. I have low enough self esteem as it is, without this adding to it.

My mw suggested taking EPO. She said that it has helped some women tremendously. So, I started that yesterday and hope it does something. Anyone else have any other suggestions?

[fuzzypeach]

No suggestions. Just feeling your pain! :) Soon as one zit clears up two more pop up. Hope this passes soon.

[kathywiehl]

It will probably get better after week 12 or so, when things start to calm down a bit hormonally- I think, anyway. That's how it was for me with my last pg.

I've had acne all my life and have only had good luck with Accutane (6 years ago) and Proactiv. I'd love to hear about washing with only baking soda and orange oil if you don't mind sharing!

[NiksMom]

Oh gosh- I'm just waiting for mine to get worse. Luckily I tend to get them the most on my chest, shoulders and back where they are hidden :eyesroll
They haven't started popping out on my face yet too bad, but it's only a matter of time :LOL
I've got low self esteem too, so I completely understand how you feel. One tip that I've heard (and that I follow) is to either wash your face with cold water or splash it with cold water after you wash it because the pores close up faster and less dirty and grime get in there. This does seem to help me a little.

[twouglyducks]

Kathy, nothing special. I usually just pour a bit of bak. soda into my palm, maybe 2-3 tablespoons? It varies, I just figured it out over time. Then I sprinkle a few drops of orange oil into the soda, add a bit of water, rub my hands together and then rub it onto my face. Rinse and apply apricot seed oil if my skin feels tight. Other times, I just use baking soda to cleanse, then put a few drops of the orange oil onto a cloth, add water and use like a toner. Just dont use too much b/c it burns. :LOL

I usually use cold water I think, but I'll try and be more diligent about it.
I've never had clear skin either, but it was looking pretty good for a while... even during an oklahoma summer, which is big for me. :LOL Now, I'm broken out and my chin and next to my nose looks almost eczema like, all red and bumpy and dry. Ick!!!

[~Nikki~]

Have you tried tea-tree oil products? After years of suffering from mild acne, this is the only thing that worked for me. I went in for a facial (a gift from a friend) when I was pregnant with my first, and suffering from bad skin. They used tea-tree oil products on me, and it totally cleared up. Of course, when I went back for more samples, the woman wanted me to buy nearly $250 in products. :P I searched around a bit, and found a much cheaper version at The Body Shop, and I've had happy skin ever since. ;)

[aja-belly]

i've put just a couple drops of tea tree oil into a mild body wash for backne. actually, the origianal purpose was to help prevent scabbies when a kid i was watching had a scabbies scare, but it worked for the acne too!

for anyone who needs a good facial scrub (i have always had bad skin, but it has gotten worse since i became pg) a mild facial clenser with a little bit of corn meal makes a good scrub.

the cold water idea sounds like it makes sense. i have huge pores, so i should try that.

if you have a big red pimple, a good cosmetic thing to do is drop a little visine on it. it gets the red out of pimples too.


aja

[mamabike]

Twouglyducks,
I'm there with you. I have always had problems with my skin, but my acne has become much worse over the past two weeks. Tea tree products do seem to help a little. I'm going to try some of the burt's bees acne remedies in a week or two. I'll let you know how it goes. Clay based masks (clinique carries a wonderful one called the "Emergency" mask) seem to make a big difference in my skin when I use it a couple of times per week. Mamas...we all notice it much much more than anyone else. :grouphug

[miamommy]

I have the back, chest, shoulder, and (super yuck) neck acne from preg! The one thing helping is that at least it's winter and I don't have to bare any skin. With dd I got pregnancy mask so bad I actually went to the doctor convinced that I had skin cancer! I am hoping that since I am not pregnant through summer like last time that I won't get it as bad as last time since it got worse when I was out in the sun. Any of you have any ideas on how to either fade or prevent pregnancy mask?

[twouglyducks]

I don't like TTO b/c it stinks to me after accidentally spilling WAY TOO much into the diaper wash on more than one occassion. :LOL But I added some to my grapeseed oil, so hopefully it will help some.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=92603

Post #5 in the above link is a recipe for a scrub, I've only used it once so can't say if it works or not, just thought I'd post it here.