Affordable Skincare Routine for Hormonal Acne

Let me start out by saying…I know there is a LOT of information on the internet about skincare “must-haves”…this post is not going to tell you that you must have these items to see success with your skin. I will share with you what my skin troubles were/are, what I pursued to help them, and what worked for me!

Skincare is so tough, mainly because it isn’t usually one isolated issue causing the problem. On top of that, it can take so much time to do the research and then test out what the issues are.

I was one of those fortunate women growing up that rarely had a breakout, I knew I was fortunate to not struggle with acne issues because I witnessed those I loved most around me battle it. I didn’t have to worry about washing my face regularly, what foods I was eating or what ingredients were in my makeup…and then I got pregnant. And the acne was so painful and out of control. The thought of leaving the house without a full face of makeup to cover up the disaster that was my skin was paralyzing. WHERE WAS THAT PREGNANCY GLOW EVERYONE TALKED ABOUT?!

I started scrambling and reading as much as I possibly could online. Which was almost worse than the breakouts themselves because it truly made me feel hopeless. Then, my luck changed, through a great friend’s Instagram, I learned about Olivia. At the time she was doing skincare consultations because she too found these same things (saturation of misinformation, misleading products, etc) frustrating. I paid for a consultation, sent her pictures of my skin (picture one you see on this post is of me filter-free one year after using this routine, and picture two is one of the images I sent to Olivia when we were first getting started) and a list of all the products I used on it (makeup, shampoo, and conditioner included — those touch your skin, gals) and she put together a complete plan for me, with product recommendations.

She’s no longer doing consultations because life has shifted her onto another road, but I’m here to spread the good word in her honor…because her recommendations successfully got my post-partum skin healed up and healthy enough to not be phased by my second pregnancy. Now…let’s talk routine and products…

Morning Routine

1. Cleanse – pretty straightforward, I’ve used this same foaming cleanser for over two years and love it. I even bought travel-size foaming bottles to make traveling with it easier.
2. Ice – here is a great instructional video that Olivia shared with me on icing. I just used regular ol’ ice cubes wrapped in a towel or an ice roller that you can buy like this one. Keep the ice moving, but spend some extra time on the active spots. Don’t skip this step, especially while you have active spots, I found it crucial to healing up my skin.
3. Tone – you can either apply this directly to your face and then wipe with a cotton round (I prefer these reusable makeup pads) or apply a generous amount directly to those pads and swipe it across your face that way.
4. Serum – the specific one I use is a splurge, but worth it in my opinion. This is the step that will be key in your healing process, it helps remove discoloration from breakouts, and is a nice gentle way to speed up the cell turnaround time (read: it will help heal your skin faster than it heals naturally). This is the cornerstone of my skincare routine, I see noticeable differences from when I use it religiously vs when I don’t. Best part? You only need a small (dime size) amount, put it on your palm, and then distribute it across your entire face (avoiding your eyes). If you’re using the same serum I do, start with only 1x a day and then work up to 2x as your skin allows, this one little bottle will last you a long time — I average about 1.5 bottles/year.
5. Moisturize – a little goes a long way, use only what you need to feel hydrated (for me that’s only a few drops). The amount really matters, overcoating your skin can create more problems.
6. Protect – your 50-year-old self with thank you for not skipping this one…just do it.

Nightime Routine

1. Remove – here’s where those reusable makeup pads can come in handy yet again, soak one of those in your remover and gently wipe off all of your makeup. Tip: if you hold it over your eye make-up for a few seconds, it will help dissolve the makeup before you get back to swiping it off.
2. Double Cleanse – cleanse once to remove all of your left behind makeup and then another time to actually cleanse the skin/your pores.
3. Ice – you know the drill, same as above.
4. Tone – nothing new here either.
5. Serum + Spot Treat – apply the serum the same as above, being mindful that to start you should only be doing it 1x a day until your skin shows you it can handle 2x. Once you do that, and it dries, spot treat! I use this, it’s reasonably priced and hasn’t dried my face out (however, my sister tried to use it and didn’t have the same luck). Always follow your skin’s lead, if you’re using what I use, you should only be using a tiny amount (about the size of a pea) and start with only using it every other day then build to daily use.
6. Moisturize – same as above, try to use the least amount you can to leave your skin feeling hydrated, without overcoating it.

I want to say this again in case you skipped over the first part, everyone’s skin is different, but this is what worked for me with hormonal breakouts when nothing else had been working. In addition to these product switches and implementing this skincare routine, I also cut out dairy and limited myself to one cup of coffee per day while my skin was healing. I’ve since added dairy back in, drink as much coffee as I need to keep up with two kids, and only ice when I have active breakouts. The biggest takeaway I learned from Olivia is being mindful of what’s in the products you’re using, one of the biggest culprits I found in my old skincare routine was coconut oil which can be extremely clogging. Also, wait to add an exfoliant into your skincare routine until the active acne is cleared up. Using it during peak hormonal acne aggravation is just going to make the issues worse. If you’re looking for an antioxidant-rich exfoliant, I’ve been using this one for over a year now and love it.

Regardless of where you’re at on your skincare journey, the first place to start is establishing a regular routine with products that work for your budget and your skin. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars each year to keep your skin healthy.

Stay tuned for another post that will have my sister’s skincare routine which was focusing on treating more oily/porous skin that was causing regular breakouts.

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