I haven’t written about my acne in a long time so I thought it was time for an update–particularly as I’ve experienced major skin changes over the past year. If you’re unfamiliar with my acne history, I recommend reading this post from last year to catch up.
Pregnancy = Amazing Skin for Me
So I’ve figured out the solution to my persistent acne: get pregnant! During my pregnancy this last year, my skin was the best it’s been since I was thirteen. I’m not entirely sure when I started to see improvements–I spent my first trimester feeling sick to my stomach 24/7 and thus was not paying much attention to things like my appearance–but sometime in my fourth month or so I suddenly realized that I was getting fewer breakouts than normal. Things just got better and better over the next few months, and through the end of my pregnancy and at least the first month postpartum my skin looked fantastic.
But Unfortunately Improvement Seems to Be Short Lived
I’m now three and half months postpartum, and I’ve been very disheartened to find that my skin issues have been creeping back over the past couple of months. I’m again getting regular, persistent breakouts around my mouth and chin–still nothing approaching what my skin was like before I went on GAPS, but bothersome enough that I’m back to being unhappy about my appearence. I was so hoping that pregnancy would have a lasting impact on my skin, but apparently the improvement was only temporary.
I did also get my period back at only 7 weeks postpartum, which seems absurdly early given that I’m exclusively breastfeeding. I have been encouraged that at least the two periods I’ve had so far have been almost pain-free. I’ve always had debilitating painful periods, so I am really, really hoping that things at least stay good in this area
Moving Forward
The fact that my acne disappeared during pregnancy makes me pretty convinced that I was right to believe that my acne is related to hormonal imbalance. (I’m certainly no expert, but it seems like acne that disappears during pregnancy has got to be hormonal, right?) While it’s nice to have my theory confirmed, that doesn’t really help in terms of what I should actually do about getting it to go away for good.
So far my only plan is to finish reading Lauren Geersten’s e-book Quit PMS, which is all about curing hormonal imbalance with real food and other natural treatments. I started reading the book back when it came out in July, but then got derailed by pregnancy complications before I got a chance to finish it. Lauren healed her own hormonal imbalance using the techniques outlined in her e-book, so I’m hopeful that it will help me try out some new approaches for treating my acne.
What about you–do you have any stories of healing hormonal acne? I’d welcome your suggestions, since my big solution is not all that practical long-term. 🙂
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