How I’m Dealing With My Occasional Breakouts

I’m breaking out. Again. I have a tumultuous relationship with my skin and even if it’s in a better place than it was a year ago, let alone three or four years ago, that doesn’t mean I still don’t have zits popping up left and right to keep me humble and dropping bank on skincare. I can’t treat my breakouts the same way I used to, as they tend to be more hormonal than anything else, so I’m stuck in a cycle of trying to get rid of these pesky spots without causing more damage or irritation but also trying to get them off of my face as soon as humanly possible.

Medications

I started taking Spirnolactone (Aldactone) quite a few years ago to help stop sebum production by decreasing the amount of testosterone my body produces. I take 50mg twice a day to basically keep my skin from over-producing oils that clog my skin. This is specific to adult females who struggle with hormonal acne past their teen years. When I first got prescribed birth control, I made sure to get one that would pair nicely with the Spironolactone and further aid in keep my skin as under control as possible.

Skincare Routine

Without going into too many specifics here, I try to keep a pretty regulated skincare routine that focuses on brightening, hydration, as well as incorporating antioxidants into my morning and preferably nightly routines as well to combat the disgusting nature that is New York City. This all follows a deep, double cleanse to ensure that my face is (1) rid of all of my makeup and (2) free of the dirt and grime from the day so my skin has a clean slate for all of the products I’m putting on and so I’m not soaking in my nasty skin overnight.

I tend to use a serum (sometimes two), an eye cream, moisturizer, face oil, and SPF with an occasional hydrating face mist if I’m really in the mood for a couple of spritzes. Same follows for my PM routine, minus the SPF and usually swapping out the moisturizer for a hydrating overnight face mask or just a night cream that’s a bit thicker than what I would wear during the daytime.

Topical Treatments

I use three main topical treatment ingredients: Sulfur, Benzoyl Peroxide, and Salicylic Acid, though I tend to stray away from the latter a majority of the time as Sulfur and BP tend to affect my skin more dramatically while SA used to work really well for me as a teen. I’ll cycle through the Kiehl’s Breakout Control Spot Treatment, Kate Somerville Anti-Bac, and Lexli’s Cleansing Lotion to put on both morning and night if I’m having an active breakout that hasn’t come to head yet. I try to nip it in the bud while I can and avoid it coming to a head so it just shrinks without any poking and prodding.

Acne Patches

These are my newfound obsession. It took me a few tries to figure out the best and correct way to use them but now I feel like I cannot go a single day without them if I have an active breakout that has come to a head or has broken through the skin through my own habitual picking (it’s a bad habit, I know, I get it). These won’t work if you still have an undercover zit but if you have a whitehead or an open wound, it’s best to pop one of these on to suck out the rest of the gunk from your skin. But also, they help me to stop picking and squeezing, which is also a bonus!