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I know I’m not alone in the fact that the constant wearing of masks is wreaking havoc on my skin and is making my already overly sensitive hormonal acne go mad, thus many renaming it to maskne. How ironic! Over the last couple of months I have been trying and introducing a few new skincare products to battle maskne and hormonal acne into my routine, and I thought I’d share the products in question.
A few skincare products I’ve been using recently to battle maskne and hormonal acne..
I feel that every year my skin goes through some sort of change, but one thing that remains constant is my hormonal acne around my chin and the fact that it can be so sensitive to new products. I remember a time where I could use oil cleansers like they were going out of fashion, but one day my skin just decided that it no longer liked an oil cleanser and my acne just went crazy. Don’t get me wrong, my skin isn’t as bad as it has been in the past but since the introduction of wearing masks it has definitely taken a toll on my skin. (This isn’t me moaning, I think wearing masks should have been introduced a long time ago but the struggle is real). So me being me, I went on a little research mission because my usual skincare products that I turn to when my skin is breaking out just weren’t doing anything to help. I also re-consulted Skincare by Caroline Hirons (£) and ordered a bunch of skincare products to battle maskne and hormonal acne, and safe to say some of these products have changed my skincare routine for the better!
Cleansers
Starting off with probably the most important part of my skincare routine, because I am going to be honest I had been slacking with cleansing my face everyday purely because I’ve barely worn any makeup through this last lockdown. Since giving myself a little kick up the butt by ensuring I’m washing my face morning and night I have really noticed a difference in how angry my acne has been. For days where I’m not wearing makeup I usually opt for a fairly light cleanser and a favourite of mine for quite some time has been the Typology Hydrating Cleansing Bar* (£11.80). I mentioned this in my recent Beauty Favourites of 2020 post and you honestly cannot beat a simple soap to just cleanse your skin. This is super gentle and doesn’t leave your skin feeling stripped or dry like some more traditional soaps can. Just don’t use this on your eyes because boy does it sting!
Moving onto two cleansers that I have recently purchased, one being a repurchase as they are specifically pointed towards battling acne and as much as the previous two have been great at soothing my skin, I was really in need of something that I knew would work to clear my acne. An old favourite that I have recently repurchased is the Garnier Pure Active Sensitive Gel Wash (£4.99), which I ran out of back in the summer and for some reason just never repurchased, but it is honestly a hero product for me. I typically will use this once I’ve removed my makeup and focus this on the areas where I’m experiencing breakouts. I will then go on with my facial cleansing brush (if I could find the charger for it) to work the product into my skin and within a day or two I can see such a difference in my skin. My acne isn’t as angry, it’s soothed and it stops any further active spots from forming whilst it heals. Obviously it doesn’t fully stop my acne from coming back, but it does really help in keeping my skin clear and I don’t know why I didn’t repurchase this sooner!
The second cleanser that I have recently purchased to battle maskne and hormonal acne is the Cerave SA Smoothing Cleanser (£12) and what drew me to this cleanser was that it contains salicylic acid, which is said to be really good to help exfoliate the skin but in doing that it also helps to battle acne. I’ve been using this now for a good few weeks and I have seen some really promising results! When I first started using this my skin definitely went through a stage of getting slightly worse before it got better, but I think thats just the cleanser getting to work and your skin adjusting. As this is quite an exfoliating cleanser I do find that my skin can be a little dry in places, so I tend to not use this everyday or I will only use it on the areas where I have the most acne/blemish problems.
Acids
Moving onto a fairly new skincare product area for me, because I’ve never really used acids as regularly as I have in the last six months or so. Don’t get me wrong I have used acids here and there but I never really understood them or understood which acids I should be using on my skin. That was until I read the acids section in Skincare by Caroline Hirons (£20) that I fully understood what each acid did and what acids I should be using, and this is where I really started to take acids more serious.
Starting off with a holy grail product and one that I’ve spoken about a fair amount over the last year since I first discovered it, and that is The Ordinary Peeling Solution (£6.30). I first started using this back in the first lock down when my skin just went absolutely mad and I finally took the plunge to give this a go finally. This solution contains both AHA’s and BHA’s both of which work to exfoliate the skin and penetrate the pores on deeper level, and whenever I use this it literally feels like it is zapping at my spots and blemishes. Sometimes I do find that my skin will get worse after I’ve used this, but similarly to other products that is just the product drawing out the gunk from my skin. Same with all acids, this is quite intense and you should follow the instructions on how to use this and avoid leaving it on your skin longer than it should, but when used correctly it does work wonders.
Another acid that I have used for quite some time now is the Typology Glycolic Acid* (£19.80) and this is one that I use pretty much on a daily basis. Typically in the evenings I will apply this directly onto the areas where I need to and you can instantly feel that satisfying tingly feeling on your blemishes and I find that come the morning my blemishes look a lot less angry and reduced. Now there are so many products on the market that contain glycolic acid and I’ve tried quite a few different ones but this hands down has to be my favourite! I also did an entire separate post where I shared My First Impressions on Typology Skincare, so make sure to check that out.
The last product that I want to share with you is a more of a recent purchase, again one that I’ve heard some amazing reviews on and have wanted to try for quite some time and so far have been really impressed. This is the Paulas Choice BHA Liquid Exfoliant (£10) which is a little bit like a toner that contains salicylic acid that you can apply directly onto the skin and not have to rinse off. I’ve been using this now for around a month, applying it most evenings as part of my evening skincare routine and I put this directly onto my hands and then pat onto my face, so that the product isn’t soaked up by my re-usable makeup pads. When I first started using this my skin almost transformed immediately and I found that my breakouts have lessened so much. Having said that I do find that if I don’t use this for a few days then my breakouts come back, so to me that shows how much this works but it is a product that you have to upkeep in using. As I say with everything that I talk about, if you have to battle maskne and hormonal acne like me then this is a product I would 100% recommend trying. Like me, I went for the smaller size but will be purchasing the full size when this does run out!
So those are the products that I have been using to battle maskne and hormonal acne and all of these products have worked wonders in their own right to fight and clear my skin.
What products do you use for your acne?
