Hi Batty,
I’ve been using the acne prone kit (with the add-on’s as well) for about a month & a half now. When I first started I got really bad break-outs for a couple of weeks then it cleared & I was almost blemish free. Then my period came & its break-out city again & worse than last time. Should I keep on with this kit or switch to something else? I’m so tired of all these big zits.
Additional Info Collected By Batty:
Batty: Which add-ons are you using for the kit?
Customer: Acne BOP Serum, Acne BOP Mist, Skin Support Serum & Quick Stick
Batty: Can you give me a detailed explanation of your daily routine (AM & PM plus any other additional info I might need – for example if there’s thinks you do weekly for your skin, please mention that too). Please include all products you’re using and how often you’re using them and in what order.
Customer: I shower in the mornings. I don’t use shampoo, just water wash then I use my own DIY hair rinse which I’ve been using for years (apple cider vinegar, glycerin, water & various essential oils). For styling I use your hair conditioner.
I was using the products as directed on the handout with the kit for my AM & PM skin routine. But found that putting the BOP mist, Serum & patchouli moisturizer was too oily for AM wear. So I flipped it & used the AM routine in the PM.
For the AM I used your P&G soap then an under eye cream by Antipodes, then your facial primer. I would then put on my concealer (W3ll People Narcissist) & my mineral foundation (Haut Cosmetics Bio Mineral Foundation). My blush (100% pure), eyeshadow (Pure Anada), lipstick (various brands: Red Apple Lipstick, Bite Beauty, Lippy Girl) & brow powder (Pure Anada). I use a bit of castor oil on my lashes to keep them lush & then curl my lashes.
Once a week I will steam my face & leave a mask on my face for 1 hr. I alternate masks. I’ve been using your Dead Sea Mud mask as well as your Dry Clay mask. I’ve also used Pure & Simple’s clay mask. To exfoliate after I was using the Tea Tree Scrub but that crashed in my shower & I had another exfoliator on hand so I used that (Pure & Simple Peach Enzyme) instead. If I’m staying home I would do the AM routine. But if I’m going out I would do the Antipodes eyecream, your facial primer & my regular makeup routine as mentioned above.
Batty: How does your skin generally feel? Dry? Oily? Oily in your t-zone only? Flaky? Flaky and oily? Sore? Red?
Customer: My skin feels dry except oily in my t-zone just after I wash my face. Red spots only where my blemishes are. I have some milia around my eyes from an eye cream I tried but didn’t like (Rosemira). The texture of my skin that isn’t blemished feels smooth. I don’t have any wrinkles yet, though I turned 40 in early May. Some blemishes feel sore. I’ve also been getting more ingrown hairs lately on my neck & the left side of my face near the hairline. When I first started using the kit actually I broke out on both sides of my neck too. Big zits.
Batty: Do you notice that the worst of your breakouts only seem to be happening when your period comes?
Customer: Yes my breakouts come in waves, basically when I get my period. It gets increasingly worse the closer I get to my period then subsides. Though the second time I had my period using the acne prone kit the breakouts were worse & didn’t subside much before my next period came.
Batty: How much time are you spending in the sun?
Customer: Not spending much time in the sun, about 30mins to an hour per day.
Batty: Do you have any known allergies?
Customer: Allergic to dairy, ragweed. And I’ve found I breakout bad if I put anything on my face that contains coconut oil. So I avoid it.
Batty: Where on your face are your breakouts happening the most? Are they mostly happening in certain spots (like chin, or cheeks, etc)?
Customer: Breakouts are happening on the perimeter of my face, jawline, chin, up to the sides of my cheeks. But I also have either a scar or a deep pimple that doesn’t move on my right cheek. It got smaller when I started using your products but during my period would get big again. I can’t seem to get rid of it. I also breakout on my forehead on the left side near my hairline.
Hi There!
So after reviewing the info you sent me I have a few thoughts / suggestions.
You’re using a lot of great (and well formulated) products! Congrats on picking products from brands that have fabulous ingredients! Because of this, I think with a little bit of tweaking to your routine plus lots of internal support, you should get the results you’re looking for. Based on where and when you’re breaking out, I think the major cause of your breakouts is an internal imbalance of two major systems. I’ll touch on this below.
Continue with the Skin Support Serum (including along your hairline). Use everyday, but only use on your face+hairline every other to every 3rd day. The rest of the time, apply it to another part of your body. - see my ragweed note further down before deciding if this recommendation will work for you or not.
Balance Serum in the PM in place of the BOP Serum. - see special note about this further down before making a decision about using Balance Serum. Reduce your use of the BOP Mist to days when you’re not using the Skin Support Serum on your face.
Skin Support Tea (two cups daily) - see my ragweed note further down before deciding if this recommendation will work for you or not.
Continue using the quick stick with the big zits that you mentioned. You may also want to try this trick. Another trick is to apply a bit of quick stick, then pat some dry clay over top (the clay will stick to the quick stick solution), and leave on either overnight, or for a few hours. Wash off with warm water and a little bit of facial scrub (be super gentle and make sure it’s a scrub that’s also a cleanser – alternatively you can use a facial cleanser + face cloth).
Hair Line: I think you’re on to something here when you said it might be your hair products … although I think it’s what you’re NOT using rather than what you are. I’m thinking that around your hairline, bacteria might be the problem. You’re conquering this issue with the other products you’ve been using for your face, but I’m wondering if around your hairline (both just before and just after), needs something extra to make sure acne bacteria isn’t getting out of control. My suggestion would be to add essential oils with anti-bacteria properties to the hair rinse your use (e.g. tea tree, lavender, peppermint, or citrus oils) and when rising, make a point to focus on that area (massage the rinse into your hairline before washing off).
Internal Causes
Additionally, supporting the internal systems that show visual signs of being out of balance by showing up as skin problems around our hairline, jaw, chin, and cheeks, is highly recommended. These include the Digestive (including stomach) and Reproductive/Hormonal Systems (see the image at the bottom of this blog post). Internal support usually starts with diet changes or supplementation. However each system is different so do some research about how to make sure these systems are working as efficiently as possible for you (as well as how to get and keep them balanced naturally).
You’ll also notice from the skin mapping image I linked to above (the blog post link), that you’re experiencing breakouts in the area that “repressed emotions” can show up as skin problems. To tackle that area, start focusing on emotional well-being and stress reduction. I know that’s easier said than done, but any steps in this direction will help.
Continue to follow the cleansing schedule you’re currently using. Start mixing Hydra Healing Gel in with your moisturizer. (Mix a little bit in with your moisturizer in the AM, and mix it 50/50 in the PM. Just mix the two in the palm of your hand – they don’t have to be mixed super well – just blended together a bit – they will mix/blend more as you apply the mixture to your face).
Exfoliating is Important
You mentioned an increase in ingrown hairs – Although it looks like you’re already doing this in your daily routine, I thought I’d mention it: try to make sure you’re exfoliating once a day (either with a gentle scrub, or with a face cloth) – you don’t have to scrub hard, just lightly, make sure you exfoliate all areas of your face & neck evenly. Additionally, when applying your moisturizer (with Hydra Healing Gel mixed in), be sure to apply to your neck as well.
Ingredients Related to Ragweed
Check the products you’re using for plants / herbs / botanicals that are either in the ragweed family, or are similar to ragweed (such as milk thistle, goldenseal, chamomile). Note that Balance Serum (the one I’ve recommended for you) does have chamomile in it. If you haven’t noticed any previous problems with chamomile, stick with my recommendation to use Balance Serum. If you’re concerned that chamomile might be causing low grade inflammation (rather than a high grade one that ragweed causes you), removing it (plus all other ragweed similar ingredients) might be enough to push your skin over the current healing plateau you’ve reached. Same goes for the yarrow in the BOP Mist – yarrow is another ingredient in the ragweed family, so you might want to switch mists as well.
More ingredients / plants in the ragweed family (that I haven’t mentioned yet) include:
- Calendula,
- Dog Fennel,
- Sage,
- Thistles,
- Burdock,
- Gerbera Daisy,
- Sunflower and
- Dandelion.
That isn’t an all inclusive list but it does include the ones that you’re most likely to come across in skin care products. My ragweed / similar to ragweed free serum & mists suggestions for you are… to stick with BOP Serum and switch your mist to After Acne Mist (even though this mist is recommended to be used after acne is under control, it can still be beneficial for your skin in its current stage).
One more note about your ragweed allergy. You may already know this, but certain foods can compound ragweed symptoms (and the more inflammation in your body, the more your skin will suffer). Some of those foods include honeydew (melon), cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas, sunflower seeds, honey, cucumber, and zucchini. Note that everyone with a ragweed allergy isn’t affected by (any or all) these foods so you’ll have to judge for yourself how your body reacts.
Coconut Oil Reactions
Lastly I wanted to touch on coconut oil. You mentioned that you breakout badly if you use it on your face and therefore avoid it. Do you know if this reaction extends to ingredients derived from coconut oil? I ask because my cream moisturizers (and particularly the patchouli facial moisturizer you’ve been using as part of the acne prone kit) has CCT (Capric/Caprylic Triglyceride – aka fractionated coconut oil – FYI: the process of “fractionating” the coconut oil a natural process free of chemicals, toxins, or additives). CCT isn’t pore clogging but coconut oil in its pure state can clog pores for some people (usually those with large pores and/or oily skin – but not all people with large pores and/or oil skin experience this). Other people don’t experience clogged pores with coconut oil at all.
Based on your experience with coconut oil, it’s safe to say that your skin experiences clogged pores when coconut oil is applied. Coconut oil (and CCT) is used in so main formulas despite clogging pores for some people because it significantly slows down the rate that acne bacteria grows (in most cases, stopping it in its tracks all together). For this reason, I use CCT in my moisturizer formulas (CCT isn’t known to clog pores for anyone – unlike pure coconut oil – and the benefits of inhibiting acne bacteria are still present). That said however, if the another suggestions above don’t provide positive results over the next six months, I would consider finding a moisturizer that’s free of CCT (and of course pure coconut oil).
I hope that helps!
