How to Heal Hormonal Acne Naturally
My Story with Hormonal Acne
I struggled with hormonal acne & near constant breakouts for much of my teenage years and into my early 30s.
Every morning I woke up desperately wishing that I would see clear skin in the mirror. And when I didn’t, it felt like a punch to the gut.
For years, I spent a king’s ransom on facials, expensive skincare treatments, and pretty much every acne-fighting product imaginable, but nothing did the trick.
I went to doctors and dermatologists who put me on various birth control pills, promising that it would be a cure-all.
When the pill didn’t work, they gave me a variety of prescription-strength products that ended up inflaming my skin.
I’ll never forget trying those products for the first time when I was home for Christmas during college one year and they literally turned my skin as red as a tomato. My mom actually screamed when she saw my face and offered to drive me to the ER because my face looked like something out of a horror film.
Over the next several years, I did everything else I could to try and clear up these breakouts.
I ate an extremely healthy diet, tried cutting out dairy and gluten, worked out regularly, and managed my stress as best I could but none of those things seemed to make a difference.
I washed my pillowcase frequently, used fresh washcloths at night, and was militant about removing my makeup before going to sleep.
I tried every acne-fighting product and system under the sun, ranging from over-the-counter drugstore options to serums costing over $200 for just a few ounces.
Still, nothing worked.
I felt stuck, confused, and extremely frustrated by this thing I thought should’ve ended in my teenage years. I felt like my body was broken and with every treatment or product I tried that didn’t work, I felt increasingly defeated.
Around the time I turned 30, I was really starting to feel desperate.
The only thing the doctors had left to offer me was going on Accutane, which was not something I was willing to do given how toxic it is to the body.
However, about this same time, I was starting to learn more about the importance of living a low-toxic, hormone-friendly lifestyle.
I saw a lot of women focusing on hormone health, using non-toxic cleaning products, and switching to clean and natural skincare and makeup reporting great results for their skin and overall health.
Having been a lover of beauty products since I was young, I’d seen many natural products on the market over the years, though I always assumed that natural meant “weak” and that these products would never be effective for me given the condition of my skin.
Here's where I was wrong…and here’s where I started to question everything I’d been told about my skin and hormonal acne.
The more time I spent researching, the more I learned about how the products we use affect our skin and in particular, how certain toxins in these products affect the liver.
Because I struggled with some liver issues in my early twenties (not related to alcohol fyi), I began to grow particularly concerned about anything that could be negatively affecting it.
I wondered if all of these harsh “acne-fighting” products were actually causing my liver to work overtime and contributing to the breakouts they were claiming to fight (spoiler alert: they were).
Slowly but surely, I started incorporating more natural products and discovered that when I used all-natural, hormone-friendly skincare, my acne decreased dramatically.
And when I say dramatically, I mean I saw about an 80% improvement in my skin just by getting rid of chemically-laden products.
My near constant cystic acne spots on my chin were starting to reduce in size and after about a year or so, I started to string together days where my skin looked almost perfect.
To say I was shocked was an understatement.
I felt like I had been brainwashed for years into thinking that only products touted as “acne-fighting” and containing mass amounts of chemicals would be “strong enough” to heal my breakouts, but here I was learning the exact opposite!
I never knew that when it comes to acne, clean, simple skincare can actually be more effective than the chemically saturated products that are marketed to us.
I soon switched entirely to natural skincare and I’ve never looked back.
While there are a few other key things I did to heal my hormonal acne for good (and I’ll share them with you in just a second), this was really the key driver for me and the thing I recommend to all my friends when they ask what to do for their skin.
Just a random picture first thing in the morning. No filters, no makeup, just me.
It’s been four years since I started seeing clear skin and I’m so grateful that I’m finally at the place I’ve always wanted to be at: Waking up to a clear complexion and feeling confident enough to leave the house without makeup.
I’m writing this today because I wish that someone would’ve told me the importance of using natural, hormone-friendly products years ago.
I wish that I knew all of the downsides of birth control and that it’s not the miracle product it’s touted to be before I let it affect my body (and mental health) for so many years.
And I wish I could’ve experienced this joy much sooner in my life (and if you’ve ever struggled with acne, you’ll get this).
To be fully transparent, I still experience a random, minor breakout once every couple of months (usually around my period), but it is very rare and it always clears up within a few days.
These days, I can trust that my body will heal it quickly and it always does.
I don’t have any good pictures of myself with my worst breakouts to show you, precisely because I wasn’t confident enough to take any, but here is what my skin looks like on any given day now.
This picture was taken this morning, on a random Monday right before I sat down to do my Sacred Start. No makeup, no filters, just me.
So, if you’re in a place where you are desperate to heal your hormonal breakouts and you’ve tried everything, here are the things that worked for me.
Please note that I am not a doctor or a skin care expert, so this information is meant to be educational and not taken as medical advice.
It’s also worth noting that this post is not sponsored and I am not affiliated with any of the brands I mention. All products were purchased by me <3
Tip #1: Get Off Birth Control
Like many women, I grew up being told that birth control was Science’s gift to women. It was touted as a cure-all, a remedy, a relief from all of those “pesky” problems that come with being a female.
And in many ways, it was also a rite of passage.
Never was it a conversation among my friends or the women I knew or at my all-women’s college to not be on some form of chemical birth control; it was just a matter of which type you chose. After all, given all of the benefits, why would any woman opt out?
Looking back, I can’t actually recall a single encounter with a doctor or health professional where I was educated about any downsides of birth control.
I was told that it only offered positive side effects and there was no collateral damage to worry about.
And when it comes to acne, birth control is one of the first treatments women are given, and I was no exception.
I was on the pill for many years until my mid-late 20s when I started to question birth control’s effect not only on my skin, but on my mental health.
By tracking my cycle and looking back to my own history, that I realized that all but one of my most difficult times with my mental health occurred while I was on the pill.
I also noticed that my acne worsened during the time I was on the pill, but it happened so gradually and no one told me that could happen, so it never crossed my mind.
After realizing that the pill was doing me more harm than good, I decided to dump it once and for all in my late 20s and noticed that my depression and anxiety improved drastically.
Over time, as my hormones started to regulate again, I also noticed some slight improvements with my skin.
For me, birth control was the first step towards lessening the toxic load on my body and making choices that protected my hormone health and liver function.
It’s taken me a long time to say this out loud, but I believe that women have been entirely misled when it comes to birth control.
I believe that we deserve to hear both sides of the story; the potential benefits as well as all of the potential risks. This is what informed consent is truly about, because we can’t be truly informed if we don’t know about the downsides.
If you’re wanting to learn more about what Western Medicine is not telling you about the pill, I recommend the following resources:
Lauren Johnson @Naturalnursemomma on Instagram (her website here)
Aimee Raupp (a fertility expert and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner)
Alissa Vitti: The Long-Term Side Effects of Hormonal Birth Control for Women
The Red Pill Your Healthcast by Lauren Johnson and Dr. Charlie Fagenholz
(And if you’re wondering about my preferred method of birth control, I’m a big fan of the Fertility Awareness Method. I track my cycle using my Oura ring and Natural Cycles and absolutely love it).
Tip #2: Switch to High-Quality, Hormone-Friendly Skincare
If I could give you only one tip to help you heal hormonal acne it would be to stop using all of the salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, harsh, “acne-fighting” products you see on the market and switch to all-natural, high-quality, hormone-friendly skincare.
What I learned during my skincare journey was that putting all of these harsh, toxic chemicals on my skin was not only inflaming it, but it was contributing to a toxic load that my liver couldn’t handle.
Now, liver health is another thing in and of itself, but in my case I learned that my body is beyond sensitive and really cannot handle anything toxic or harsh. This meant I needed to be extremely cautious with the products I used on my skin and anything that could possibly be hormone disrupting.
My introduction to these kinds of products started slowly and has changed over the time…
The first more natural product I tried was Mad Hippie’s Vitamin C Serum. While this did not cure my hormonal acne, it did make my skin a little more radiant and reduced the breakouts ever so slightly.
It was this product that got me wondering if natural products could be more powerful than I originally thought and it gave me the courage to try some other even more natural skincare products.
Having been a fan of Aimee Raupp’s work for a long time (she’s a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and fertility expert), I decided to try her skincare line. This is where my skin did a 180 and has never looked back.
I started with her Balancing Facial Oil and experienced decent results, but when I switched to her anti-aging Rejuvenating Oil, my skin suddenly looked better than it ever had.
It was on the Rejuvenating Oil that I experienced clear skin for the first time in my adult life and I could cry tears of joy just thinking about it.
This oil contains ingredients like ghee, coconut oil, pomegranate seed oil, rosehip oil, frankincense, pink rose, and several other incredible ingredients.
I never in my wildest dreams would’ve imagined that ingredients like these could help clear up my skin, but they did.
I also began to use (and love) her Argan Oil Facial Cleanser and her Coconut Sugar Facial Scrub, which I still use about 2-4x/week depending on how dry my face is.
While I still love Aimee’s products and use many of them, for the last year I’ve been completely obsessed with Primally Pure.
Primally Pure’s products are definitely more expensive, but I have to say that for me, they’ve been even more effective.
Like Aimee Raupp, they are also all-natural, but the ingredients are slightly different.
Primally Pure uses humanely-sourced animal products such as tallow and emu oil in a lot of their products, so if you’re a strict vegan or don’t use animal products, check the ingredients on each one before you buy. I personally don’t mind animal-based products so long as they are ethically and humanely sourced.
My favorite Primally Pure products (and current skincare lineup for the past year) are the Oily Skin Cleansing Oil, the Clarifying Serum, and the Clarifying Cream. I also use the Plumping Mist as a toner.
The only non-Primally Pure product that I use consistently (besides the Aimee Raupp Coconut Scrub) is Josie Maran’s Argan Oil Cleansing Oil, which I use at night to remove makeup. I’ve used this as a makeup remover/evening cleanser for the last ten years and still swear by it, because it doesn’t burn my eyes and the oil is great at removing all makeup.
Because my skin looks and feels so healthy with this lineup, I don’t mask as often as I used to. However, some of my favorites are the Summer Friday’s R&R Rose Gel Mask, the Primally Pure Plumping Mask, and Aimee Raupp’s Green Goddess Mask.
I used to mask 2-3x/week but now I might mask once a month (if that).
I credit 80% of the improvements in my complexion to switching to high-quality, all-natural, hormone-friendly, non-toxic skincare.
Tip #3: Switch to Clean Makeup
After getting off the pill and switching to high-quality, all-natural skincare, this third tip is the one that made the biggest difference for me.
One of the problems with having constant cystic acne and hormonal breakouts on my chin was that I spent an embarrassing amount of money at Sephora over the years on makeup trying to hide it.
I always tried to find non-comedogenic products, but sometimes even “acne-friendly” makeup made my skin worse.
The best I could hope for was something that was neutral on my skin and effective at hiding big red bumps (and while you can mask discoloration, you really can’t mask volume).
Again, once I switched to cleaner makeup, I found that simple was what my skin was craving all along.
My two all-time favorite clean makeup brands as of now are Saie and Ilia. I also love some Rare Beauty Products and one slightly-less-clean product from KVD Beauty.
My skin is in such a good place right now that unless I have to be a Zoom call, I generally don’t wear makeup (and this is coming from a woman who wouldn’t go a day without a full face of makeup, even if I was staying at home and not leaving the house.)
If I want to wear makeup, my go-to’s are Saie’s Slip Tint Tinted Moisturizer, the Rare Beauty Bronzing Sticks, and the Ilia Multi-Stick Cream Blush. I’ll also throw on some Ilia eyeliner and I’m good to go.
If I want something with a little more coverage (like if we’re going out to dinner or on a date or something), I will use the KVD Good Apple Cream Foundation on top of the Slip Tint.
I now use so little makeup that I can get through almost an entire year with the same tube of tinted moisturizer and compact of the Good Apple foundation (longer for the foundation, but it’s good to replace that every so often).
Tip #4: Eliminate Soy
For years I’d heard people say that in order to heal hormonal acne, you have to radically change your diet.
No gluten, no dairy, no sugar, etc.
For me, that felt really restrictive and even when I did try those diets, I didn’t see the results.
The one thing I noticed that did make some difference was really cutting down on my soy consumption, and to be honest, I didn’t think I really consumed that much to begin with.
For years I loved plain soy milk (for both the taste and protein) and I would use a dash every morning in my tea and with one protein shake per day. I also had tofu a few times a month in stir fries or other dishes.
I didn’t realize that for my body, that was still enough soy to exacerbate my skin.
When I stopped eating soy regularly, I experienced a small but noticeable change in my skin.
I now have soy products only a handful of times a year. If I get a latté at Starbucks (which is not all that often) I’ll usually choose soy milk or when we go to one of my favorite Japanese restaurants I’ll get my favorite tofu dish. Other than that, I don’t really miss it or have it much in my diet.
Tip #5: Incorporate Collagen Into Your Diet
I’ll admit that I started taking collagen hoping it would be the miracle-cure for my acne that some people say it is.
In my experience, collagen wasn’t a miracle product, but it did make enough of a difference to be noticeable in the beginning.
These days, I take collagen occasionally, but I don’t run to the store to stock up the second I run out. I do think it’s worth trying to see how it affects your skin and to try different kinds (bovine vs marine vs different brands).
I currently get a good dose of collagen in my doTERRA MetaPwr packets and we occasionally buy the Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides from Costco to put in our morning coffee.
Tip #6: Start Facial Cupping
Last but not least, I can’t conclude this post without talking about facial cupping.
For those who might not be familiar, facial cupping is a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique that creates gentle suction as you squeeze the cup along your face.
The benefits include improving circulation, boosting collagen, supporting lymphatic drainage, keeping your complexion vibrant and healthy, and reducing acne.
Over the last year, I’ve noticed that my skin looks INCREDIBLE the morning after I do facial cupping. My complexion looks bright, healthy, and more youthful than when I was in my twenties.
Facial cupping is very easy to do and only adds a couple of minutes to my nightly routine.
I use my Josie Maran Argan Oil cleanser and rub off all of my makeup, but before I rinse it off, I use the facial cup in gentle movements moving upward.
I do this a few times a week and sometimes will alternate with gua sha, but I find that cupping has a more immediately noticeable effect on my skin.
While this is something I added into my routine after my skin was in a good place, I highly recommend it and wish I would’ve added it in sooner.
I also notice that when I cup regularly, I almost never experience breakouts. The rare times I do have a breakout, doing some gentle cupping around the breakout helps move the lymph and detoxify my skin enough to help clear it faster.
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Alright friends, you made it. That’s all I have for you today.
I hope that if you’re struggling with hormonal acne, you found something new in this post that you could take away and incorporate into your own routine.
If you’ve been on a skincare journey for a long time and have also bought into the belief that harsher is better and natural equals less effective, I’d encourage you to give these products a shot.
xx