Acne...any advice

balawhorn

I'm sure this has probably already been asked so I apologize if it's a repeat, but does anyone know of a good treatment for acne that doesn't contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. I've heard pregnant women should avoid those and I want to use something safe. I wash my face twice daily and always remove my makeup. I didn't have this issue prior to being pregnant. Let me know if y'all have any advice or have asked your doctor this. Thanks!

Bluebird2318

The issue with salicylic acid is generally referring to acne treatments that are taken orally. Small amounts in a face wash (like 2% salicylic acid products) shouldn't matter, because no significant amount is actually being absorbed into your system the way it would with a pill. With my OB, she says an OTC salicylic acid face wash is fine. 

That being said, the Neutrogena transparent facial bar for acne-prone skin doesn't use either of those ingredients. I don't know if any of its other ingredients raise any concerns though. Just a suggestion.

I wouldn't worry too much. I get where you're coming from though. My first pregnancy I spent a lot of money on make-up that didn't work for me AT ALL, because pretty much all the other make-up out there had one or another of some supposedly "no-no" ingredient for pregnant women. I was obsessed. I'm taking it easy this time around. 

)

BEdworthy

Let The Good Times Roll facial cleanser from LUSH

Cecilbear

I am going to try the Belli line at Ulta. It's specially formulated for pregnant women. I don't know how well it works, but it's worth a shot! https://search.ulta.com/nav/brand/Belli/hierarchy1/skincare/0

Also, before I got pregnant, I had a really bad bout of adult acne that lasted years. Years! I was able to almost completely clear my skin by paying attention to what I was eating. This is almost impossible for me now because the thought of vegetables makes me want to throw up, but here's what I did (maybe it will make a difference for you?): 

- Drink lots of water, with lemon/lime

- Eat lots of fresh veggies (arugula and avocado are particularly helpful)

- Bump up your omegas (flax seed, hemp hearts, salmon)

- Cut down on white refined sugars and flours (the thought being that they play around with blood sugar and hormones)

Cecilbear

Oh, I also cut out dairy completely. I'm not sure if you can even control pregnancy acne with diet, because I have literally been too sick and too health-food-adverse to try. But if you're in a position to try it, maybe it will work for you. Good luck! 

nikki912

I also tend to go without makeup whenever I break out. If I feel like I have to put some on for some reason, I skip the foundation. It sucks to have them but they'll go away more quickly if our face stays clean!

myschlove

First I want to say I am a cheap person :-) I buy off brands and I shop sales and I am not a big money spender on products for myself… But that being said my mother-in-law has bought this amazing face wash by philosophy, and she got me using it. It's AMAZING!
You can even use it to remove your makeup! It is gentle and works great!!
It's worth the money!!

myschlove

Here is a pic

liztheus

Mario bedusco works great! I get those underground pimples (awesome) so just order the buffering lotion. Worth the $

redjellybean128

my doctor told me over the counter topical stuff with salicylic acid is fine. I started using Yes to Tomatoes daily acne treatment and I'm noticing a huge difference. It's been about a week and the redness is still there, but it's finally starting to dry out. It was looking really nasty a couple of weeks ago and it's all around my mouth so it hurt when I ate anything. It also has less salcylic acid in it than some of the other stuff I looked at too. This only had 1%. 

Cecilbear

@mamrotu73 What do you think of the Belli wash? Do you recommend it? Two more questions for everyone: 

1. I read tea tree was a no-no. Have you guys gotten the green light? 

2. Has anyone tried Queen Helene's Mint Julep mask? I've used it a few times and then worried it wasn't safe. But it's really just green clay, sulfur, and a few other things. 

CalinAZ

Hmm... I should try some of this. My face is breaking out something horrible. I've just been using Witch Hazel, which dries things out and gets rid of the dirt. 

nessabeers

Cecilbear said:

@mamrotu73 What do you think of the Belli wash? Do you recommend it? Two more questions for everyone: 

1. I read tea tree was a no-no. Have you guys gotten the green light? 

2. Has anyone tried Queen Helene's Mint Julep mask? I've used it a few times and then worried it wasn't safe. But it's really just green clay, sulfur, and a few other things. 

Melaleuca oil aka tea tree oil is fine to use in fact if you get a burn on your skin this great to use! You may be more sensitive to it if you've never used it before. Sadly it hasn't seemed to help my acne

I had been using the belli wash line and It's great aesthetically but I have super Dry skin so it didn't help either! I just use a creamy cleanser and Vaseline at night... Call me crazy but it's the only thing that helps my redness and dryness!

@liztheus I am going to look into this, hate underground cystic pimples

vanvoorhis-101

The thing that works best for me is alpha hydroxy acids, specifically glycolic acid. I really like ole henriksons nighttime treatment gel, but I think anything with glycolic acid as the active ingredient should yield results. It is expensive but lasts a long time, I get it from Sephora.

jennypenny1014

It's your hormones. Not much you can do over and above washing and staying moisturized. It goes away.

JWest07

My midwife prescribes erythromycin. It seems to help.

cd92007

My acne is so, so bad. I had adult acne before I was pregnant but proactive usually did the trick minus a few random pimples here and there. Now I have huge, painful cystic pimples pop up every single day, and my face is a mess. My midwife said to continue the proactiv and that benzoyl peroxide is fine if its topical. Well, it's not even working so I may just stop using it I will add that I tried the Belli products and they did nothing for me and they smelled soooooo bad it made my nausea even worse. I think I just need to accept the fact that I'm not a "pretty" pregnant woman haha

JennyK91011

I use the Queen Helene mask and has really helped shrink my cystic pimples. I use Origins clear improvement mask. It's basically charcoal. I also use their checks and balances facewash with my clarisonic and it makes my face feel clean without feeling too dry. MACs pro concealer and pressed powder help with hiding things

balawhorn

Thanks for all the suggestions! I bought the Belli cleanser to try...hopefully that will help!

Jayfitzzy426

I personally hated the belli products. They smelled good in the package, but after I washed my face, it smelled like a wet dog. All. Day. Long. I couldn't handle it and ended up throwing the stuff away. My skin on the other hand has been LOVING the purity cleansing gel paired with mario badescu seaweed cleansing lotion or the cucumber cleansing lotion ( toners) and I also use the silver powder from that line as well for blackheads.
The yellowish is the cucumber and the green is seaweed

balawhorn

Ok thanks! If the Belli product doesn't work I will have to try some of the other suggestions. The smell doesn't bother me, but who knows if it will actually help me. I appreciate all the suggestions ladies!