I Can`t Believe It - I`ve Got Acne And Menopause

by Hannah Cooke
http://www.themodeltraincenter.com

Can you believe it? Not only am I suffering the indignity of incontinence, flatulence and bloating, but now I`ve got— acne! Unbelievable isn’t it? Well, acne during menopause is actually quite a common problem. And unlike our teens, when we were warned about the danger of eating sweet things as a possible acne trigger, for older women, it`s those crazy hormones that are responsible.

In my teens, I was lucky enough not to suffer from spots and blemishes and so I certainly didn`t expect to experience breakouts in my 50`s! But mother nature must have a sense of humor, because that`s just what happened. It`s lucky that menopause occurs when a woman is mature enough to handle it. If I`d suffered hot flashes, incontinence and loss of libido when I was in my twenties, I would have gone to pieces.

My skin care routine was always carefully planned. I never went to bed without removing every last trace of make-up, the products I used were as `natural` as possible(as few colors and perfume as possible) and I exfoliated one a week without fail. But still, one morning I woke up to find not one, but three angry looking blemishes on my chin.

My first reaction was to buy the strongest cleanser possible and literally dry out every last bit of oil that dared to appear on my skin. But years of experience told me that this would be counter productive. External products are of limited help wherever hormones are involved, and menopausal acne is certainly a case of those frisky hormones rampaging around our body. Estrogen, testosterone and progesterone all play their part in causing middle age acne, just as they do with teenage skins.

Of course, it goes without saying, that no matter how tempting, don't pick or squeeze your spots. Although you may feel that all the world is looking at them, the truth is that they probably haven`t even noticed. Blemishes are never as bad as you think they are and by stressing and being self conscious, you will only draw attention to your spots. Stress can also be a trigger for your acne and whenever you experience periods of anxiety, it affects your hormones and can trigger a breakout.

Apart from maintaining a sense of humor—here are a few other suggestions to help deal with menopausal acne.

-- Use natural skin care products to regulate your hormones.
-- Stop hormone replacement therapy if you think it is the cause of your acne.
-- Try hormone replacement therapy if you think it will help your acne.
-- Minimise your stress levels. The acne will disappear over time.

....And did I mention retaining a sense of humour always helps?

Article submitted Thursday, February 02, 2012 & read 370 times.

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