Hi everyone! This is my very first video post and although moderately terrified, I am really excited to finally be sharing this with everyone. I wanted to talk in depth about my topical skincare routine for hormonal acne because I think out of everything I’ve done in the past year to heal my acne, these changes were some of the easiest.
Every product I talk about in the video is summarized and linked below!
Organic Hemp Oil. I use this as a makeup remover on an organic cotton pad and to cleanse my face before taking a shower and rinsing it off.
Rose Water. You can also get this one on Amazon. I use this as a toner and apply it with organic cotton pads.
Geranium Essential Oil. Recently I’ve been adding a drop of this to the Rose Water. It’s one of the best essential oils for skin and it smells and feels great.
Acure Radical Resurfacing Cream. I used this after toning, under my moisturizer. Just apply a few dabs to darker spots and rub in. It’s very thin and lightweight.
Korres Greek Yogurt Moisturizer. The only moisturizer I trust. I use this during the day and before I go to bed.
Derma-e Scar Gel. I use this as often as possible on any scars or red marks. The sooner you start to use it on a scar, the better.
Wedderspoon Raw Manuka Honey. I use it as a spot treatment and it helps to prevent me from picking my face.
Tea Tree Oil. I use this sparingly on really bad pimples and apply it with hemp oil. It’s drying so don’t overdo it!
Enzyme Exfoliating Mask: I use about 1-2 TBS Raw Apple Cider Vinegar with equal parts Alitura Clay Mask and Dried Papaya plus a few drops of Sea Buckthorn Oil. I mix everything together until it’s the texture of toothpaste and leave it on my face until it dries, about 20 minutes. I try and do this every 3 days. It is a great alternative to harsh exfoliating scrubs!
Beautycounter Purifying Charcoal Mask. Recently I’ve added this to my skincare routine as both a mask and spot treatment. I’ve noticed that it soothes and minimizes new pimples.
Want to know what I did internally to address my acne? Click here to watch my second video!
Ever since I had kids I had horrible huge cystic hormonal acne all over my chin and in my eyebrows. I tried EVERYTHING under the sun. Literally. Clean eating didn’t even help. I cried all the time because when one would leave another would come and they would last for weeks. Someone suggested a supplement to me called Estroblock. I tried the triple strength and took 2 pills every morning and within a month my cysts were gone and I have not had one since. That was 2 years ago. It’s not cheap ($40 for a months worth) but beyond worth it to me! I’m not a spokesman for them I promise :). You can read reviews on Amazon. And truthfully it doesn’t work for everyone but it was a miracle for me! Thanks for the blog! I love it. It helped me through my whole 30!
Hi Julie! I use Estroblock too and I will be talking about it in my next video!
I guess I should have waited since that does say topical treatments! Duh. Ha. I just always feel the need to share about it bc I wish someone had told me! :). Thanks again. Can’t wait for the next segment!
Hi ladies! I’m really interested in the Estroblock mentioned above and in your other acne video, Anya. A naturopath tried putting me on a different hormonal supplement back in February that was actually meant to boost Estrogen and my acne immediately got so much worse. I’m thinking the Estroblock might help! But I’m wondering if you know if there is any risk to take this while trying to conceive. My husband and I have just started trying and while I’m desperate to get rid of my hormonal acne for good, I certainly don’t want to do anything to mess with my hormones that could impact fertility. Any ideas? Of course I should talk to my doctor too 😉 but honestly I have so little trust for my doc at this point (looking for a new one!) that I figured I’d ask here first!
Hi Danielle, one thing I do know is that if you go on a supplement (estroblock or otherwise) and don’t support your detox pathways, the acne can get worse. This happens because while the supplement is helping your body produce the beneficial estrogen, the toxic estrogen is still floating around in your body making the estrogen load in general a lot worse than it even was before. Ie, before you just had the bad stuff, now you have both… neither of which are good. So the supplement may not have been right for you, but it also could be because you weren’t supporting detox/your liver/etc. In terms of trying to conceive, this is a very good question, I am in the exact same boat. Personally, what I started to realize last year when my acne was really bad was that I realized that had I tried to conceive then, I likely would not have been successful. I think doing all that I’ve done has put me in a position now where that’s possible. Personally, I am not worried about taking it while I’m trying to conceive, my only concern would be to continue taking if/when I got pregnant, which I would likely not do. I’ve heard mixed things about taking it while pregnant (I’ve even called the company that makes estroblock directly), but I think as of right now my goal is to get off the estroblock, regardless of whether or not I get pregnant. This is not because I think it’s dangerous but because if my hormones are more balanced, I don’t need it. So in short, yes, I would say to consult with your doc but take the advice with a grain of salt and do some of your own research too. <3
Hi Anya! This is so great! What do you use for sunscreen? Is there a make up line that works well for you?
Hi Nina – yes and yes!! The makeup I get is all from Beauty Counter – http://www.beautycounter.com/anyakaats They also sell a few sunscreens that I use. The sunscreen stick and the all over sunscreen are what I use and I LOVE them both: http://www.beautycounter.com/anyakaats?goto=body-hair.html
Hello! I’m curious to know if you noticed a change in your hair at all after stopping birth control?
Since I have been off of mine, it’s started thinning so badly. It took about 6 months after I stopped for the thinning to start, but it has not quit for about 2 years now. My hair used to be so full and thick and I’ve had multiple tests of blood work done, with no answers. I am honestly convinced after reading your blog that my hormones are still imbalanced.
Hi Jessica, you know, I never noticed anything but looking back at photos (you can actually tell in the progress photos I posted of my acne), it does look like my hair used to be a lot thinner. I also know this happens to a lot of women, so I’m not surprised. Stay tuned for my second video that I’m hopefully posting today, it will walk through all of the internal stuff that I did to balance my hormones and it would definitely help with this issue. Collagen is something I will be talking about, it’s made a HUGE difference in my skin, hair and nails – http://amzn.to/2ajAHWC
What do you do about daily facial sunscreen? I have acne and would like to try these products but I have always used a moisturizer with SPF in it. Thoughts?
Hi Susie, this is the only sunscreen I trust on my face: http://bit.ly/2am5M8S I am actually going to be running a promotion this weekend where if you buy $75 worth of products from Beautycounter using my link, I will throw in a sun stick for FREE! If you want, I would be happy to honor the promotion today if you wanted to get a head start or you stay tuned for my post. You can also obviously just order the sun stick on its own but I wanted to be sure I told you about the promo!
Hi!! Thanks so much – this is very helpful. A couple of questions – did you ever try any of BeautyCounter’s moisturizers or any moisturizers in general that did not work well for you? Curious what makes the Korres moisturizer so beneficial! Also, did you ever use Rosehip Oil or any moisturizer with AHA? I’ve already ordered the Hemp Oil, RoseWater and Tea Tree Oil you suggested. I use a clay + moss treatment mask by Naturopathica and thinking about adding the Papaya mask. These videos are extremely helpful by the way.
Hi Marilyn! It’s funny you should ask because I did just start using the Beautycounter Day Cream. The Korres product is not as natural as I might like (although it did work for my skin) so I am a lot happier switching to much more of a non-toxic option with the Beautycounter product. I haven’t used Rosehip oil, although I have heard good things. I still use the papaya and the alitura mask all the time, in fact it’s literally on my face right now so I would highly recommend both of those! Just as an FYI too, I am going to be doing a giveaway for Beautycounter’s new Desert Sunrise Collection for anyone that places a Beautycounter order through this link within the month of January! anyaseats.com/beautycounter
Thanks! I think I may go with the Beautycounter Day Cream you suggest. It’s so hard to know what to use and what not to use. Any experience with moisturizers that contain AHA? It was recommended to me, but it seems to be causing some purging/irritation. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
I don’t have any experience with that… if you sense it’s causing a reaction I would skip it. Natural is always, always better.
Just bought some hemp oil today. Mine says to keep it refrigerated.. is that necessary if I’m using on my skin?
Yep, it will go bad if you don’t keep it in the fridge.
Ok thank you! Love your blog!
Full disclosure: I haven’t watched your videos yet, but I am going to soon… In the meantime, I’m curious, you said you don’t wash your face? You wear makeup, though right? Do you use the hemp oil all over your face to take off all your makeup? I’m going to spend some time watching your videos and reading up as I’m really trying to clear up my skin (almost 36 and feel like a teenager!).
I do wear makeup, yes. And yep, I use the hemp oil as a makeup remover and then will just rinse my face off with water. I like to keep a bit of the oil on my face (so I don’t scrub my face with water or anything), just rinse it. Let me know if you have any more questions after watching the video! If you want to join my private skincare Facebook group, that’s also a great place to ask questions! anyaseats.com/facebookgroup
Okay!! So, I watched the video and got products ordered, yay! I’m noticing though that it doesn’t seem like the Hemp Oil is taking all my makeup off, or maybe I’m not using enough (Or…yikes! Am I wearing too much makeup?!). Any tips? Also, any difference in your evening vs. morning routine besides the masks, basically I’m wondering if you do the hemp oil morning too? Would FB be a better place to ask questions? I think I’ll probably have more! Thanks again!
Hey Allison. This happens to me with the hemp oil too so it’s not just you! Usually when I use the Rosewater as a toner after the hemp oil, that helps to remove the excess makeup. Alternatively, sometimes I will gently wet a paper towel and wipe that over my face to get off the excess. I don’t use the hemp oil in the morning if I’m wearing makeup because it’s too oily, otherwise if I am just going to be at home, I will use it! You can join my FB group anyaseats.com/facebook group and ask skincare questions there too!! 🙂