Breaking Out in Midlife

Adult acne during perimenopause or menopause? You’re not alone. In this episode of Hot Flash & Sassy, we unpack why hormonal shifts can lead to breakouts, sensitivity, and skin changes that feel completely unfair. What’s happening, why your old skincare stopped working, and reassurance that your skin isn’t “failing”, it’s changing.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Hot Flash and Sassy, a podcast with hot takes, hotter flashes, and a whole lot of sass.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Hello everyone and welcome back to the podcast Hot Flash and Sassy. Today we're talking about something that catches a lot of women off guard during perimenopause and menopause, changes in your skin. Maybe you've noticed breakouts suddenly appearing again after decades without acne, or maybe your skin feels drier, thinner, more sensitive, or just not as vibrant as it used to be. And for many women, the most frustrating part is that it can feel like your skin is doing two opposite things at once. Our favorite. Breaking out while also becoming dry or irritated.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Yay, this is my episode. This is my life, everybody. Alright, so if you've ever thought waiting, I'm or waiting. Wait. I'm dealing with wrinkles and acne now. Yay! Yay!

SPEAKER_01 1:05

You are absolutely not alone. We should do a drinking game with this episode. Every time I say yay, take a drink.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Oh, that's fine. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Grab yourself a cocktail. It's gonna be interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

It's gonna get it's gonna get real interesting. All right, because today we're gonna talk about why your hormones affect your complexion, why acne can return in midlife, other skin changes that happen during perimenopause and menopause, and what you can do to support your skin during this stage of life. So if your skincare routine suddenly feels like it stopped working, this episode is for you.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

So the big question is why do hormones affect our skin? Skin is incredibly sensitive to hormone changes. Um, the whole thing is estrogen and testosterone. Again. Yeah, they just kind of keep popping up in every episode, but they're the problem. They have it major issues. Um estrogen plays a major role in keeping skin healthy. It helps with collagen production, skin thickness, hydration, and elasticity. Give me more of that. I know elasticity. All of it. When estrogen starts declining, those benefits start to shift. So you might notice your skin becoming drier. I have dry skin. Um, fine lines appearing more quickly all over the place. Popping up left and right. Why? They're just like on some sort of domino effect here. They are. Um, your natural glow gone. Another thing we have to mourn. Hello, we're mourning enough now. I don't want to mourn my natural glow. But then, of course, the thinner skin. I think we really have to talk about that. I have issues with that as well.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

It's awful. Yep. It's awful. All right. So at the same time, something else is happening to us hormonally.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

What's that?

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Even though overall hormones are declining, the balance between estrogen and testosterone changes. Of course it does. And when testosterone becomes more dominant, it can stimulate oil production in the skin. More oil can mean clogged pores, inflammation.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

And yes, acne. Yay. Yay. So what another drink. Right? Oh, that's right, forgot we were playing that game. What happens for many women is this strange combination where their skin becomes both drier and more prone to breakouts at the same time. It's confusing, frustrating, and very common. And it is my life.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

So aggravating, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 3:33

And everything you use for the acne dries out your skin more.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Exactly. And then you have to change what kind of moisturizer you're using to counteract that. It's just never-ending battle.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

It's an awful battle. I've been on a journey forever, so it's we're gonna hit on a lot of it here. You're gonna tell us more about it. I'm gonna tell you all about it, guys.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Um, many women describe menopause as puberty in reverse. I kind of get that. That so resonates with me because weird things just start happening, and you're like, why is this happening constantly? And you know, you don't have to just think about like your face and your jawline and your teeth zone and all those things. I mean, I have other skin issues. I mean, I have really dry cuticles. It looks like I need a manicure every day of my life. And you know, I would love one, but remember we also talked about in the last episode that long list of things I've got to do. I do not have time for, I barely fit in a um pedicure. You can't pay for manicure and pedicure all the time. Exactly. I need somebody just to move in and take care of my my nails and my toes all the time. That'd be great. Anyway, did anyone else ever think they were done with acne in their 20s? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Uh I didn't have I didn't have acne as a teenager, which is crazy to me. At all? I didn't. I actually started getting it in my 20s, and it has just gotten worse older. So I had adult acne. And when I was a teenager, I thought it was great. Well, you know how my friends are dealing with acne. People are doing it, and I'm like, Oh, you put it on. I got this great skin. Yeah, exactly. And then um, and then yeah, it's um changed and it's so bad. It's awful, it's painful, it's embarrassing, and yes, everything I freaking do for it just dries my damn skin out.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

So it's like you can get rid of it or keep it at bay, but then you got real flaky skin. And that looks old.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

When you have dry skin, it ages you, it definitely ages you for sure. Yeah. And I get that whole puberty and reverse thing because obviously your face is getting more oily. Oh, but you're trying to do something about the oil by taking the things that correct that, but then you're back to the dryness. Correct. How do you deal with that?

SPEAKER_02 5:48

What do you do? I do so many things. I started getting I get dermaplanes every other month, which I do like that. Because that gets rid of the drying time. I get them every other month. Now, I have heard people that say that breaks them out. I don't know. Maybe that's your esthetician. I go to a fabulous lady. If you're in St. Louis, especially like St. Charles area, Salon de Christie, her name's Madeline, and she has been like my savior. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Um, I So wait a second, time on the derma planting. Did the first one give make you break out? No.

unknown 6:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

None of them have made me break out. So sometimes you have to do a few of them before your skin gets used to it.

SPEAKER_02 6:26

I never had an issue, but again, everyone's different. So you don't know if it's gonna work for you. Don't we know? That helps me because well, one she'll do extractions too, which hurts like a bitch, but look at Holly cussing. But I don't care. Because get rid of them, and it gets rid of all that dry skin. Um, and she's really good at telling me stuff that I can put on it and use. Um, so I cleanse every night, I cleanse every morning, I put vitamin C on in the morning, moisturizer. So you got a whole routine, girl. Oh, I have a whole routine. I'm doing all the things. I've got nothing. I do all the things. I started taking, oh god, what is it? I think maybe it will come in here. Trent Trentinoid or something. It's a prescription, like ointment or something.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

So do you get it from your dermatologist?

SPEAKER_02 7:10

No, I I got it from a doctor, though, okay. That sounds bad. It was an actual doctor's appointment, I want to be clear, but it was not my dermatologist. Um, my dermatologist was thinking to put me on accutane, and I was like, I'm not going on accutane.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

What it what was your aversion to that? It's there's a lot of bad side effects. Oh. See, here we go again. And I'm not willing to do that. It creates more side effects. We're already in this tornado. Like, please get us out of it somewhere.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

I will say it's like impossible to get it like controlled because it doesn't matter. Like, I can feel perfect. Like my hormones could be plately aligned. I still have them. Like, it's like whatever shift in my hormones, I always get cystic acne. There is nothing. I've I've been for even my history before my hysterectomy on birth control. I've been on everything. It the cystic acne is my problem. Yeah. And um, it's like impossible to get rid of. I am just trying to keep it at bay, but also trying to like, yeah, moisturize, but certain things you do. So I'm using a lot of like hydraulic acids and things like that. But I still I got one of those um red light masks. Ooh, I never remember to use it though. Had you used to. I have. I've tried it like a couple times, but you're supposed to do it like consistently to see something, and I I haven't. I'm so bad at it. All right. And I need to get on it because I need to see if that helps.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Well, I need to know if I need to buy one, so you're gonna have to speed up this process. I'm gonna try. I have seen them advertise, they look amazing. Well, I think maybe that'll bring my glow back. I want my glow back.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yeah, yeah. I it's I don't know, it's tough. I feel like I'm I'm told to put this thing on it for that, for my glow, for my height. And then they're like, well, don't do that, it's gonna impact your acne. So do this for your acne. I just I'm in a vicious cycle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

No, that I've been in plenty of women out there that go through the same thing. Women and men. I'm sure both experience this.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

Yeah. It's absolutely, and it's people don't realize not only is it I maybe people think it's like shallow and like vain, but I'm like, it's not even just appearance, they hurt. Those cystic ones, they can be so big under your skin and they can press on. It is painful. Oh, it just sounds awful. No, it doesn't sound like fun at all. I've also started something when one pops up, I put like a heated compress on, and I'll rotate between that and an eye like ice. Yeah. I mean, you have to put a lot of work in to keep these at bay. That's crazy. That does seem to help.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Have you tried those little sticker things?

SPEAKER_02 9:46

Yeah, oh yeah. I got acne patches. I use those all the time. And um, they help. I have noticed that so I get the hydrocholoid ones. They have some that have other stuff, but I feel like the hydrocholoid's the best. Okay. I tried getting those ones, um, wow, I can't remember the name of the brand I get, but it's like a micro something. So it actually kind of like when you get one popping up, it actually kind of sticks into your skin to like put the Oh my god. It doesn't hurt, but you have to use that only like when one's like first start it. Oh, and then I feel like the actual patches, like more ones you see, are like once it's like further.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

So I feel like there's like this weird in-between where like the patches don't work. Got it. Um, we will get into more of these stuff that I can tell you whether I've used it or not and what's helped. Oh, I can't wait. So it's all right. So, you know, but we'll talk about it's not all about acne. No, right? Like, there's there's other things that are happening, like breakouts, and that's one part of the story, guys. Exactly. Um, hormone changes affect our skin in so many ways. So one of the biggest changes is collagen loss. Yep. Do you consume collagen or no?

SPEAKER_01 10:49

You've made the recommendation about the collagen, and I just haven't gotten there. Okay. Again, I'm not really a fan of the drinkables.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Yeah. I like the if you can put it in a capsule.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

There is, I think, I think I know someone that takes them in a capsule. I don't know. I don't know what is more. I think you can get collagen in a but you're gonna want it because well, not that you're in menopause or after menopause, but after menopause, women can lose up to 30% of collagen in the first five years.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

30%?

SPEAKER_02 11:21

Yes. Collagen is what gives our skin firmness and structure.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Is that why I feel like deflated? My skin looks like a little pop balloon. It's like there's nothing in it. You gotta get that collagen. It's all wrinkles.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

When it declines, you may notice thinner skin. Yep. She've talked about. Increased fine lines. Got them. Less elastic elasticity. Got it. I had to give you a big word, didn't we? Another common change, dryness.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

I've got the dryness too.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

Yeah. Now, let's talk about though. We we both use something on our bodies to help with moisture.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Yes, we do. And we both love it. Favorite thing in the whole wide world. Holly gifted it to me for Christmas, birthday gift or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

Sometime.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

It's um Soul de Janeiro. Yeah. It's fiable. What's the S the one we use is a last is a last E lasty cream or something. Yeah. It's the pink one. That's all you need to know. The pink one. The pink one. And it smells amazing.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

It smells so good.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

Holly, I had uh the worst wrinkles on my chest happening. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I was all crepey and wrinkly, and it was terrible. And then you gave me that. I'm like, I'm just gonna try it, see how it works, how see how my skin takes to it. Well, I test everything out, like on my forearm. Yeah, make sure you don't have a reaction. You never know if you're gonna have a reaction to it. And you know my Hashimoto's gets a little pissy sometimes. So I just tested it on my arm, and then it was like the next morning. I'm like, I looked at my arm, and I only did it on one arm, and it was amazing. Yeah. How pretty one arm looked compared to the other. I'm like, well, you're dry, and this one's all nice and moisturized. So I tried it on my chest, it's amazing. It's so good.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Yeah, it is like a weird consistency. Like when you first get it, because you have to like really rub it in. So I feel like you're like, is this gonna be, but I don't know if that's like what makes it so moisturizing. Probably. They have other, I like to alternate. I like to use the elastic cream for like the cooler months. Right. Because I feel like it's extra dry and that's the best. In like summertime, I like to use their bum bum cream. So it's a very different texture. I love the way that one smells too. It smells so good, very different texture. I do feel like that one helps a little bit more get rid of the appearance of like cellulite. So I think they have different things that they bring to the table. Right. I probably use the elastic cream most of the year.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

I do too.

SPEAKER_02 13:51

But I do love the bum bum cream too. Yeah. And I think it actually works. I think it actually works. You do have to do it, like 100%.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

I'm telling you, it works. Please try it. If you have dry skin, if you feel like you've got a little crepey, wrinkly action going on on your chest, try it out because it's amazing. I melt those um wrinkle things, they're like big plastic things you put on your chest trying to get rid of my wrinkles, and they did jack poo-boo. Nothing for it. And then I try this elastic cream, and it's like a miracle thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:23

There you go, guys. Pro tip.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

Pro tip. It is we'll definitely include that on a tip drop Tuesday. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. All right. Alright, so where are we at? Estrogen helps skin retain moisture. So when levels drop, your skin can feel tight, flaky, or dull. There you go. So we've talked about that, and it's the estrogen and the testosterone, the two biggest hormones that are playing, I don't know, some sort of Russian roulette with our bodies, and it's not fun. So, estrogen, um, we need it to keep our skin healthy. It's a c produces collagen, it helps with skin thickness, hydration, and again, back to the elasticity. We need that so bad in our lives. Um, so when it starts declining, those benefits start to shift, and that's when you'll see the skin becoming drier, fine lines appearing more quickly, loss of natural glow, and thinner skin again. I don't like any of those, but I'm telling you that elastic cream helps with all of it. Oh, it's it's like a miracle. It is a miracle cream.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Yeah, highly recommend it. Again, one thing. And we both do it. I feel like it's a thing. We definitely both do it. So yeah. All right. All right, let's let's go where are we at now, huh? Well, I think we're ready. Talk about those lifestyle factors that make it worse. That we can't control. Yes. Okay. So um let's discuss how these hormones or how these things affect our hormonal skin. So, stress and cortisol. Got it. What are you gonna do about it?

SPEAKER_01 15:54

It's that cortisol word again. Why does it keep sneaking up?

SPEAKER_02 15:58

It's the same thing. It's like you gotta get this stuff under control, otherwise, it leads to all this other stuff.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Right.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

So add this to the list of things it leads to. If you your stress is not under control, your cortisol levels are not under control, you're gonna you're gonna have these issues. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Sleep, you gotta get some damn sleep. Here we go again. I don't know what else to say about it.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Diet. I don't have time for sleep. We did not discuss this previously.

SPEAKER_02 16:21

Sleep. We've talked about it so many times. I'm trying. Um, diet. We've talked about diet a bunch of times. I do know sugar, low sugar is better for like the hormonal acne, also.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

It actually mentions the dairy sensitivity. Yeah. And you know, I've heard that a lot.

SPEAKER_02 16:35

And I would agree with that. I used to not, and I do think I've tried to I still consume some dairy, but I've tried to cut back a bunch. Yeah. Because I do think that that impacts it a lot. I've noticed when I'm eating more dairy that it seems like my acne is getting worse. Wow. So I would agree with that. I would get I agree with that. Okay. Oh, your favorite one, alcohol. No. Moving on. Um yay. Have a drink for me. Gut health. Your gut health is important. Um, I kind of see that with the gut health thing.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

It makes total sense.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

I think gut health can control so many things.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

So many things. Yeah, I 100% agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

That's why I take my AMR clostrum. That's right. And that is also supposed to help with your skin. I don't know if it does or not. I don't, I really don't. I take it for my stomach because that's like the best thing for me. But it is supposed to help with your skin. Right. Um, and inflammation.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

I can tell you all about the inflammation. There you go, girl. It's not fun, and keeping it under control is so important. I told you my inflammation can fluctuate. Um, I can fluctuate five pounds in one day just for my inflammation.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

Crazy. It's insane. That's crazy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

I feel like those inflatable um Halloween costumes when my inflammation is bad.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

Like those dinosaurs.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Yeah. Where you just walk around and you kind of wobble because you're like, whoa, where's all this weight coming from? You know? It's hard to wrap your head around it. But it definitely affects my skin 100% my inflammate inflammation. I get redder faster. You know, that's typically when my thyroids are acting up. So my redness comes out. I mean, it's just all of it. I definitely see it. Not fun. Not fun. So explain why what worked for us in our 20s may not work for us now. Yeah. I don't know that I can explain it, but we can talk about it. Let's talk about it. Um, gentle cleansers versus harsh acne products. Yes. You guys tell us all about that.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

You have got to stay gentle. Like you get these. I mean, I remember when I was young, I would use those like um, I can't remember the name of them, like those pads, but they were like just reeked of like alcohol.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Like And they can actually hurt when you would stink.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

But I used to love that sting. I'm like, it's working. It's working. And you know what it was? It did nothing. But like my sensitive skin would freak out right now. Oh, if I used one of them. How about inflammation? I just it wouldn't go well. Yeah. Um, so definitely I use one that my is that what they're called? Esthysic. Is that what she's called? Um recommend it. It's called Eminence. It's supposed to be like a or is it organic? Something like that, natural um cleanser. And I really like that one. Yeah, it's a cleanser.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Eminence. So there you go. What else you got for me? Yeah, yeah, I can give you all the products. How about hydration focused skincare? Hello. The only thing we have to say is Sol de Janeiro. Yeah. But Elastic Creek. You're not gonna put that on your face.

SPEAKER_02 19:34

Oh no, probably not. What are you putting on your face? Um, I also have an eminence moisturizer. Here we go again. Um I do those hydraulic acid masks because those, yeah. How often? Um, I try to do them once a week. I do more. Um, probably. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

What about retinoids?

SPEAKER_02 19:53

Um, sometimes I use I haven't been using those with because I've been doing that trentinoid or whatever it is. Yeah. Um, but I will tell you that does work. So like if I have one of those like cystic acne coming in, I will actually put like a retinol on it. And that actually helps because that like causes your cells to regrow or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

What brand of retinol do you like?

SPEAKER_02 20:15

Uh it's oh, it's um something with elephant in it.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

There's an elephant in it? Yeah, the name the name brand is something elephant or something. All right, elephant. I'll look, I have it at home. I can I can find out. We'll put it in the comments of this episode. Yeah. Um peptides and collagen support. Already talked about that. Sunscreen. You have to put sunscreen on every morning. Huge for pigmentation.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

I put sunscreen on every morning, especially if you're doing these other things. So if you're using retinoids or that tretinoid, a lot of those can make your skin very, very sensitive to sun.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Even in the winter months, you're putting on sunscreen.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

You have to put sunscreen on.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Golly, I've got so much to do.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

You have to. And you think the sun is actually the sun is good for you because you get natural vitamin D, but it's actually terrible for direct rays to your skin.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

Well, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

It's gonna make you look old.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

But you really only think about it in the summertime, or at least I do. So now I got another. Now that I'm in Mary Menumpause, I'll be using sunscreen in the morning. Exactly. Um, so the nutritional um support for skin. I really like to talk about this because I take a lot of supplements. I've already told you that. Um, but I think it plays an important part because your skin is working with everything that's going on inside your body. Yeah. You don't have to just put it on the outside. You gotta do something for the inside of it too. So omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation. Do you do that?

SPEAKER_02 21:39

I don't.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

Okay. Well, you gotta check them out.

SPEAKER_02 21:41

I'm kind of isn't it taste like doesn't that taste fishy?

SPEAKER_01 21:44

I don't get that. You don't have but I do the capsules, so maybe that's you do take it. You just take capsules. Yep. Yeah, especially when I have the inflammation. I don't that's not an everyday. You don't take it every day. But when I have the inflammation, I do.

SPEAKER_02 21:57

Maybe you can send me your brand.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

I will. Um zinc. I take that. You take it every day? Every day. I don't. It does so many things for your body. It's cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:07

I know it's really good like when you're sick and stuff. I I don't take it though.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Yeah, it helps your immune system. But also, I mean your poor skin is subjective to all of the immune system situation, too. I don't even know how I'm trying to say it. But you know, like your immune support is really important for your skin to be protected from that as well. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

Um, collagen supporting nutrients. This is you. Yep. Collagen. So not only, so I take like I use the organe. You guys, I get that stuff at Costco. It's why I get all the organ stuff. Costco. Because you get it on sale. They'll run it on sale for like $23.99 a thing. I love it. Why not? I put that in my coffee or my smoothies, but also I like to use like the gold collagen patches, like for under my eyes and on my forehead sometimes. I do have those. And I do like those. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

I like the gold ones. I think there's a difference for whatever reason.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

Call me crazy. I agree with you. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Um, and then vitamin D. That's an everyday. Yep. I take that every day. I vary how much I take in the wintertime to the summertime. How much? Um I do it by half.

SPEAKER_02 23:10

Yes, I think that's right. Because I'm doing like 4,000 for winter, and then I'll go down to the 2,000 tablets. Me too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

Yeah. I think that really helps. It's definitely for your immune system, but it helps your skin help as well. Um, magnesium, we just did a tip drop Tuesday on magnesium. And that, I don't know what's in that little thing, but there's a lot going on because it can do so much for your body. But um, stress management and your skin. So it's got I like the ones that do multiple things because we got a lot to check off here. As always, it's important to help with help check with your health care provider because we're doing these things trial and error, but we do have healthcare providers that know about all the different supplements that we take. So I think it's really important that people have the conversations with their health care provider. When you go for your annual checkup, just say, hey, I started these supplements, just want to make sure it doesn't counteract with any of our prescription meds that we're taking.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

Yeah, make sure you always give them the full list of what you're taking.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Full list. Don't try to hide anything. Sometimes we like to hide things. Sometimes my my OBGYN would go, What? Why are you taking all of that? Oh, yeah. I take a multivitamin. She's like, You're taking all these vitamins, and you're taking a multivitamin. I'm like, just in case I missed one. Just in case. Yeah, I go on like a sheet and I have them all written down.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

And I'm like, here are my supplements. I do too.

SPEAKER_01 24:29

How annoying is it though, by the way, when you go into like your PCP and they run through the list of stuff that you're taking, and I'm like, we've done this already. I've checked it with my check-in information. I bear a few.

SPEAKER_02 24:40

We do it three different times. I'm like, come on now. I mean, did you think I was gonna lie to you? Or is this an advantage?

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Maybe people do and they catch them. Oh. Maybe they can't lie to their faces. There you go. That's probably what it is. There you go. Anyway, Holly, let's uh let's talk about the dermatologist.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

Let's talk about when to seek help from a dermatologist. So if you're gonna go to the dermatologist, you can discuss treatment options such as hormonal acne treatments. So I don't know what all that entails, but again, my dermatologist said could put you on accutane, which I was not for. Topical retinoids, which I believe is what this trettinoid is. I think it's a topical retinoid. Um maybe that's a prescription cream. I don't know where it falls. Prescription creams. I do hear all the time people are like hormonal acne is so much to do with your inside and not so much about. I call BS on that. It's both. You gotta do both. Because the only time I get solutions is when I'm putting stuff on, too. It is not, it is not one or the other. Right. But it is both. For sure. Um, sparolactone. I actually do take that.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

I can't believe you said it. I don't know that I said it right. I would have heard that word, but thank you.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

Um, I do take that. That is my only prescription pill that I take right now.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Oh, it is prescription.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

It is prescription. It is the only prescription pill I take. Got it. Um it is a diuretic, so you're gonna pee a lot. But um, it is what it is. I do think that helps. I still get acne, and I thought I could wean off of it once, and boy, no, it got rough. So I was like, oh, I won't do that again. Learned your lesson. I did laser or light therapy, which is what I'm trying to do. Is that light therapy?

SPEAKER_01 26:17

I can't wait to hear about it. I have marked it for a follow-up with it.

SPEAKER_02 26:21

Okay, I mean I said it on here, so I'll have to do it.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Now you have to work for accountability partners. We are accountability partners. Holly, can you take us through the rapid fire myth busting real quick? Because we gotta wrap this up. We are ready to go.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

All right, let's talk about this. So, rapid fire myth busting. All right, adult acne means you're not washing your face enough. Because I wash the damn face. You can only wash it so many times. Oh no, right when I get home from work. I it does not matter. Yeah. Okay? No, and sometimes you might just be drying your skin out some more. Making it worse. Yeah. Um, only teenagers get hormonal acne. Bullshit. Yes. Oily skin means you shouldn't moisturize. What?

SPEAKER_01 27:02

What the hell?

SPEAKER_02 27:04

If you think that stop. Oh, this one's good though, because it's not true. Chocolate causes acne. It doesn't. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

You're trying to take coffee. You're trying to take my alcohol, and now you want to take my chocolate? No. No. Wrong. No. We've busted those myths.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

We've busted them. All right. But it is time we have got to wrap this up. So here are a few simple takeaways from this episode. Hydrate your skin and support your skin barrier. Manage stress whenever possible. Be patient with hormone chat. I can't with some of these. Don't be afraid to adjust your skincare routine as your body evolves. You do have to do that. I'm doing it all the time. Your skin is responding to changes happening inside your body, and with the right support, it can absolutely improve.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

Oh. Yay. Good luck to you. I just want to make sure y'all, whoever's playing along with the drinking gang got another drink out of here. Well, thank you all for listening today. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. We're officially on Instagram at Hot Flash and Sassy. And um, we would love to hear from you. So if you have any feedback, if you've tried any of these suggestions, help a love out. Because I haven't tried a lot of them. Holly's been down the journey um for quite some time now. So we'd love to hear what's worked for you. Love it. And always, thanks for joining us on Hot Flash and Sassy. Talk you later. Bye.