Guide to treating Clogged Pores & Hormonal Acne (Part 1)

As seen from the title, i will be sharing my guide to treating Hormonal Acne. Well, it's MY GUIDE so what i'm sharing worked for me and i hope will work for you too.

If you have not read my review on the supplement that i feel helped my skin clear up the most, you can read it here.

Other than taking supplements daily for my homonal acne, i have invested alot into skincare/treatments etc for my skin, to prevent blemishes as well. Some of which includes...

1) Laser Treatments

More than a year ago, i have went for a trial at Gangnam Laser Clinic for it's Carbon Laser Facial at $48 (if i'm not wrong they still have this trial promo now). I'm currently doing the carbon/ normal Laser Facial depending on my skin condition that day.

How does this Carbon Laser Facial work?

According to their website:

The Carbon Laser treatment targets acne problems, oily skin, large pores and dull complexion.

A thin layer of carbon is spread over the skin, which is then absorbed by the laser beam. As the laser moves across the skin, carbon particles is gently vacuumed up, exfoliating the skin and removing and debris in the pores. It also targets deeper layers of your skin to stimulate collagen growth and remove dead cells.

What improvements will you see?

- Reduced pore size

- Increased skin renewal

- A more even skin tone and texture

- Improved radiance

Normal Laser Facial

It can be used as a form of rejuvenating dull skin, resulting in brighter, livelier skin while at the same time addressing issues of laxity especially in skin with early sagging. It is also an effective means of improving texture, pores and improving mild acne scarring. It is also effective in handling many different issues of abnormal pigmentation including freckles, sun spots, age spots etc. resulting in lasting improvement.

Both facials have got no downtime. Slight redness maybe but only for like afew hours to at most a day (if you have very sensitive skin).

Signed a package of 5 sessions previously, stopped for a year, and i'm currently back at the clinic for another 10+2 sessions ($980 excluding GST). If im not wrong, i am left with only 3/12 sessions!

I wont be going into details on why i stopped a year back, if not it will be a super lengthy post! Anyway that's the past already!

So my 9 sessions have been so far so good! I usually head down for a treatment once every 2-4 weeks. What i feel about these facial treatments is that it is definitely great for exfoliating my skin, to treat & prevent clogged pores (very important to prevent pimples from popping out). I dont see much effect on getting a brighter looking skin though. Pore size wise, just a little! Anyway it's hard to minimize pore size anyway.

My doctor told me how i will have lesser sunspots/ agespots/ freckles when i'm older, as compared to my friends of the same age. This, i shall see! Do not have any of the above mentioned at the moment so maybe the laser helped?! I dont know but maybe!

I will highly recommend laser facials to people who have rough/ clogged skin that is prone to breakouts to prevent pimples from occuring. But do note that you will have to do this treatment regularly to really get your skin cleared up and most importantly for me, to prevent my skin from getting clogged. Which means, signing up a package! Not so cheap for a "less than 30mins" facial i will say.

There are MANY clinics doing such facial lasers now but Gangnam Laser Clinic is definitely one of the most affordable one.

2) Drinking more water

Ever since starting a full time job in the office, i find myself drinking alot more water than i used to. Not because of the dry air due to aircon but more of me drinking more water when i have nothing better to do in the office. LOL

"If the body is even slightly dehydrated and the pores become clogged, the imbalanced pH of the skin will allow bacteria to flourish."

More water > Hydrated Skin > Skin needs lesser moisture > Lesser clogged pores > Lesser breakouts

3) Keeping skin hydrated

Many people mistook having skin that gets oily easily with having an oily skin type. It's true yet not true at the same time. Some people have oily skin due to overly dried/dehydrated skin, whereby skin produces sebum to moisturise the skin surface. Skin gets clogged easily if the sebum is left on the skin for too long.

I'm a victim of dehydrated skin and what i have learnt is to always keep my skin hydrated. I noticed that on days my face is well moisturised, it gets less oily. What i do everyday to every other day is to Mask, mask & mask!

Wash off, Sheet, Sleeping Masks, i alternate between them. Note that i only use masks that are not rich in texture! Might do a post on my favourite masks some day!

To be continued... Post's getting a little too long! :)

#acne #beauty #skincare #laser