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Skincare and PCOS

Posted on by Danielle Hudson

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I got diagnosed with PCOS at 16 years old and was fortunate enough not to have many of the nasty side effects, just irregular periods- no complaints there! I was put on the combined contraceptive pill and told to look up Polycystic Ovary Syndrome at the library (yes seriously- this was pre Google *insert Granny Face emoji here*).

Fast forward a few years; I came off the pill and my skin went wild! I’m not going to talk too much on the medical side of PCOS, it can be a serious condition in some cases and should be monitored by a medical professional, but I now have my skin under control (95% of the time) so I wanted to share what works for me (I realise that the skin issues associated with PCOS are not necessarily the most serious side effect but it can have a massive impact on self confidence and how we feel so it should be addressed).

There are varying degrees of skin problems for PCOS sufferers but they generally all stem from the same thing- blocked sebaceous glands. The sebaceous glands are the hair follicles/pores that house oil to keep our skin supple. PCOS can cause excess oil production, increased facial hair (hirsutism) and abnormally fast skin cell turnover, all of which block the pores. The oil and hair are self explanatory as to why they block the pores- the pores are only small and don’t need excess of anything to overcrowd them! But it is the cell turnover that causes the biggest problem; new cells are layering up before old cells have had time to shed- this creates a thicker and rougher feeling complexion. Therefore the blockages become much deeper and all the oil and dead skin cells have a more difficult time trying to escape, causing painful spots and bumps under the skin.

A natural instinct is to use a strong, oil removing cleanser and toner, but this can have an adverse effect; if the skin surface is stripped of oil, the receptors in the sebaceous glands send out an alarm to produce more oil! Thus adding to the problem. Cleansing is a very important first step though (in all skin care regimes), I like balm cleansers as the oil in them attracts the oil from your skin without stripping it but cleansers are very much a personal choice of what you like and what works for you.

For me, the most important part in my defence against PCOS is Retinol. Retinol exfoliates from the inside out! It uses vitamin A to push dead skin cells up and out (rather than removing the surface layer) this prevents that thickness in the skin. Retinol should be introduced VERY slowly to the skin; only1-2 times a week to begin with. I use La Rosche-Posay Redermic R every other night. Pregnant women should steer clear of retinol, although ironically (despite PCOS making it difficult to get pregnant) pregnancy actually counteracts the side effects of PCOS. Very funny Mother Nature.

With all these dead skin cells being pushed to the surface it is important that they are gently sloughed off at this level too. I don’t want to overstimulate my skin with a scrub so 1-2 times a week I use Ren Wake Wonderful Night-Time Facial, this is a night lotion that contains a small amount of lactic & glycolic acid to remove the dead skin- it is dreamy! Now with all this exfoliating it is essential that I use an spf daily, whatever the weather! Without it I would be leaving myself exposed to free-radical and pigmentation damage. At the moment I’m using Skinceauticals Mineral Radiance UV Defence, it’s lovely and light so it’s fine to use under makeup.

It’s also really important to keep your skin as supple and nourished as possible (especially when it comes to skin healing if you’ve had a nasty breakout), and I’ve recently discovered the B range at Superdrug- it’s amazing! Think of it like Superdrug’s version of the Boots No.7 range. I’m using the B. Renewed Night Cream, it melts into the skin and leaves it so soft and moisurised- I’m really impressed! It contains hyaluronic acid and shea butter for moisturising, and peptides for improving elasticity, and it doesn’t have any nasty perfumes in it!

The last thing I do, which is more of a general pick me up, is to use the Ren Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial. Regardless of how well you look after your skin, we all have days where we need that something extra to put the glow back in our cheeks and the flash rinse does that for me! It contains water activated Vitamin C to totally brighten and revitalize the complexion, it’s great for anyone but particularly city skins and fatigued/stressed skins. Like an SOS in a bottle! Save Our Skin!

So that’s how I try to combat my PCOS skin, it may not work for everyone (age can be a factor, I am 35 so somebody younger will probably want to use a slightly lighter night cream) but I hope it will help because painful, bumpy skin is not fun for anyone.

Danielle x

Redermic R, £29.50 www.laroche-posay.co.uk

Wake Wonderful Night-time Facial, £32.00. Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial, £32.00 www.renskincare.com

Mineral Radiance UV Defence, £39.00 www.skinceuticals.co.uk

B.Renewed Night Cream, £11.99 www.superdrug.com

Get the most out of your magazine freebies!

Posted on by Danielle Hudson

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Who doesn’t love a free gift?! The glossy mags are giving away the BEST pressies at the moment, and they seem to be getting better and better!

So, I thought I’d let you know how I’ve been using some of them to get the best results….

A couple of months ago Glamour magazine included a free gift of Balance Me products, I bought 2 mags to get the ‘Pure Skin Face Wash’ and the ‘Radiance Face Mask’. In Marie Claire’s July issue they are offering some Elemis classics; ‘Pro Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm’ and ‘Papaya Enzyme Peel’, I opted for the latter. I’d first like to say how pleasantly surprised I was with the Balance Me products; I think in my head I’d muddled them up with another brand (found in supermarkets) with a similar packaging and ethos, that I do not like at all (sickly smells and not very effective on me) so I wasn’t expecting much from them, but then I opened the face wash and was greeted by the most gorgeous scent! I think it was the frankincense and grapefruit that I picked up the most, delish! The face wash is 98.8% natural and doesn’t contain any sulphates (sulphates are what make a product ‘foam up’ but they have been known to temporarily aggravate the skin of some people, causing redness, dryness and/or itching) yet it still thoroughly and effectively cleanses the skin removing all traces of make up and grime. I did a double cleanse; first, manually to remove my make up and secondly with my Foreo Luna mini for a deeper cleanse.

*I am slightly biased with the Foreo Luna mini as I did some work for Foreo a while back (I launched and introduced the brand to the UK market) however I could only do this successfully because I believe in the product. A healthy complexion starts with a good cleanse but we are in a tricky 21st century situation of needing a ‘strong’ cleanse to remove our long-lasting make up/commute/pollution etc but our skins being so much more sensitive nowadays with daily stresses and all these external aggressors, don’t always react well to said ‘strong’ cleanses! The Luna is a t-sonic cleansing device made of silicone so it has a gentle touch on the skin whilst giving a deep and effective cleanse.

Once per week after cleansing at night, I’ll apply the Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel over my face and neck and leave for 10 mins before rinsing off with luke warm water. I then apply my regular night moisturiser (at the moment I’m using Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil) I would steer clear of any AHAs/BHAs/glycolic moisturisers on this night so as not to over stimulate the skin (this is a personal choice). *TECHY BIT ALERT!* It is said that the desquamation process excels overnight -this is effectively our own in-built exfoliation system whereby new cells from the deeper layers of the epidermis work their way up to the outer layers and old ones are sloughed off – so after using the Papaya Enzyme Peel I would expect this process to be much more productive and efficient and perhaps leave me with lots of sloughed off dead skin cells on my face in the morning! Nice! Hence the importance of cleansing your face in the morning as well as the evening! In the morning I use the Balance Me Radiance Face Mask, in their words it “polishes, hydrates and smoothes” and it really does! For me this works perfectly after the peel as the kaolin in it draws out the last of the sloughed off cells from my pores and moisturises at the same time. I cannot stress enough- this ‘double exfoliation’ will not be suitable for everyone!! It works well for me because my cell turn over is quite slow (judging by the thicker appearance of my skin) and I am not sensitive to products (people with sensitive skin or acne should avoid over stimulating their skin, if in doubt do a patch test). I then moisturise (currently the Omorovicza Illuminating Moisturiser) and most importantly apply my spf! (I use La Roche Posay 50+). To perform such a thorough exfoliation and not apply spf is like opening a can of worms! Please protect your lovely new skin cells!

Anyway, that’s how I do it! It sounds like a lot of work but it really isn’t, in addition to your normal cleanse it’s just a 10 min peel in the evening and a 10 mask in the morning (which I use in the shower, so no extra time taken at all really!). It’s once a week, it’s worth it and it’s free! Happy days!

Danielle x