What's happened to my SKIN????

Hi - just wondering if this has happened to anyone else. In the last week I have developed really awful skin. It is a MAJOR breakout, with about 8 large pimples on my chin and one cheek... they are red and sore, not with whiteheads or anything (sorry if TMI). I have done a couple of face masks and have been taking care of my skin but not helping. have not noticed more, but they also dont seem to be going away. I think I read that this canhappen in preg, but why to me - I dont know anyone else this has happened with? I thought I was supposed to look gorgeous and glowing, not with worse skin than I have EVER had. Pls tell me if this happened to you, what helped and also how long it lasted for (pls tell me it didnt stay for the rest of the pregnancy!!). Thanks!

Yeah I had gross skin for a little while too and felt ripped off! Exactly as you said - where's my lovely glow??!!

I actually got a lot of pimples on my back, really big red ones that were just impossible to hide in summer, but they faded on their own and fairly early into the second trimester they were all gone. I just made sure I washed my back well in the shower so my skin wasn't oily but in the end they just went by themselves.

The skin on my face gets quite dry and red during pregnancy and I even peel a little bit... and unfortunately this lasts my whole pregnancy! Yuck!

Hope it goes away for you quickly.

Jo :)

I am going through exactly the same thing!
My back is full of pimples and now they're spreading up my neck and behind my ears. Some look like a rash, others are very pimple like - I read there are some over the counter acne treatments that are ok to use while pregnant, I was thinking of giving that a go.....

My skin wasn't too bad. A friend of mine though had really bad acne breakout all over her face. I think from memory it did get better further along.

My skin has gone gross after having bubs!! :(

Hmmm, well i had good skin in the 1st tri, which seems to be when most of you have had breakouts??!!! I hope it goes soon, it makes me feel awful!!!
Interesting theory princess??? Did my baby just change gender!!!???? LOL!!! I am finding out gender (hopefully) on Sat so I willkeep it in mind. maybe they will just look at my chin and cheeks and know it is a boy!!!

Kate P - let me know if anything you get works. I have been usingmy regular dermalogica stuff but i can switch if something will clear them up. Maybe I should treat myself to a facial!

I always get really bad acne when pg. :( The glowing thing definitely doesn't happen to me! i look terrible. My face breaks out & I have fine pimples all over my back - gross! And I'm afraid it actually got worse for me in the early days of bf..

AS for products - I love dermalogica too. But I wouldn't go & buy anything too new or expensive, as it is hormonal, not topical. So if you find something that makes it feel good, that's great, but it will probably just remedy itself once your hormones settle down (whenever that is!)

Pregpan, my skin has been shocking this time too. I don't remember it being so dry with the other three. I have a few red pimples on my face too ATM and they rarely turn into anything, but they do go away. I brought a Vitamin E facial cleanser to use in the shower with a soft exfoliating brush and it has worked wonders for me and I use a Vitamin E night cream after I get out and while I still have the breakouts, my skin does look a whole lot better.

thanks for the tips - i am doing a facial steam now and will see how that goes. it is just one of those things that gets me down more than it should - i know i am vain!
vit e could be good... may try that too sherie.

Hi All - well the steaming seems to have helped, or maybe it was the passage of time... theya re still there but a lot better this morning!!! I am booked in for a facial later anyway - I was so down about it yest that I have decided while my skin is like this I will treat myself - so hopefully it will clear a little soon.So if any of you have the same prob i suggest you do a gentle steaming and then wash your face as normal - it has def cleared up a lot of the congested feeling and pressure/soreness.

Well, my face has been fine for most of my pregnancy but I have been getting increased pimples on my chest, arms & thighs. Nothing too big and infected looking, but quite a lot of red spots.
I have heard the opposite of the old wives tale mentioned above: If your skin is fine, you're having a boy, if your skin goes bad, you're having a girl, because girls steal their mothers' beauty... hmmm.....

i also heard bad skin = girl.

My skin went through a real rough patch a couple of weeks ago, i was getting pimples where in places i've never had them before! It seems to be clearing up now, though still not 100%. So I know exactly how you are feeling! :D

When pregnant with DS my skin was horrible i had constant pimples on my face and in my clevage funny thing was that even though i didnt look so good i felt great.
This time around pregnant with DD my skin looks magnificent (even if i do say so myself! LOL) ive never had such radiant glowing skin, my hair is also so beautiful and shiny (never even when not pregnant has everything looked so good) but i dont feel as good as i did with DS??? Funny how different it is for everyone!

Me too, me too! I have had nasty cyst-like pimples on my chin and cheeks and I'm nearing the end of the first trimester. Haven't had such a nasty breakout before. Feel I'm looking as pubescent as some of the kids at the school where I'm teaching. Not good!!

At the very beginning of my pregnancy, people say I have the 'pregnancy glow'. Then, at week 10, my face started to break out.... LOTS OF RED PUMPS ON MY FOREHEAD.... I broke out in tears because they were so painful every time I wash my face. When I saw my Ob, she advised me to use "Effaclare" by La Roche Posay which help to lessen the acne... of course, they are not 100% gone, but seemed to have calm down for two weeks. Now, I still have this dilemma and will need to live with it until birth of my baby... In the mean time, I also go to have regular facials, but apparently, no amount of facials will help to lessen the red pumps because they are caused by high levels of hormones in our body!

My skin went mega bad, worse than ive ever had before and now its just consentrated on the sides of my neck up under the jaw line but they are slowly going away. I just washed my face each day with a gentle exfoliating wash and used a sunscreen+moisturisor if I was going outside or just a light moisturisor if I wasnt going out in the sun much that day and just whiped my face with a damp cloth and towel dry before bed it has gotten a lot better. I tried a lot of different treatments and found using just one gentle exfoliant works best for me or my skin dries out too much and looks like rashes and pimples. While you are at your facial ask the people that work there what they would recommend for your skin type and how you've reacted to things thus far.

I knew something was different when I started getting pimples on my arms. 2 weeks later I found I was pregnant. Now I get them everywhere. Hormones… lovely aren’t they?...

Hi Pregpan. Um, I just had a thought. Are your pimples going away (individually) after a few days? I am occasionally prone to an unusual form of acne where the pimples come up all inflamed but never really develop a head and then they just hang on and on. It looks a bit like an allergic sort of rash. Usually it is concentrated around one small area on my face. When this happens, I get a script for a topical antibiotic (eryacne I think it's called) and they go away after a fews weeks with that.

@ Pregpan.

You have almost the same due date as I do - my baby is due September 24, and my usually clear skin has gone absolutely berserk. Not only has my face broken out, but my throat, back and decollatage. Same as you, they don't seem like normal pimples, more like welts. I really hate it, and I'm just sitting it out, hoping it will go away. I've also had the wierd side-effect of my hair falling out when I wash it. Great handfuls. I am definitely not glowing at this moment :)

I would take this over first trimester nausea any day though - I'm very lucky to have had not a single day feeling even slightly off colour.

My skin also went totally gross... just looking though my photos of my pregnant self, and it seems it happened for me around 26 - 30 weeks.

Hi Lotte - thats interesting that you also have the same prob and around the same time as me... the large ones i had then have cleared up a lot actually, no new ones like that (though those are still visible and they never got a head on them just stayed red and sore)... today i have a couple of small whiteheads around my mouth (GROSS) - I think this could be because I was away for the weekend and didnt take as much care with my skin as usual and had to wear a lot of makeup to a wedding yest so it prob clogged up my pores a bit. You shld join our belly buddies group by the way, a really chatty and supportive group all due b/n 16th and 30th sept.
Marydean - thanks for the tip - will keep in mind if they return!!
Karina - ooh I hope I dont get them worse in a few weeks!!!

I did ask my OB about this, she said it is all hormonal and not a lot I can do but that I can use whatever i like on the surface of the skin, steaming etc is also fine. but not to take anything for them orally (not that I would but i was even worried about creams etc)

Thanks - how do I join the group?

Hi Lotte, I'm in the same thread. Go here and just introduce yourself and start typing!

Looking forwards to seeing you in there!!

I've been getting them along my jaw-line too! (also on my face, my legs, my chest, my back...). I was complaining to DH that I haven't had this many zits since I was a teenager & he pointed out that I haven't had this many hormones pumping through me since I was a teenager either!!!!

yep those are the one Ezz!!!! Good luck keeping them at bay.. the things we go through for these little ones!!

Yep.. I've got the same problem. It was bad when I was first pregnant, then seemed better for a few weeks, and now things look terrible again. I've got them around my mouth, and along my jaw. The jaw ones flare up, and then stay red (though not swollen) for weeks. :( Yuck. I've had a little bit of success with a toner that has ginseng and camomile in it. If anyone has a "cure", I'd love to hear it!

i here you - empathy as I have been through a patch of this myself on my face! yuck!! it seems to be disappearing now but certainly doesn't help one feel glamorous. No more cakes for me as I am sure it was all the sugar i consumed over a 3 day period - was at a conference and there was cakes (yum)!

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Hi Pregpan. Um, I just had a thought. Are your pimples going away (individually) after a few days? I am occasionally prone to an unusual form of acne where the pimples come up all inflamed but never really develop a head and then they just hang on and on. It looks a bit like an allergic sort of rash. Usually it is concentrated around one small area on my face. When this happens, I get a script for a topical antibiotic (eryacne I think it's called) and they go away after a fews weeks with that.

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I use Eryacne also. Your GP can give you a prescription for it, it is safe to use with pregnancy as it helps by killing the bacteria on your skin. Most acne medications very your hormones so obviously those are a no no while you are pregnant.
I have PCOS so have always have had problems with acne, mainly on my back but also on my face. I had cystic acne on my lower back until I got pregnant and thankfully that cleared up altogether, I now get the odd spot on my face and upper back and find the Eryacne helps, i use it mainly on my back though as it can be a bit drying on my face (although i do use it on my forhead as that can get a bit oily so the drying helps!)

Mine's all spotty and clogged...it's disgusting. I'm using Cetaphil face wash and moisturiser and at least the itching has subsided a bit. My skin was pretty good with #1...not fair!!!

My skin is terrible as well. Not with pimples though, more like patches of dry skin (dermatitis i presume as i suffer from this on my hands).

So much for the beautiful glow us preggo ladies are supposed to have, i far from glow with red patches all over the place.

LOL...poxy, patchy, itchy, spotty....and the list goes on. :lol:

My skin has been horrid this time around. my belly, boobs and back is just covered in pimples :(

Hopefully it'll settle down soon tho, really itchy and unsightly.

I got the glow with my girl, not with my boy, so maybe there is something in that old wives tale?

will let you know, cos i definitely aint glowing this time around!

Jenna

Skin! What a nightmare!!

My skin was fine until about 15wks and then I looked like I was going through puberty again! Also my back was covered in pimples and they were sooo sore!! I got married when I was 25wks pg and was freaking out that they wouldn't clear up! They eventually did but now I am finding that I am getting pimples in between my boobs... gross!!

I hope it gets better for you! It ones of those things about pg that sucks for sure!!