One of my biggest struggles to overcome has been acne.

This post is months and months passed due as it is definitely my most requested post to bring to the blog so I apologize for the delay! I really wanted to wait to write this post until I truly feel like my acne had improved and I had some valuable tips to share. For months I was battling it and not seeing many changes, even if it would start to look more clear for a few days it would hit hard again. Where I’m at now is not where I want to end up, but the progress is there! I am super determined to keep on this journey so I can truly be comfortable in my own skin, makeup free, and feel like I can take on my day without having to apply a layer of foundation or powder. With all that said, let’s dive in! 

Getting pregnant has made this journey different and a little more tricky for me because a lot of the ‘acne’ products contain ingredients that aren’t considered safe for pregnancy. Because of this I had to cut out a lot of my routine when I found out. The key for me the past few months has been simplifying. I used to go crazy with all kinds of face mask, spot treatments, night serums, day serums, anything I thought would work but I think it just irritated my sensitive skin and made it worse. Ever since simplifying and sticking to just a few products, I’ve noticed improvement. If you’ve been following awhile, you probably know I like to switch things up like my face cleanser or moisturizer. I don’t typically just have ONE personal favorite, but a few. So in the photo above I took of a few products I was using at that moment but will include all the products that have worked for me and that I love below so you can hopefully give some of them a go and find what works for you! 

Before I start…here is a little before and after I went back and found on my phone. In the right photo I think I had a little face powder on my face so that helped with the redness but the bumps significantly improved! These were taken randomly and not at my worst and the after was not taken like this week but it just gives you a visual of what these passed months have been like for me! 

Cleansers: 

First Aid Beauty – What I love about this cleanser is that it’s a cream cleanser and is fragrance free! A lot of the tips I’ve read have recommended switching to fragrance-free products since that is a common skin sensitivity that we don’t know about. I’ve been using this a ton lately and it quickly became a favorite! 

Tula – You all probably know I love Tula! I am a believer in probiotics, I actually have taken probiotic pills for about two years so I love that that is what their skincare is based off of. This is a super basic and gentle cleanser which I love. Don’t forget KARLIE20 gets you 20% off Tula products so I’ll post a simple reminder after any products of theirs that I chat about 🙂 

Moisturizers: 

Beauty Counter – This is my latest obsession when it comes to moisturizer! I absolutely love this one because it is nice and light on my skin and never irritates it. I got it in a small size as part of a kit as a Christmas present and will 100% rebuy! 

Drunk Elephant – I haven’t gotten to try too many Drunk Elephant products although I own like 6 of them haha I have just been so worried about trying too many things and making my skin angry but this is one product that I used consistently and really liked! 

Tula – I loved this moisturizer before I got pregnant! I think it may have an ingredient or two that I personally am not putting on my skin while pregnant but it’s amazing for those of you who aren’t pregnant and are looking for a great moisturizer! (KARLIE20 for 20% off their site)

Masks: 

Beauty Counter – This is my favorite mask of the moment!! It’s a charcoal mask and honestly the best one I’ve used. If you don’t know about BeautyCounter, their mission is safe beauty so they take out hundred of ingredients in their products that shouldn’t be safe for skin. They are truly an amazing brand and I’m not really someone who loves all those type of companies with all the reps and stuff but I am a big BeautyCounter lover ❤️ 

Tula – If you are looking for a light exfoliating mask, this one is my favorite! I like it because it’s really gentle and doesn’t overly exfoliate or irritate my skin at all. This is actually the first Tula product that I fell in love with that lead me to loving the rest of their stuff! (KARLIE20 for 20% off) 

Other Products: 

Dr Dennis Gross – If I had to give you ONE product from today’s post that I think you should try…I think it would be these peel pads. I do the ‘ultra gentle’ ones for during my pregnancy and I use them every night other than the nights that I mask, (again, I never want to do too many things at once!) 

Other Random Tips: 

Drink water! I have upped my water intake by a lot lately for lots of reasons, mostly pregnancy and skin related, but there are tons of benefits to it and it does help your skin! 

Take probiotics! There are two that I would recommend: one being Tula which is a new product of theirs! This is on brand for them perfectly since that is what they use in their products – probiotics! (Remember KARLIE20 for 20% off). And the other one would be Garden of Life which are the raw probiotics that got me into taking probiotics in the first place! 

Treat yourself to a facial! This is something I finally started doing as of the past month and I am SO happy that I am. I have only gone in twice but have noticed improvement in my skin just from the two treatments I’ve done. I’m choosing to go to a ‘medi spa’ because they can typically do more treatments than some regular spas. If you are pregnant, make sure to let them know upon booking your appointment and I even requested an extra 15 minutes at the beginning of mine just to go over our game plan and what I’m comfortable with doing! We are currently doing microderms, extractions, a light treatment, and a face mask! It’s so relaxing for me to get an hour or so to get treated and my esthetician always uses this ice cold tool to rub the mask in and massage for a few minutes while it sets. It’s amazing! 

Watch what makeup you are using. There is no point in investing in good skincare and such but then putting a bunch of pore clogging makeup on your face. I recently have switched to using Josie Maran for my foundation which is light and fragrance free. And then Bare Minerals for all my powder, bronzer (which I just get a darker shade of their foundation and use it as my bronzer), and blush (shade: pink me up). 

Wash your pillow cases more frequently! This is something I started doing months back, I wash them whenever it crosses my mind now haha. I swear it helps!! Or at least gives me piece of mind. I bought extra white pillow cases so I don’t have to wait for them to get dry to redress my pillows, I can just go grab some already clean ones from our linen closet and switch them right away. 

I hope that you guys find this post helpful! As I go through my DMs over Instagram, this seems to be the thing you guys wanted to see most from me so I’m so happy I finally got it up! If you have any more questions I am happy to answer them! Just comment below 🙂 Wishing any of you that are currently dealing with acne struggles luck! Know you are not alone and it’s something more people struggle with than talk openly about. Always here for you babes ❤️

Xx, Karlie Rae