Women’s Treatment-Resistant Acne Is Finally Eliminated After Pregnancy

• Kit Hondrum, 35, started having acne when he was 13.
• She tried cutting out dairy and gluten, oral antibiotics and a skincare regimen.
• Her first pregnancy cleared up her skin, and since then she has had few breakouts.

Like many people, Kit Hondrum’s first experience with acne began when she was 13. Although she never considered it serious enough to continue on Accutane, she wore makeup daily and was “obsessed” with her skin.

“Especially when I hit my 20s, I was like, ‘Why isn’t this going away?'” the 35-year-old told Insider. “That’s when I really got more frustrated with everything.”

She tried dietary changes, prescriptions and a consistent skincare regimen

Over the years, Hondrum has tried oral antibiotics and Differin gel (an over-the-counter retinoid) prescribed by dermatologists. She also made dietary changes based on advice from her beautician. Hondrum, which runs a cooking blogtried limiting inflammatory foods and “cutting dairy for a long time,” which she says helped a bit.

She also purchased products from a company called TS Skin Care she used to get facials in Orlando, Florida, and followed her skincare routine, which involved cleansing with oil and using products like toner and moisturizer .

She suspected her acne was related to a hormonal imbalance because she had tried several solutions and seen slight changes, but not enough to completely clear her skin.

The biggest change happened when she got pregnant

Regarding her acne, she said “nothing clears it up better than being pregnant and having kids.”

Hondrum became pregnant with her first son at age 30, when she saw her skin gradually clearing up. Skin changes are common during pregnancy, due to hormonal fluctuations. Some people may have severe acne breakouts, while others may have lighter skin.

According Dr. Kamelah Phillipsa certified OB/GYN and founder of Calla Women’s Health“Estrogen and progesterone are usually responsible for pregnancy-related changes,” including dark nipples, linea noir (a dark line on the stomach), and acne — or in Hondrum’s case, her absence.

In his case, the change was quite drastic. “My husband noticed right away,” she said. “My parents, my sisters and really everyone I saw day to day, even though I was still wearing makeup, they noticed my skin was smoother or maybe I showed up to the gym without makeup no one was surprised.”

It took time to adapt to ever lighter skin

Although it is common to break out or clear up acne during pregnancy, for most people their skin will return once they give birth. For example, “if the skin becomes acne-prone, it usually returns to its normal state after pregnancy,” Phillips said.

She said that although Hondrum’s experience is not common, “pregnancy changes are not universal and sometimes they even go against the majority experience.”

But for Hondrum, who had since had a second child, she said her skin had remained mostly clear for the past five years. She thinks the acne was “definitely all hormonal” because aside from the pregnancy, her diet and skincare routine had remained the same.

She still gets the occasional breakout or a few pimples before her period, but she says the biggest skin adjustment after pregnancy has been getting used to lighter skin.

“I feel like when I was 25 and getting married, I was pretty confident, but not with my skin,” she said. “It took me years to get rid of acne to realize that other people probably didn’t notice the texture of my skin at all. That what I had was normal and that emotional burden was dissipating.”