The condition Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) comes with varying health issues and will differ from person to person making it more difficult to diagnose initially. Tell tale signs can be male pattern hair growth, weight gain, hair loss, irregular periods, difficulty conceiving and acne. You may only show one or maybe two or possibly all of these symptoms at a time.

Typically the acne relating to this particular condition will show up around the lower face, from underneath the cheeks to the upper neck area due to high levels of testosterone being produced and can be inflamed, cystic and painful. The testosterone levels rise as a result of imbalances in your oestrogen and progesterone due to incorrect signalling caused by the PCOS. As the testosterone levels increase more oily sebum than necessary is produced, the skins natural desquamation process is interrupted leaving oil and dead skin cells on the surface to further enhance the breeding ground for acne.

Once your condition has been diagnosed typical prescriptions will be contraceptives and antibiotics. Metformin could also be prescribed as a means to controlling insulin sensitivity and resistance as insulin spiking will also have an impact on elevating androgenic hormones such as testosterone. There is a typical insulin resistance/PCOS diet that can be followed and is in my mind a quite necessary route to follow when suffering from this condition, a quick internet browse will give you a general idea of what foods will help in your endeavour to control the symptoms of this syndrome.

A good skin care routine is paramount to help control the inflammation of the skin, stick to natural ingredients such as the ingredients in our repair and renew cream, the charcoal will help to draw out any impurities, while the key ingredients are both antibacterial and anti inflammatory, this will help with the inflammation without upsetting the skins barrier function anymore than it is. Other topicals which are really really helpful in this case are retinols and mild acids such as salicylic and glycolic acids, these days they have an array of toners and exfoliants that are really helpful in sloughing off dead skin cells to help stave off acne causing bacteria.