Face Oils for Acne: My Before and After

I first started getting acne at 7 years old.

Yes, you read that right: I got my first blackhead at 7. Acne was apart of my life for almost as long as I can remember.

By the time I was 16, I had fully fledged cystic acne. And today, my skin is completely clear because of a face oil.

My cystic acne story

As I mentioned, my acne started at 7. I remember my mom reaching over the breakfast table and looking at my lip and going, “Is that a freckle?”.

It wasn't a freckle, it was actually a blackhead.

By the time I was 11, I was dealing with pretty regular inflamed breakouts which is typical for early puberty. But it wasn’t until I was 15 or 16, when I was put on hormonal birth control for my irregular periods, that I developed cystic acne.

One thing that I want to say about the pill: if you’re on the combined birth control pill, you are taking something called progestin. Some progestins can be androgenic, which basically means that they act like male hormones in the body.

For some people, the birth control pill clears their skin. But, in some cases, acne can actually get worse because of the male hormone activity of these progestins.

I was one of those people. My acne got so much worse.

So the first step for me to getting clearer skin was going off of my hormonal birth control.

My skin got better. My face wasn’t swollen anymore. I dropped weight really quickly. My skin didn’t improve that much, but at the same time, I know I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am today if I was still on hormonal birth control.

Around that same time, I enrolled in esthetician school, in the hopes that it would give me some sort of answer about my skin and, in turn, be able to help other people. I also discovered the world of holistic healing and food as medicine.

I graduated esthetician school, changed my diet, and in the midst of all that, I fell pregnant. My skin didn’t fully clear up while I was pregnant, but it did get so much better.

But at about 6 months postpartum, my skin broke out and it was even worse than before. My acne was cystic, inflamed, and painful.

At this point, I was on the copper IUD. This may have contributed to my skin going downhill, but it definitely wasn't prohibitive to achieving clear skin. I have the copper IUD still now and no longer struggle with cystic acne.

I tried just about everything to clear my skin. Celery juice, supplements, paleo eating, all organic foods, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, natural skincare. All of the above. And nothing worked.

Around this same time, I landed a writing position with a dermatology research group. I learned so much about research, science, and the skin (more than I ever did while I was becoming an esthetician). I finally felt like I understood my skin and why I had developed acne in the first place.

Not only that, but I realized why the natural skincare I had been using wasn't working. And I knew why benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid wasn't cutting it for me.

Based on this newfound knowledge, I began to experiment with an antioxidant facial oil formulation. I couldn't find anything on the market that had what I was looking for, without any of the comedogenic ingredients I knew I couldn't use.

After just a few weeks of using the formula, my skin started clearing up faster than anything else I had ever used.

That formula is now our Clarity serum. It's helped hundreds of women achieve clear skin and we've sold thousands of bottles of it now.

Of course, my skin has fluctuated over the years, especially when experimenting with new ingredients during formulation. At times, like during a black mold exposure, my skin microbiome was so affected that I had to temporarily reintroduce benzoyl peroxide. But, the one thing that has always allowed me to remain clear while supporting a healthy skin barrier has been our Clarity face oil.

(P.S. If you're using benzoyl peroxide, Clarity is an amazing addition since it helps to protect your skin from the free radical damage that benzoyl peroxide can cause.)

After that, I couldn't go back to buying things off a shelf and hoping things would work. I wanted to make something based on what I was actually learning. That's what eventually became the rest of our Sana Haus line.

Face oil results: how long does it ake?

Your skin renews itself about every 28 days, so real change takes months, not days. But if a face oil is well-formulated, you should see results in the first two weeks. Your skin should feel less inflamed and more hydrated as your skin barrier repairs.

Where the biggest changes happen is between month 1 and month 6.

1. After month 1, you should start to see less breakouts popping up. Your skin barrier is repairing and becoming more resilient to environmental triggers. Skin feels hydrated, softer, and more supple.
2. After month 3, your face should have noticeable clarity. Post-acne dark spots or erythema (red marks) should begin to look less noticeable as your skin becomes more efficient at sloughing off dead skin cells.
3. After month 6, you should see skin with more consistent clarity and even tone.

My advice is to give a face oil at least one full skin cycle, ideally two, before you make up your mind.

Why face oils work for acne-prone skin

Most oils break out acne-prone skin because of one fatty acid: oleic acid. Some of the most popular oils are predominantly oleic acid, like argan oil, jojoba oil, marula oil, etc.

Oleic acid is a comedogenic and inflammatory fatty acid that research shows can damage the skin barrier. Not surprisingly, research shows oleic acid directly contributes to breakouts.

To put it simply, any oil rich in oleic acid is going to cause major issues for acne. That's actually why I had such a hard time with natural skincare early on in my journey.

Linoleic acid, another omega fatty acid found in face oils, is the exact opposite. Studies have found it's comedolytic, meaning it decongests clogged pores, repairs the skin barrier, and lowers skin inflammation.

That's why all of our face oils, including our original Clarity serum, are formulated specifically to be rich in linoleic acid and low in oleic acid. It also contains a blend of synergistic antioxidants to directly address stressed skin. Research shows that antioxidants can interrupt acne formation and, as a result, contribute to skin clarity.

Real results for acne with face oils

My transformation was dramatic. But, I'm just one transformation story out of dozens of women I've worked with over the years.

More importantly, Sana Haus has turned into something much bigger than a skincare line. For me and so many others, it became a way of paying attention to my body again. My passion now is to create the tools that you can reach for to meet your skin's unique needs, in every season.

I really believe we can all learn to read our own skin, notice what it's telling us, and figure out what works for us specifically. That's where the real, lasting answers tend to come from.

If you want to start your own face oil journey, Clarity is where mine began, and you can see the rest of the acne-prone skincare I've made for skin like ours. Thank you for being here, and for trusting us with your skin. It means more to me than you know.