In my teens, I was lucky enough not to suffer from spots and blemishes and so I certainly didn`t expect to experience acne breakouts in my 50`s! But mother nature must have a sense of humor, because that`s just what happened when I started menopause

My skin care routine was always carefully planned.  I never went to bed without removing every last trace of make-up, the products I used were as `natural` as possible(as few colors and perfume as possible) and I exfoliated one a week without fail. But still, one morning I woke up to find not one, but three angry looking blemishes.

My first reaction was to buy the strongest cleanser possible and literally dry out every last bit of oil on my skin. But years of experience told me that this would be counter productive. And external products are of limited help wherever hormones are involved, and menopausal acne is certainly a case of those perky hormones rampaging around our body. Estrogen, testosterone and progesterone all play their part in causing middle age acne, just as they do with teenage skins.

Of course, it goes without saying, that no matter how tempting, don't pick or squeeze your spots. Although you may feel that all the world has noticed, the truth is that they probably haven`t. Blemishes are never as bad as you think they are and by stressing and being self conscious, you will only draw attention to your spots. Stress can also be a trigger for your acne and whenever you experience periods of anxiety, it affects your hormones and can trigger a breakout.

Apart from maintaining a sense of humour—here are a few other suggestions.

-- Use natural skin care products to regulate your hormones .

-- Stop hormone replacement therapy if you think it is the cause of your acne.

-- Try hormone replacement therapy if you think it will help your acne.

-- Minimise your stress levels. The acne will clear in time.

And did I mention retaining a sense of humour always helps?