Thought spots were something you’d bid farewell to in your teens? Annoyingly, pregnancy can trigger a comeback for those pesky hormonal zits. Here’s everything you need to know to arm yourself against acne.

When you fall pregnant there are a few things you expect: bizarre food cravings, swollen feet, the need to reintroduce afternoon naps on a daily basis. What you probably didn’t anticipate is your skin regressing to teenage territory and becoming oily, clogged and spotty.

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What happened to that gorgeous pregnancy glow everyone talks about? Unfortunately, a radiant complexion isn’t a given for all mummies-to-be, and an acne attack, or a worsening of the spots you already have – is very common. The culprit? A hormone called androgen, which increases when you become pregnant causing the skin’s sebaceous glands to get bigger and produce more sebum – the substance that makes skin oily. The more sebum you have, the more blocked your skin becomes, which is when acne can rear it’s multiple, inflamed heads.

Read: The Debate – Should You Announce your Pregnancy On Social Media?

Pregnancy acne doesn’t differ in appearance to ‘normal’ acne and is treated in exactly the same way. In fact, nearly all over the counter spot treatments are perfectly safe to use when pregnant and breast-feeding (this is not the case for prescription spot treatments, so speak to your doctor before taking anything stronger). The other piece of good news is, if you didn’t have acne before your pregnancy it will probably go away as soon as your hormones return to normal levels, and in the meantime there are a whole host of products you can use to combat it.

Check out the gallery below for your step-by-step clear complexion kit.

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1 Heliocare 360 Oil free gel_Carton and Tube_carton at angle_1

Protect with: 360 Gel Oil-Free Dhs220 Heliocare The sun increases androgen production so it’s best to stay in the shade, but as that’s not always

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2 Clear SKin Blemish Control Gel 20ml_cut

Treat with: Clear Skin Blemish Control Gel Dhs123 Alpha-H Packed with salicylic acid – the spot blitzing ingredient – this gel also contains natural ingredients such as oregano and eucalyptus to prevent further breakouts. Keep it with you at all times, as you can apply it under and over make-up.

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3 F032052000HydrCrSorbEuropF39

Hydrate with: Hydralife Creme Sorbet Dhs350 Dior Spotty skin calls for an oil-free, light moisturiser that injects hydration without stimulating oil production and clogging pores. This does all of that and gets tired skin cells working harder to give an exhausted complexion a new lease of life.

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4 la-roche-posay-effaclar-purifying-foaming-gel

Cleanse with: Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel Dhs62 La Roche-Posay Helps to balance the oil levels in the skin so spots can dry out. It can also be used as a body wash if you have acne elsewhere.

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5 Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup Icon – INTL

Conceal with: Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup Dhs175 Clinique An oil-free foundation that not only provides amazing coverage for spots, but also reduces redness. It contains skin-clearing ingredients too.

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6 BD-JPG_NORMADERM – Nuit Detox – Pack

Blitz with: Normaderm Night Cream Dhs84 Vichy At night your skin repairs itself, so make sure you cover it in something that’s going to help it work even harder. This oil-free, light night cream is packed with ingredients to shrink spots and soothe skin.

Words: Sarah-Jane Corfield-Smith | Images: Getty Images and Supplied