Have you ever gotten to the week before your period is due and on top of the washing machine of emotions you are experiencing, the bloating & water retention that has suddenly arrived, plus the energy drop, you all of a sudden are rudely joined by a bunch of new hormonal breakouts?? Sucks right! You think to yourself “Come on body, why do you have to do this to me, I already feel like crap!”. I think this is a universal experience that all of us ladies have experienced at one time or another. But there are some little things we can implement in order to really mitigate these breakouts from occurring.
Let’s first get into what is actually happening to our bodies during this time.
Just before our period starts, progesterone spikes and estrogen & progesterone levels drop. This can trigger your sebaceous glands to secrete more sebum. Sadly too much sebum can result in clogged pores and create an environment where acne-causing bacteria can thrive. Estrogen is a hormone with anti-inflammatory properties, so when it starts to drop, we can notice an inflammatory response in the skin, making it harder for the breakouts to heal. Sooo not fun to have this happen on top of already dealing with the pre-menstrual mood swings & cravings. Then to add insult to injury, if we give in to these increased sugar & processed food cravings, they can hugely increase these skin issues we are already dealing with.
How to best manage and avoid these breakouts.
- Cut the Oat Milk!!! This ain’t a “just during the latter half of the cycle thing”! This is a forever thing! You should cut oat milk because most are processed with refined seed oils and lack the fibre naturally found in oats, leading to a spike in blood sugar levels. You are essentially drinking sugar water with a bunch of processed crap thrown in to try to make it creamy. This glycemic spike is incredibly inflammatory and worsens skin issues like acne. Plus, the added seed oils may promote oxidative stress, further impacting skin health negatively. I suggest to always aim for the least processed options available, the goal is something with literally 1 ingredient. My recommendations are either lactose-free dairy if you can tolerate it, or coconut milk, almond milk, or hemp milk. These 4 options across the boards typically have the least amount of additives & won’t cause any impact on the skin.
- Incorporate healing & anti-inflammatory vitamins like Zinc and Niacin (Vitamin B3)
- Aim to eat low sugar and unprocessed foods, especially during the week before your period. High Glycemic Index foods (High sugar processed foods) actually trigger hormonal fluctuations that impact our skin.
- Stock up on pimple patches! Use them in place of picking as if you pick during a time that your inflammation is increased, chances of it healing are low & chances of it turning into a huge swollen blemish are incredibly high.
- Up your water intake - When we start to experience the hormone shift, it becomes so important to maintain great hydration. This helps us maintain regular sebum production & also mitigate the extreme cravings.
- Up your antioxidant intake! Saw to matcha or green tea for your caffeine intake. Matcha is a higher antioxidant & slightly lower caffeine source that is much better tolerated by the hormones during the latter half of our cycle. Just ensure you don’t load it up with processed sugar. If you want to sweeten it, go for honey.
- Incorporate fish oil supplementation. This is not only incredibly anti-inflammatory, but it also helps to balance your hormones and regulate your sebum production. And to top it all off, it helps improve your skin barrier & brain function.
- Get some Niacinamide & echinacea into your topical skincare routine. These two compounds are absolute powerhouse compounds for regulating oil production and soothing inflammation, plus their anti-microbial properties help kill acne-causing bacteria.
Try out these tips to banish hormonal acne & reveal clear, radiant skin all month long!
Talk soon,
K xx
