Hormonal Acne: Because Periods Are Just Too Much Fun As Is.

It’s time to talk about HORMONES. They’re basically our frenemies. *Typically, if something is out of whack, they’re trying to tell us that something is going on internally. I just wish they would write me a nice informative letter in the mail (E-mail would be okay too) letting me know what’s wrong instead of making my face break out, yanno? It’s rude, but whatever.

-How Can Hormones Cause Acne?-

WHY, SCIENCE!? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Okay so, it’s actually fairly easy to understand. A menstrual cycle is around 24-30 days. During the first half of a cycle, Estrogen is the dominant hormone. During the second half of a cycle, Progesterone is the dominant hormone. The closer a woman gets to the start date of her period, both of these hormones decrease to their lowest levels. During this time, the small amount of testosterone a woman makes remains the same level all month. This means, during bleeding, testosterone (the male hormone) is higher than our female hormones. This is problematic because hormonal shifts can really F our shit up. Once our progesterone levels begin increasing during the second half, they begin to stimulate our sebum (oil/bacteria) production. Not only that, but when testosterone levels are dominant, they activate the sebaceous glands to create even MORE sebum. Typical MALE hormone, showing off. (I swear, something male related is somehow always ruining my life).

-How To Determine a Hormonal Breakout-

Timing is a huge indicator that your hormones are the reason your face is breaking out. More than often, a hormonal breakout will occur around the time of your menstrual cycle. Such great timing, right? Because sitting indian style on my bed and crying for no effing reason while consuming my fourth ice-cream sandwich isn’t annoying enough to deal with. Remember though, hormonal breakouts aren’t always ONLY around your period. Birth control, pregnancy, ovulation and diet can also be huge contributing factors that disrupt your hormone balance.

According to face mapping, acne below the cheekbones and along the jawline are more than likely hormone related. This is a very common area to see adult acne on women, especially within the last ten years. This particular acne also tends to be extremely sensitive and cystic (meaning, painful and under the skin). I have had moments where my hormonal breakouts were so painful, I could hardly lay my head on my pillow at night. WTF. Not okay.

-What Now?-

The most frustrating part of this situation, is that hygiene and topical treatments are most likely only going to help the healing process, not prevent the actual breakout from happening. This is an internal issue and needs to be treated as one.

My first recommendation would be to get a hormone panel done with your doctor. Find out whether or not you have an obvious hormone imbalance and then work from there. Often, birth control is prescribed for hormonal acne. If you’re like me and want to avoid this route, there are MANY herbal treatments that aid in hormonal issues. Seeing a homeopathic doctor, or herbalist would be a great start. A few common herbs that help with hormones are: Maca, Magnesium, Cod Liver Oil, Red Clover, Clary Sage and Milk Thistle. They are worth looking into.

Some other tips to avoid hormonal breakouts are simple lifestyle changes such as eating REAL food. I’m sorry, did I say “simple”? Because I am FULLY aware of how hard it is to not indulge in the junk food life. However, eliminating toxic processed food and feeding our body proper nutrients with real food (like broccoli and spinach) helps our hormones produce regularly. Eliminating toxins also means less plastic and harsh chemical products. Last but not least, plenty of rest and less caffeine! Lack of sleep and too much caffeine cause stress to our internal systems causing hormones to flip the F out. I mean ladies, we all know how scary hormones are... and so do our significant others, co-workers, family members, roommates etc. so do NOT piss them off. We know the damage they are capable of...

Peace.Love & Reese's