Do you break out before your period?
You’re not alone: Breaking out the week leading up to your period is so common! Up to 44% of women in one study. And surprisingly, women in their 30s had more premenstrual breakouts than women in their 20s!
Ok, ok, so we know it’s common…but WHY does this happen and WHAT do we do about it?
First, let me break down *why* premenstrual acne can happen:
1. Premenstrual hormonal shifts
Estrogen and progesterone levels naturally drop the week before your period starts. The drop in these hormones is what triggers your menses to start.
At the same time, your testosterone levels remain unchanged, and unopposed testosterone is what can cause your skin to become more oily and acne-prone if it’s not in balance with your other hormones, i.e. if progesterone dips too low or if estrogen is too high or low in relationship to progesterone.
2. Blood sugar ups and downs
As estrogen levels drop the week before your period, you may have a bigger appetite and crave more carbohydrate-heavy foods. Carbs promote serotonin production, making up for the lack of estrogen-stimulated serotonin.
Meanwhile, higher levels of progesterone the week prior (progesterone rises right after ovulation and starts to decrease the week before your period) can also cause you to become hungrier and crave sugar, meaning that you may have had two whole weeks (or more!) of sugar cravings–and that’s a lot of potential for blood sugar imbalances.
And as we know, excess sugar can throw off your blood sugar balance, which contributes to–you guessed it!–acne.
3. Liver stagnation
Your liver is responsible for metabolizing hormones like estrogen. If it’s not functioning up to par or if it’s overburdened with metabolizing medications or environmental toxins, hormone imbalances can result.
This also relates directly to PMS and anger or irritability before your menses.
4. Emotions asking to be healed
Estrogen and progesterone stimulate feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA, so the significant drop of these hormones right before your period can make you feel more irritable, sad, or anxious, especially if these hormones are imbalanced or if the corresponding organs need some extra support.
These emotions can be heavy and challenging, which can add to your stress load–and we all know that stress contributes to acne.
However, often the drop in these hormones is just bringing to light any emotional wounds that already exist but still need your love and attention.
While emotional healing is key, sometimes specific organs also need support. In traditional forms of medicine, each organ correlates with certain emotions:
5. Pelvic stagnation
Lastly, poor circulation and lymphatic flow to your pelvis can contribute to stagnation within your uterus and ovaries, resulting in poor progesterone production which may result in hormonal acne.
There are a lot of reasons why you’re breaking out before your period! So now, I imagine you’re wondering what to do about it. Click here to read my next post on how to stop those pesky premenstrual breakouts.
