Do you experience acne before or during your period? Have you tried to get rid of it with every remedy imaginable, only to have it come back each month?
If so, then you’re not alone!
Almost 65% of women experience an increase in acne before their period, caused by hormonal changes and as a side effect of menstruation.
Fortunately, you can treat period acne with both dietary and home remedies.
Read on to discover the causes of acne breakouts and everything bout pimples and periods, and for expert treatment tips.
What Causes Period Acne?
What Causes Period Acne?
You may have heard that acne is caused by oily or dirty skin.
However, there’s a lot more to acne breakouts than simply having oily skin. In the case of period acne, it’s hormonal fluctuations that cause these breakouts.
It’s similar to how hormonal changes in teenagers result in mood swings and acne. However, the hormonal changes during menstruation are different from those that drive puberty.
How do Hormonal Fluctuations Cause Period Bumps on Face?
Hormonal changes are responsible for the entire menstruation process, and acne is just a side-effect of this. Two hormones in particular are responsible for period acne. These include:
- Estrogen
- Progesterone
Both hormones spike before menstruation and may drop during the menstruation process. This spike leads to more sebum being secreted from the sebaceous glands.
Sebum is essential to keep your skin moisturized, but too much sebum causes pores to get clogged. It’s behind hormonal acne causes, pimples, blackheads, blemishes and other skin problems.
Proven Home Remedies to Treat Period Acne
While period acne can’t be prevented, it can be treated with home remedies. Following a healthy skincare routine and washing your face regularly is the best way to prevent acne breakouts. However, if acne breakouts do occur, follow these tips for real results:
- Use an Antibacterial Cleanser
The first steps to containing an acne breakout are to reduce its spread. Acne breakouts spread fast, especially if your skin is oily.
The best way to prevent acne from spreading is to wash your face with an antibacterial cleanser. A good facial cleanser can help remove dirt and toxins from your skin, preventing the acne from sprawling over your face. Washing your face twice a day should be sufficient.
- Use an Exfoliating Product
Exfoliation is great for improving your skin’s texture and health, and can help reduce acne as well.
Salicylic acid is also a great treatment for reducing skin inflammation and helps remove dead skin cells, dirt and other toxins from your skin.
- Apply Tea Tree Oil
If there’s anything that comes close to a magic substance in skin care, its tea tree oil!
Tea tree oil is a strong anti-inflammatory product that reduces inflammation, redness and swelling of the skin. It’s a great natural product for treating acne, skin cuts and other skin problems. Tea tree oil will also help your skin recover faster from the scars that acne may leave.
- Use Turmeric and Honey
Honey is used to treat many skin problems including rash and acne. It contains anti-bacterial properties that can kill bacteria and microbes that cause acne.
Turmeric is also used for skin treatment and applying it to your skin can reduce swelling, rash and other skin problems owing to its antibacterial properties.
Lastly, remember that pimples and periods are interlinked, and period acne may be triggered by the foods you eat. So, try consuming a healthy diet and avoiding junk foods or foods high in sugar, as these may cause acne to spread faster.
How to Prevent Acne Before Period Naturally?
Acne during the time of the month is a pain, and getting it out can be quite miserable, but you could also take a few simple natural life adjustments to avoid having a breakout. The menstruation pimples face are mainly brought about by hormonal changes, mainly the decline of estrogen and the elevation of progesterone, which stimulates the production of oil and causes blockage of pores.
To minimize acne before period, begin by having a fixed skin regimen.
- Consider a mild cleanser and wash it twice a day to get rid of the extra shine and clean your skin.
- The eating habits are also important in avoiding acne before a period. Concentrate on a balanced diet with leafy green vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
- Hormones can also be stabilized by being well-hydrated and keeping the stress at a manageable level, which can be achieved through exercise, yoga, or mindfulness.
- Sleep is also essential; your skin rejuvenates itself at night, be sure to get 7-8 hours of quality sleep.
- Further, do not touch your face often and frequently wash pillowcases so as to reduce bacterial accumulation.
Using these natural practices, acne before period can be reduced to a considerable extent, whereas you will feel healthier and more confident during your menses-packed weeks.
Plus, don’t forget to re-read our note above, and remember to choose the most comfortable sanitary cotton pads for your next period to stay stress-free all day long!
How do I Know Whether it’s Regular Acne or Period Acne?
There’s no apparent difference between regular acne and period acne. Both spread just as fast and don’t go away easily.
However, regular acne is caused by using the wrong skincare products, eating the wrong foods, and not cleaning your face properly. If you take care to use skin-friendly beauty products and avoid junk foods, you shouldn’t get regular acne.
Period acne, on the other hand, is completely natural and can affect you even if you’re following a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, if your skin doesn’t get regular acne breakouts, but you suddenly get acne during your period, then it’s probably due to internal hormonal changes.
Remember, period bumps are natural and there’s no way to prevent them. Nevertheless, you can reduce its effect or stop it from spreading with the right treatment.
If your period acne doesn’t go away and is painful, consult a dermatologist for expert advice and embrace womanhood in all its forms!
Conclusion
Period acne is one of the most frequent problems that women are bound to encounter because of fluctuations in hormones during their menstrual period. Being aware of factors that contribute to pimples on the face during menstruation will enable you to take precautionary measures to treat and avert them.
Home remedies and sustainable lifestyle changes may be excellent solutions, but they have to be done regularly. To ensure that acne before period is minimized and that your skin is clearer and healthier throughout your monthly cycle, it is important to keep a regular skin-care regimen.
Remember to have a healthy diet, exercise physical activities to reduce stress, and sleep well!
NOTE: Even if you’re unable to treat acne, remember that pimples and scars do not make you ugly. Chin up, beautiful!
