hormones – Just Jenn

If you’ve ever had a period, you know all of the annoyances that can come along with it. Cramps, irritability, and ruined underwear are just some of the issues you might deal with when managing your period. Drastic changes to your skin during your menstrual cycle might also be something you struggle with. Most people who get their period experience hormonal acne, or period skin, right before or during their period week, but your skin is constantly changing throughout your menstrual cycle.

Why do hormones affect my skin?

Right before or during your period you might notice your skin is more dry, oily, sensitive, and broken out than usual. These changes in your skin are due to your changing hormones during your menstrual cycle. During your cycle, your levels of estrogen and progesterone fluctuate, and it just so happens that these two hormones greatly affect your skin.

Estrogen is basically responsible for all things radiant and lovely in your skin. Estrogen affects your skin’s hydration, collagen production, skin thickness, skin’s ability to heal, and the effectiveness of your skin as a barrier. Progesterone, which is the other dominant hormone during your menstrual cycle, is responsible for triggering breakouts. Progesterone closes up the skin’s pores and causes a build-up of sebum to be trapped under your skin. Sebum is an oily substance produced by your sebaceous glands, which start making oil during puberty.

What type of period skin changes should I expect?

During the first week or so of your menstrual cycle, estrogen levels are fairly low. Because of estrogen’s effect on retaining moisture in the skin, your skin might feel a little dry or dull during this period. Other than that though, your skin shouldn’t be too irritated and should be looking and feeling pretty good. The next phase of your cycle, the follicular phase, occurs between days 10 and 16 in your cycle. During the follicular phase, estrogen and testosterone levels rise. Your skin will look its best during this phase because of the increased hormone levels. Your estrogen increases during this time because your body is preparing for ovulation. The next phase is ovulation, which occurs halfway through your menstrual cycle, which for most people is around day 14 of the cycle. During ovulation, your estrogen and testosterone levels begin to drop, and your skin will continue to look and feel healthy for a few days as your progesterone levels increase. The final phase of your cycle is the luteal phase, which is right before and during your period. During this phase, your progesterone levels are up, which, as we learned earlier, traps oil in your pores. Your skin will be at its oiliest and most broken out during this phase.

Some people also report having increased skin sensitivity right before and during a period. This sensitivity is due to prostaglandins, which are chemicals that are released as your uterine lining sheds. Prostaglandins cause inflammation throughout the body in general, which we can feel the effects of on our skin during this time.

What period skin care tips should I follow?

So what are some things you can do to manage your ever-changing skin during your monthly cycle? Experts recommend always washing your face and not sleeping with makeup on. Wash your face twice a day and be sure to moisturize, especially during the beginning period of your cycle when your skin is clear but dry. As your skin gets more oily, avoid oil-based moisturizers, wear your hair back off your face more, change your pillowcase more frequently, and avoid touching your face. Experts also say to use a gentle cleanser on your skin during the times when it is most irritated. Exfoliating or using harsh face washes will only inflame your face more, so save those for the beginning of your cycle.

Maintaining a balanced diet can also help your skin stay clear. Every article I’ve read as research recommended limiting sugar and caffeine to help keep your skin clear, which can be so hard during your period when you are craving both of those things. Flo.com has a great article with specific skincare tips for each phase of your cycle.

Are there other options for treatment?

If your skin really suffers during your period, talk to your doctor. Hormonal birth control is often prescribed to treat hormonal acne, but there are other options as well. Hormonal birth control contains varying levels of estrogen and progesterone and shuts down ovulation, so the pills can help regulate your hormone levels and manage your acne.

Now that you know exactly what’s going on with your skin each month, you should be better prepared to combat breakouts and treat your skin well. Good luck!

Living with frequent migraines can cause many intense symptoms such as light and sound sensitivity, nausea, and even seeing an aura of light around your eyes. If you experience an aura during migraines, you’ll often see flashing lights, zigzags of light, or even blurry lights in your peripheral vision. If you are someone who is prone to migraines, another risk factor can be hormonal birth control pills. Migraines and hormones are more closely related than most of us may realize.

How are migraines and hormones related?

Hormonal birth control pills use combinations of the hormones estrogen and progesterone to help prevent pregnancy. Changing levels of estrogen that occur naturally in our bodies can often trigger migraines. Have you ever experienced a headache in the days leading up to your period? That’s because your estrogen levels drop during this time, triggering headaches or migraines. Because headaches and migraines can be triggered this way, some doctors prescribe birth control pills to patients to treat headaches. For others, this is just an extra perk of taking the combination pill for other reasons. In some cases though, it can increase the risk of stroke and other serious health complications to take the combination (estrogen and progesterone) pill.

If you get migraines regularly and particularly get migraines accompanied by an aura, ask your doctor about your birth control options. Typically, doctors don’t recommend people taking the pill with estrogen in it if they also get auras with their migraines, or if they have a family history of migraine or blood clots. If you have this history, the estrogen in the pill could increase your risk of stroke, deep vein thrombosis, also known as blood clots, or cardiovascular disease.

Alternate birth control options

So what do you do if you are someone who wants to take birth control and also has a history of migraine auras? First, speak with your doctor about it. It’s important to be transparent with your doctor about your health history when getting new medication anyway, but especially mention if you have a history of migraines. In addition to the combination pill, there is also a pill with just progesterone that could work for someone with migraines. There are also non-hormonal birth control options like condoms or the copper IUD. If you’re someone with no history of migraines, but you start having migraines after starting hormonal birth control, go chat with your doctor about it immediately. It’s important to mention all of these symptoms and things you notice in your body so you can be as healthy as possible.

Talking to your doctor about migraines and hormones

I first learned that migraine auras plus birth control pills can be dangerous over the summer when a co-worker of mine told me she needed to go see her doctor because she was starting to get bad migraines and was on the combination pill. Despite being on the pill myself for many years, I had never heard of this! My doctor never told me about the dangers of migraines and the pill. This just shows the importance of talking about women’s health out loud and without shame! Ask your doctor questions, even if they seem silly. Talk to your friends about what birth control they are taking if you are considering it. Talk to them about other health issues. It’s normal to talk openly about all this stuff because it not only keeps us more informed, but it also keeps us healthier and prevents serious complications in the future.

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How Your Period Affects Your Skin