Hormonal Acne
For a lot of us, changing hormones heading into our 30s, coming off of birth control, masks or for no reason that you know of at all has led to anything from the occasional breakout to full on cystic acne that only gets worse the more you try and fight it.
For those of you dealing with this we wanted to breakdown what hormonal acne is, why it happens and what we can do about it.
What it is:
Our skin is the largest organ in our body and obviously the most visible on a day-to-day basis. For this reason, we love to look at it as a good indicator as to what is going on inside, the canary in the coalmine so to speak. When our skin starts to act out, its typically a good indicator that things are off internally and your body is trying to tell you something. This is why our approach is much more about turning inwards to figure out what that something is versus treating the outward symptoms as problems in and of themselves.
Why it happens:
Acne can be the result of several causes. Commonly, it is an imbalance of hormones, in particular our sex hormones. The research shows that it is most consistently associated with an over production of testosterone although, in some, less frequent cases estrogen dominance can lead to this as well.
In the case of coming off a birth control pill, your body has relied on external sources of estrogen for a long time so it takes time to restart your natural production of this and in the mean-time we can end up with a ratio of estrogen/testosterone that is tipped in the favor of testosterone.
Acne is also defined as a chronic inflammatory skin condition meaning that things that cause inflammation in our bodies can also lead to this. In some cases, our bodies can react in inflammatory ways to certain foods the most common culprits of this are gluten, dairy and sugar. Or, if your gut is already inflamed (like in the cases of IBS, inflammatory bowel disease and leaky gut) many foods that wouldn’t typically lead to inflammation in a healthy system, might cause it in yours.
Stress is another source of excess testosterone production. Cortisol, our primary stress hormone stimulates our ovaries to over produce testosterone which again can lead to imbalance of estrogen to testosterone.
From an ‘outside-in’ perspective, we can also be reacting to certain products or chemicals we are using on our face. It seems counterintuitive but often times the ‘traditional’ face washes we use actually strip our skin of its natural oils, bacteria and pH balance. This can lead to an unfavorable habitat for healthy bacteria and a favorable environment for acne causing bacteria to flourish.
What can we do about it:
Here are FIVE steps to OVERCOMING HORMONAL ACNE and some products we love to support these functions and restore your natural glow.
1. Decrease inflammation
Focus on whole foods with minimal processed ingredients
Eat the rainbow
Experiment with reducing your sugar, dairy and gluten intake to see how your body responds
Consider adding turmeric, garlic, onions and oregano to your cooking
Consider adding a high-quality Omega-3 to your supplement routine
Consider adding D3 to your supplement routine
2. Balance blood sugar
Avoid coffee on an empty stomach
Start the day with a protein and fat rich breakfast
Consistently pair carbohydrates, proteins and fats together
3. Support elimination
Poop daily
Avoid use of antiperspirants and opt for a natural deodorant instead
Sweat a little every day
Drink lots of water
4. Decrease stress
Delegate tasks at work and home that you don’t need to do
Add in a meditation or mindfulness practice
Get outside
Exercise
5. Avoid over cleansing the skin
Avoid the use of harsh soaps and cleansers
Add natural oils back to the skin after washing your face
Products we love
*** note: we have no professional affiliations or financial gains from the promotion of these products, we just love them and think you might too
Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum
