(Image source from: How your period plagues your skin?})
It's that time of the month again - the time when you feel bloated, upset, queasy, ugly and everything that is hugely irritating! Your cravings for all things unhealthy soars up, your breasts feels like painful lumps of mammaries and your skin can't stop popping one bad surprise after another. Indeed, period is one of the lesser joys in a woman's life.
Talking about skin woes, the same hormone that controls your monthly cycles also can wreck havoc on your skin. As hormone levels soars up before period, sending oil glands in an overdrive, menstrual acne flares up, leaving your skin in a mess. We explain how periods take a toll on your skin month-after-month.
- In the last 14 days of your cycle, estrogen levels slump and androgen levels soar up. This is the time when oil production is at its max, blocking pores and springing pimples. To avoid such unsightly mess, it's important to cleanse your skin with a low-pH, anti-inflammatory cleanser every day. Doing so religiously will decrease bacteria concentration, strengthen your skin's moisture barrier and save skin from going dry.
- A surge in testosterone and progesterone during the last week before your period clogs pores with sebum, making them appear larger. Using a cleanser that comes loaded with salicyclic acid can help clear clogged pores.
- Lower levels of estrogen during periods dehydrates skin, leading to dry, patchy, lackluster skin. Go heavy on your moisturizer to stay hydrated all the time.
- There is a very good reason why you need to shy away from sun when menstruating. That is because your clogged pores in this time of the month makes your skin extra sensitive to sun. SO don;t forget to slather SPF before you leave home and up the ante on sun protection.
AW: Suchorita Choudhury
