Monthly blemishes or pimples related to periods

Period-related breakouts (or 'menstrual acne') often manifest as red spots (with or without pus), most commonly around the chin or mouth. Breakouts typically occur in the days leading up to your period and in the first few days of your cycle.

Cleansing is an important step in skincare. If you wear oil-based makeup or SPF during the day, use a gentle oil-based makeup remover, and then follow with a cleanser. A gentle cleanser is half the battle for healthy skin, so choose your cleanser carefully.

Daily Skincare Routine

Morning:

1. Rinse face with cold water. Pat dry, leaving a little moisture on the skin for the next step.
2. Apply Vitamin C Serum-in-Oil all over the face + massage particularly well into breakouts with this serum. Powerful antioxidants and soothing elements help accelerate the inflammatory cycle of breakouts. The serum-in-oil also nourishes and repairs the skin barrier. Vitamin C also helps prevent scarring.
3. Take the Skin & Biotics food supplement (2 capsules at once) to help balance your hormones by improving your gut health.

Evening:

1. Cleanse face with Triple Action Cleanser + cold water to rinse. This concentrated cleanser does not foam, and only a small amount is needed. It gently exfoliates and adds probiotics. Pat dry, leaving a little moisture for the next step.
2. Massage breakouts with Vitamin C Serum-in-Oil.
3. Apply Regulating Cream (for dry skin, mix 1 drop of Vitamin C Serum-in-Oil with Regulating Cream), and apply all over the face to regulate bacteria and prevent future breakouts.

Nutrition

Thanks to the new science of Nutrition, healthy eating now has a new purpose. Given the paramount importance of our gut microbiome in overall health and skin health, we should choose foods to nourish our gut microbiome. To improve acne, a skin issue related to hormones, we should also prioritize foods that help balance our hormones.

Examples of foods that help nourish our microbiome:
- Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables such as oats, broccoli, bananas, apples, cabbage, etc.
- A variety of plant-based foods - aim for a minimum of 30-35 different foods per week (including herbs, spices, seeds, fruits, and vegetables) to improve gut microbiome diversity.

Examples of foods that help restore hormonal balance:
- Healthy fats like olive oil, flax seeds, crushed hemp seeds, avocado, nuts.
- Omega 3s (fish oil or omega 3 supplements).

Increase phytoestrogen intake:
- Soy products like edamame, tofu, miso.
- Crushed flax seeds, garlic, sesame seeds, and others.

Reduce sugar:
- Sugars (including simple carbohydrates) produce more insulin. An increase in insulin leads to an increase in androgens. An increase in androgens leads to an increase in sebum and potentially acne or spots.
- In the case of skin aging, sugar causes premature aging through a process called glycation. Glycation irreversibly damages collagen and elastin, leading to sagging skin and wrinkles.

Lifestyle

Exercise speeds up blood flow, and blood carries oxygen and nutrients to active cells in the body, including the skin. Physical movement is also essential for balancing hormones. Any form of exercise is effective, from brisk walking to weight training. Find an activity you enjoy, and you'll be more likely to stick with it.

Stress management is another key component of health and healthy skin. Incorporate breathing exercises into your life, even if it's just a few minutes a day. Yoga is an excellent way to combine physical and breathing exercises. During prolonged periods of stress, we recommend combining with our Skin & Stress food supplement, rich in antioxidants and magnesium. If Skin & Stress is taken at the same time as Skin & Biotics, it's 2 Skin & Biotics capsules + 1 Skin & Stress capsule.

Improve your sleep and take time to relax. Stress is an aggravating factor for acne, and many people suffer from stress without recognizing the symptoms.

To learn more about stress and acne, click here.