Skincare and the Menstrual Cycle

Have you noticed how your skin type isn’t the same through the month - it’s oily one week and dry the next? As your hormones change throughout the month, your skin’s needs change too. Here’s everything you need to know to keep your skin glowing all month long!

Menstrual Phase: during your period

Day 1 - 7

During the first few days of your period, your skin is likely to be oily, dry, dull, blotchy and uneven. Sensitive skin is common and those pimples may keep popping up.

• Use a salicylic acid cleanser to fight the bacteria on your skin that cause menstrual acne. Anti-inflammatory face masks are also wonderful to help provide the extra boost your skin needs. Here’s a tip: try a face mask with crushed aspirin tablets and honey to check both boxes at once - aspirin contains salicylic acid, and honey is a great anti-inflammatory agent.
• Drinking extra water is a great way to keep skin hydrated from within, and helps fight oily skin.

Follicular Phase: right after your period

Day 8 - 15

Your skin starts glowing slowly, as your body recovers from the period and produces estrogen for a new cycle. This boosts collagen production, and makes your skin look plumper, with decreased pores.

• As new skin cells are formed, help your glow by removing dead skin cells with a gentle scrub or exfoliator. Sugar makes a great scrub that’s always available - mix with a little yogurt or olive oil (depending on how dry your skin is). Use gentle, upward circular motions and very gentle pressure - you don’t want to hurt your skin.
• Also try a brightening or anti-aging mask to enhance your new skin radiance - look for lemon, papaya, aloe vera or coffee. You can use any of these to make your own mask at home, too!

Ovulation Phase: mid-cycle

Day 16 - 18

As your ovaries release an egg into the uterus, all your hormones (estrogen, FSH, LH…) are at their peak levels. This can cause oilier skin and maybe even a few blemishes.

• This is a good time to keep your makeup and moisturizer light, and opt for a gentle, pore-cleansing face wash.
• You can also use cleansing wipes or face mist to remove excess oil. Rose water is a great face mist, and so is lemon water. Just add some to a small spray bottle and keep it nearby!
• Pore cleansing face masks - such as multani mitti or activated charcoal - are great to keep those pores breathing too!

Luteal Phase: before your period

Day 19 - 28

This phase actually has two parts: during the first half of this phase, the lining of your uterus is still intact and your progesterone levels are at their highest. This phase is not marked by any major changes to the skin aside from some dullness as estrogen falls.

In the second half of this phase, both progesterone and estrogen levels fall rapidly. This is when most skin issues occur - skin dries out, causing dullness. The oil glands in the skin overproduce oil in reaction to the dryness leading to oiliness, clogged pores and blemishes.

• Hydration is your best friend to fight all skin issues in this period. So drink extra water, atleast a total of 3 litres per day.
• Sweating it out with light exercise keeps your pores clear and breathing, as long as you cleanse the skin afterward.
• Don’t forget to use a light moisturizer along with your anti-bacterial cleanser as dry skin is the root cause of most of these blemishes.

A woman’s body is a delicate, complicated machine with multiple components that move and change in perfect harmony with each other. The skin is just one of many organs that reflect this cyclic change. Want to know more about your menstrual cycle and how you can keep it working perfectly? That’s what the Femcy app is for - here's the link to download it today!