When we think puberty is over, so is our pimples. Well, not necessarily. 26% of women in their 30s have breakouts. And it is due to bacteria, inflammation, and hormones. Let’s explore what hormonal acne is and what food changes you can try to treat it.

What is Hormonal Acne?

Acne forms when the pores are clogged with keratin (dead skin cells) caps and sebum. Inflammation occurs resulting in pimples. Hormonal acne happens when there are excess male hormones triggering excess oil production, leading to more clogged pores and pimples. Besides your period, there are a few other hormonal acne culprits that cause the level of your male hormones to increase and some can give you hints about your health. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), menopause, and stress can cause fluctuations in your hormones leading to abnormal breakouts.

How to Identify Hormonal Acne?  

Breakouts that occur primarily at the lower third of your face, especially on the chin, near the lips, and along the jawline. Furthermore, the pimples are more cystic. They may appear just before or during your period, during or after pregnancy, and during menopause.

Diet for Hormonal Acne  

Reduce Food with High Glycaemic Index (GI)
Studies have shown high GI food can increase the likelihood of acne. Cut down on sugary food, sweetened drinks, refined carbohydrates like white bread and white rice. Increase your intake of whole grains, unrolled oats, beans, and fruits such as apples and berries.

More Fatty Acids

Fatty Acids such as omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9, help to reduce inflammation in the body, leading to fewer outbreaks. To get a wider spectrum of fatty acids, include a variety of animal and plant-based food for your fatty acids such as wild salmon, mackerel, olive oil, avocado, and walnuts.

Antioxidants

We cannot stress this enough. Antioxidants have multitudes of health benefits and reducing inflammation is one of them. Reducing inflammation is one way to directly reduce acne. Foods high in antioxidants include blueberries, leafy green vegetables, and green tea. Interestingly, some research indicates selenium, a type of antioxidant, is lacking in people who are prone to acne. Good sources of selenium include seafood, organ meat, and eggs.

It can be challenging to keep track of how much antioxidants you put into your body in your diet, and beauty supplements can fill this gap. Oral supplementation of antioxidants such as BioCode Brightening Beverages, a juice-based collagen, and an anti-pigmentation beauty supplement, is one of the best antioxidant drink on the market. It is powerful because it contains clinically proven extracts from pomegranate, mangosteen and acai, and glutathione to fight free radicals in your body. We recommend drinking it every alternate day for maximum benefits.

Products Suggestion for Hormonal Acne  

Exfoliants
Face scrubs with grains or beads are not recommended for acne skin. Use chemical or enzyme-based peels for gentle exfoliation. We recommend IOMA Soft Peeling, it contains prickly pear and myrtle extract to stimulate your skin’s natural enzymes to break down dead skin and renew naturally. Mandelic acid-based exfoliant such as bSoul Start Up Renew Gel doubles up as a bacteria-killing product and is another great addition to your hormonal acne routine.

Hormonal Acne  OTC Solutions

Salicylic acid is widely known as one of the most effective ingredients to acne. However, it is also known to cause side effects such as skin irritation. This lead to the creation of BioGenic Salicylic acid, a highly concentrated form of salicylic acid that does not cause skin irritation, yet retaining its efficacy. We especially like this ingredient for adult hormonal acne. You can find it in bSoul’s Acne-Spot Serum and Hydra-Sebo Mask, both have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects for acne. They minimize existing acne flareups and keep new ones at bay.

Find a System and Stick to It  

One of the main reasons why acne, including hormonal ones, are hard to treat is because people tend to break the routine before the skin improvement takes place. Faithfully follow a routine of a cleanser, gentle exfoliation, treatment products, and diet every day and hormonal breakouts should improve. Switch products, using them once in a while, and having too many cheat days in your hormonal acne diet and hormonal acne will return. Remember to stay patient and your routine will reap rewards.