Shield Your Skin From Menstrual Woes

Bloated stomach, cramps and mood swings; women are all too familiar with these issues that come with their menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, periods can’t be unsubscribed to. What worsens the plight is that it affects our skin as well—dull and dry skin with breakouts is almost inevitable. We bring to you expert opinions from leading dermats on how to keep these menstrual woes under check.

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PERIOD-RELATED SKIN PROBLEMS & QUICK REMEDIES:

Some common skin problems occurring during periods are:

Stubborn breakouts which can be only be cured by having sufficient sleep. Lack of sleep negatively affects. Using a clay mask can help reduce oil in skin.

Skin becomes dry as estrogen levels drop. Estrogen causes water loss in the skin, leaving it dry, dull and easily irritated. Apart from drinking lot of water, use an exfoliating facial wash and apply moisturiser daily, twice.

Enlarged pores can be curbed by exercising regularly, avoiding thick cosmetics and using home remedies like egg white mask, apple cider as astringent and toner, and baking soda to exfoliate.

THE CAUSE

Hormones play a huge role in the health of our skin, hair, and nails. Women go through a period of two weeks during which levels of the female hormones—oestrogen and progesterone— fluctuate. You may notice an increase in the production of sebum before and during periods. It is because the body produces more androgen, a male sex hormones like testosterone present in both sexes, which majorly affects body’s sebaceous glands. Sebum combines with dead skin cells within the skin pores and cause blockage. This can be a cause for concern, particularly for those above 25 years of age.