Acne is not a new subject. Yet, both women and men have been struggling every day to find a way to treat their acne since their adolescent age.
Although there are many acne treatment products in the markets, they can only treat acne temporarily. The key solution to this is finding out the real problem.
Find out what causes hormonal acne and how to stop hormonal acne naturally at home below.
What Causes Hormonal Acne?
Hormonal acne means acne caused by hormones. These acnes increase during adolescence in both men and women. However, at this stage, people tend to equate it to normal acne.
These acnes are caused by an increase in testosterone, which stimulates the skin’s sebaceous glands to be larger than their normal size. This causes excessive oil and clogged pores leading to bacteria growth and acne.
Fortunately, as puberty comes to an end and the amount of testosterone is balanced, these acnes are reduced greatly to very little to none. For women, the puberty period ends at the age of 18 and the age of 21 for men.
However, according to Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology in Mount Sinai Hospital, the term “hormonal acne” is also known for occurring among adult women. More than 50 percentages of women at the age of 20 – 30 experience adult hormonal acne.
These stubborn pimples and acnes tend to appear when your body is going through a hormonal imbalance which can be a period, perimenopause, start or pause of contraceptive pill usage, or stress. Although these acnes appear after puberty, the cause of them is still similar to our adolescent time.
Research shows that androgen, which includes Testosterone, Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate, and Dihydrotestosterone, increases during stress or premenstrual period. This specific hormone is one of the major reasons causing acne.
Other hormones affecting sebum production, such as melanocortins and corticotropin-releasing hormone increase during stress, can also lead to acne growth.
Now that you understand how hormonal acne works, it is essential to identify them. According to Jill Waibel, a medical director, and dermatologist, hormonal acne usually spawn in the T-zone area and the lower third part of your face with these symptoms:
Blackheads, whiteheads, cysts, nodules, papules, and pustules.
The hormonal acne condition can vary from mild to severe. If there are only 30 lesions on your body, they can be treated at home easily. However, if there is a widespread inflammation, it is necessary to visit a dermatologist to treat the condition properly.
How To Stop Hormonal Acne Naturally
Hormonal acne is the unfortunate result of our hormone imbalance. That’s why it is important to monitor our hormones before getting to any chemical acne treatment or natural methods. Therefore, in our first step of how to get rid of hormonal acne naturally, you need to get a hormone test.
There are two tests you can take to know what is unbalanced in your body:
Saliva testing
This test is made for testing your hormone balance by showing the ratio of testosterone, progesterone, estrogen, and other hormones in your body.
Blood test
As hormone levels can vary due to our nutrient intake, a blood test can show your current vitamin and mineral levels for adjustment.
Now that you learn the truth about your body and what it truly needs, you will not be carried away by tons of advertisements and articles about what to do to treat hormonal acne.
There is a saying, “You are what you eat,” and it is quite true based on many types of research showing the strong relationship between your diet and your hormone level. Therefore, it is important to treat your acne naturally with a proper diet.
Here are what you would love to add to your hormonal acne natural treatment diet:
Positive food for your skin
Licorice root
A great way to control acne hormones naturally is using licorice root as tea. This herb is a strong anti-androgen natural ingredient that helps you control the androgen release during your period or stress time. You can use licorice root as tea, or topical treatment is also great for your acne.
Chaste tree berry
Chaste tree berry or vitex is a powerful herb for you to maintain a healthy menstruation by affecting the hormonal feedback loop and push progesterone levels, which reduces stress. Therefore, the more progesterone, the less acne you will have.
Zinc
Zinc is a potent that helps for ovary function and reduce androgen. When you consume it, your cells will be stronger and more resilient to androgens release. You can find certain foods with high zinc levels: meat, chickpeas, beans, seeds, nuts, eggs, whole grains, etc.
Antioxidant
Many researches show a great result of acne reduction due to the intake of antioxidants. When putting antioxidants in our body, it removes the reactive oxygen species which cause inflammation of acne. Such antioxidants like vitamin A and vitamin E have a tremendous healing effect on the skin condition. You can have daily vitamin supplement tablets and support your vitamin intake in your diet. The best vitamin C and E for healing acne are orange, yellow vegetables, broccoli, sunflower seeds, peanuts, almond, spinach, red bell pepper, etc.
As you are gaining more supplements that are beneficial for your body and hormones, you also need to reduce toxic elements worsening your skin condition.
Let’s find out what you need to lower or remove to treat hormonal acne:
Negative Food For Your Skin
High Glycemic index food
High glycemic index digestion can cause hormonal acne as it increases your insulin levels leading to higher androgens in your body. As we know that androgens are the major cause of hormonal acne, it is best to stay away from any androgens stimulation.
Sugary foods, drinks, white bread, and white rice have a high glycemic index level. Therefore, it is best that you only take a small amount of them daily.
Drugs and tobacco
Nicotine and certain drug chemical substances are related to high sebaceous gland sensitivity. It can cause inflammation, break-out on your skin, and the acceleration of the aging process. Regarding its bad effect, you might want to lower intake to as little as possible or say farewell to them from now on.
Conclusion
Hormonal acne is one of the most common skin diseases, yet it can be difficult to treat them if you don’t understand the root cause and how to balance hormones for acne.
Although there are many skincare, acne treatment products in the market, it is best when you learn how to stop hormonal acne naturally to control and remove your acne permanently with your daily diet.
