Did you know- Women’s skin changes throughout the monthly menstrual cycle?

For women who always like to be on top of every matter, the skin has always been so unpredictable. We realised that it has a lot to do with our hormones and menstrual cycle so we decided to empower the woke audience of all gender identities (males can read it to educate and be sensitive to women around!) on what it takes to be a woman of strength every month.

 1. What are the different phases of the menstrual cycle?

A menstrual cycle is not just about those days of fighting with your body and loss of blood. It is also about when your body is prepping itself for the release of the egg which takes the body through a roll of hormones. Some hormones which affect our body through the menstrual cycle are female sex hormones like oestrogen, progesterone, and male sex hormones like testosterone. The levels of these hormones fluctuate with other vitals throughout the one-month cycle. The monthly cycle is divided into the following phases with a specific period:

• Menstrual stage which lasts 6 days
• Follicular stage which lasts around 15 days
• Ovulation stage which lasts for about a day
• Luteal stage which lasts anything between 11 to 17 days

 2. What are changes in skin behaviour through the stages of the cycle?

Throughout these four stages, your skin will behave differently and so can your behaviour. It takes a lot to be a woman!

• Menstrual stage: Female hormones take a dip and male hormones cover up which makes the skin oily and pores may enlarge too. You may have a glow unmatched but your skin also becomes hypersensitive in this stage. It is better to avoid waxing, trekking, threading, exfoliation, etc.
• Follicular stage: Oestrogen levels are up and so your skin cell’s turnover rate is high. Your skin’s ability to produce collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid goes up and you will see the plumped-up effect. This is the best time to exfoliate to make sure the skin cell turnover is further enhanced and you are revealing a fresh layer of skin.
• Ovulation stage: It’s the shortest stage but such a power punch to the skin. In this stage, oestrogen levels are at their peak and testosterone levels start to rise up with a couple more hormones like follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinising hormone to push the release of the egg. This means pain and also your breast may become tender. Since this stage has so much hormonal fluctuation, skin tends to break out so watch out for the mid-month. You can accompany this stage with peptides, vitamin C, bakuchiol, etc.
• Luteal stage: Progesterone starts to rise and that leads to more oil production and chances to breakout. You may find more swelling, redness, and oiliness. You can pick up your favourite mask to detoxify and clean up your skin to avoid clogging of pores.

This is our ode to all the women out there. We know what your skin wants and we will continue serving your skin gender-neutral skincare that you can pick up at any stage of your cycle!