Having Breakouts? How to Tell if Your Acne is Hormonal

What is Hormonal Acne and its causes?

As the name suggests, hormonal acne is tied to fluctuations in your hormones. It does not only occur during puberty, but it can also affect adults of any age. Hormonal acne is specifically caused by an imbalance of the female hormones estrogen & progesterone and the male hormones testosterone & androgens. When the body is producing excessive amounts of testosterone, especially during a menstrual cycle, it can stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum.

Because of this hormonal imbalance, it causes an overproduction of oil on your skin and clogs your pores with dead skin cells and dirt, leading to an acne breakout.

There are a few signs that can help you to identify whether your acne is hormonal. These are as follows:

• Your acne might be hormonal if you have other hormonal symptoms too. Since hormonal acne is caused by an underlying hormonal imbalance, it usually doesn’t present itself in isolation. Thus, with hormonal acne, you most likely go through a range of symptoms such as PMS, mood swings, irritability, bloating, massive facial hair growth, weight gain etc.
• It can recur once a month, especially near your period. It can come and go throughout your cycle or might just be present throughout. Acne breakouts commonly occur near ovulation or right before periods due to monthly fluctuations in their estrogen and progesterone levels

Polycystic cystic ovary disease

Also referred to as Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), it is a condition whereby women have an imbalance of female sex hormones. It is linked to low estrogen levels and high levels of androgen than usual, as it affects the ovaries. The body relies on signals from the pituitary gland to produce the right amounts of female and male hormones. PCOS will disrupt these signals which leads to an imbalance of hormones produced, where the estrogen and progesterone levels decrease, and testosterone levels go up.

This hormone imbalance causes women to have irregular or skipped menstrual periods and makes it harder for them to get pregnant. Besides weight gain, excess hair growth and dark patches appearing on the body, one of the notable symptoms of PCOS is acne. The increase in male hormones or androgens can be responsible in making the skin oilier than usual with excess sebum production and cause acne breakouts on the jawline, chin, cheeks and upper neck.

How to cure hormonal acne?

• To treat and cure your acne, you should focus your skincare routine to include products with acne-fighting ingredients such as salicylic acid and tea tree oil which can keeps pores clear, and speed heals existing blemishes. Don’t forget the hydration step with an oil-free, noncomedogenic moisturiser to avoid drying out your skin.
• While topical medications can work for surface breakouts, tender bumps and cysts formed deep under the skin can be out of reach. Oral medications can work from the inside out to balance your hormones and clear up the skin, such as anti-androgen drugs and oral contraceptives.
• Have a balanced diet to fully optimise your nutrients and minerals to help repair and calm your skin. Certain foods you eat can upset your hormonal system, such as sugar and dairy products, which in turn causes inflammation. On the other hand, the right kinds of food combined with a healthy lifestyle can balance your hormones and improve your skin;
• The Agnes acne treatment, is a selective oil gland ablation treatment. This can be used to selectively target stubborn acne that occurs over the same spots. These oil glands are likely to be overly sensitive to hormonal changes hence are overly active and are more prone to congestion. The Agnes acne treatment specifically targets these stubborn diseased oil glands hence preventing further recurrence.
• Visit an aesthetic doctor and get advice from the experts. They may give you an option of going for a laser treatment for acne, which is one of the best acne scar treatments in Singapore.

If you wish to learn more about your hormonal acne and seek treatment, contact a good aesthetic doctor in Singapore today.