S04E21. Hormonal Acne & Your Cycle: Why Your Skin Changes Every Week

About this episode

This episode explores how the phases of the menstrual cycle affect skin health and acne.

If your skin looks like three different people in a month, you're not imagining it, and your cycle is the reason why. In this episode, Katie and Cris break down the four phases of your menstrual cycle and what each one is actually telling you about your skin. They cover the quick hormone 101 (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and the wildcard cortisol), what breakouts mean in each phase based on where they show up, and why the week before your period is the real stress test for your whole body. From jawline cysts to chin breakouts to that "good skin week" that vanishes, this episode will completely change how you read your cycle. In This Episode We Cover Why your skin reacts to the ratio between your hormones, not just one hormone at a time. What's happening in your menstrual phase and why leftover cysts from your luteal phase show up here. Why breakouts in your follicular phase ("good skin week") are a red flag for deeper imbalances. How the testosterone spike at ovulation drives chin and jawline breakouts, especially with PMOS or blood sugar instability. Why the luteal phase amplifies every imbalance already in your body and how to support it through the week before your…

People in this episode

Hosts: Katie Stewart, Cris Brown

Topics covered

• hormonal acne
• menstrual cycle
• skin changes
• hormone imbalance
• breakouts
• health
• nutrition

Keywords

• hormones
• acne
• menstrual cycle
• skin health
• breakouts
• estrogen
• progesterone
• testosterone
• cortisol
• gut dysbiosis

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Cycle Almanac, Clearer Skin in 30 Days, The HTMA Testing Package, The DUTCH Testing Pack

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