If Acne Keeps Repeating Before Your Period? Treatment Strategies for Hormonal Acne

• All posts are written directly by Director Oh Jung-min. *

Hello.

I am Director Oh Jung-min of Doctor O Clinic, who always does my best with sincerity.

Why do breakouts keep happening only before your period?

“I'm usually fine, but I always get breakouts on my chin before my period.”

That was what a patient said to me in my clinic today.

Acne that repeats every menstrual cycle like this is not just a simple breakout, but

hormonal cyclic acne caused by hormonal changes.

Why does acne worsen before your period?

The female menstrual cycle involves estrogen, progesterone, and androgens.

Our skin is affected depending on the balance among these three hormones.

Androgens (Testosterone, DHEA-S)

Act directly on the sebaceous glands

Increase sebum secretion

Cause cyclic acne in adult women

Progesterone (progesterone, luteal-phase hormone)

Increases after ovulation

Stimulates sebaceous glands

Increases androgen sensitivity

Raises body temperature and increases sweating, creating an environment that blocks pores

Induces inflammatory responses

Estrogen

Suppresses sebum secretion

Has anti-inflammatory effects

Protects the skin barrier.

Why does acne worsen 7 to 10 days before your period?

In the latter part of the luteal phase, the protective effect of estrogen weakens,

and the relative influence of androgens becomes stronger.

As a result, the following occur at the same time:

‡ Increased sebum secretion

‡ Accumulation of dead skin cells

‡ Increased inflammatory response

Because these phenomena occur simultaneously,

acne worsens starting 7 to 10 days before menstruation.

So how should this kind of cyclic acne be treated?

First, it is important to differentiate endocrine disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hyperandrogenemia.

If such underlying conditions are present, there is a limit to how much the condition can improve no matter how much the skin is treated.

Therefore, a gynecology or endocrinology evaluation should be done first to determine whether an underlying condition exists.

Then, while treating the underlying condition, treatment for the skin condition is also carried out.

1. Oral antibiotics, topical medications

As a short-term control strategy, treatment can be done by using oral antibiotics and applying topical medications.

It is relatively quick and simple to treat,

but the drawback is that it has limitations in providing sustained treatment effects.

This is an AI-generated image.

2. Agnes

If it occurs repeatedly in a specific area,

Agnes treatment, which selectively controls overactive sebaceous glands, can be considered.

3. Gold PTT

As a long-term treatment strategy, I recommend Gold PTT.

The essence of hormonal acne is, after all, overactivation of sebaceous glands due to hormonal changes.

We cannot suppress the cyclical changes in hormones, but we can control acne by lowering the intensity of the sebaceous gland response.

What is Gold PTT?

After selectively delivering gold nanoparticles to the sebaceous glands via ultrasound,

laser light of a specific wavelength is applied to induce a photothermal reaction

and regulate sebaceous gland function.

Photothermal therapy (PTT).

Why can it be applied to hormonal acne?

Before menstruation, the influence of androgens becomes relatively dominant.

The key to treatment is reducing sebaceous gland activity before sebum secretion increases during this period.

Rather than controlling hormonal fluctuations,

think of it as a strategy to lower the maximum output of the sebaceous glands.

Therefore, the timing of the procedure is important.

About one week before the start of menstruation is the time just before androgen hormones become dominant and sebum secretion increases,

so stabilizing the sebaceous glands at this point

is meaningful in easing cyclic worsening.

Therefore, for hormonal cyclic acne, Gold PTT is recommended one week before menstruation.

Treatment cycle

In general, once a month, one week before the start of menstruation is recommended,

and the treatment interval may vary depending on the individual's skin condition, treatment purpose, and lifestyle pattern.

What about downtime?

Gold PTT can be performed relatively simply,

and because downtime and pain are relatively low, treatment can be done without interfering with daily life.

Please do not stress over hormonal cyclic acne. If you visit Doctor O Clinic,

you can find the treatment that is right for you together with me.

Next time, I will organize information about rosacea and Gold PTT~

*Reference

· Huang X, Jain PK, El-Sayed IH, El-Sayed MA.

Plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) using gold nanoparticles.

Lasers Med Sci. 2008.

· Jain PK, Lee KS, El-Sayed IH, El-Sayed MA.

Calculated absorption and scattering properties of gold nanoparticles of different size, shape, and composition.

J Phys Chem B. 2006.

· Taheri A, et al.

Laser treatment of acne vulgaris: A systematic review.

J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2012.

· Paithankar DY, et al.

Selective photothermolysis of sebaceous follicles using topically delivered light-absorbing gold microparticles.

J Invest Dermatol. 2015.

· Lee W, et al.

Gold nanoparticle-assisted photothermal therapy for acne vulgaris: In vitro and in vivo evaluation.

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