This essay can also be read on my Substack here
Do you ever notice your skin is different during your period?
If you tend to see serious changes like angry breakouts or raw and inflamed skin, it can be easy and common to chalk it up to hormones and move on… But what if they are a message your body is trying to send about what it needs?
When I was in herbalism school, I loved learning about female health. To find out that there are ways of nurturing to help ease symptoms of things like your period and perimenopause felt like a secret superpower.
I loved watching some of my classmates dive deeper with teachers like Aviva Romm, and I thought, “Ok, that is incredible, someday I want to spend more time with it too and weave it into my work.”
Well, hooray! That day has come.
I didn’t know it then, but I was subconsciously waiting to integrate these ideas into my own life before I was ready to weave them into my work. Such is the case with all things, though.
This is the first installment in a four-part series. I am excited to share about how your skin reacts to different phases of your cycle and how to best support it during each.
For this series to make sense, you will, of course, need to know where you are in your cycle.
Tracking Your Cycle
When I say cycle, I mean the whole thing. A full menstrual cycle begins on day one of your period and ends the day before the next period starts. For many people, this is around 28 days, but healthy cycles can be shorter or longer.
There are four phases of a menstrual cycle: menstruation, follicular, ovulation, and luteal.
In this mini-series, I will break down each phase, starting with the menstrual phase in this piece.
It’s the easiest phase to know because it is the active bleeding days.
Start by marking down the first day of your period. That day is always considered day one of your cycle.
After day one of your period is marked, each day thereafter is counted—day two, day three, day ten, day sixteen, and so on.
Over time, you start to see that certain things reliably happen around certain days. There are apps for this, and I have used them, and they are great, but there’s also something kind of nice about doing it without an app. You get to know your body a little better.
Basal body temperature adds another layer of clarity. Temperature shifts will tell you when ovulation happens to confirm what phase you are in.
To dive deeper into tracking, measuring your temperature, and understanding the cycle, I HIGHLY recommend you read Wild Power by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer. It is excellent and will change your life and your cycle for the better.
What’s Going on During Your Period?
During menstruation, your body gets a really good reset.
A time to wipe the slate clean and start over fresh.
Kind of like a mini New Year’s once a month... Remember how I shared in my New Year’s piece that winter actually IS the fresh new start, it’s true for your body as well!
Yes, the spring and follicular phase feel like a fresh start, but they actually begin in the winter/menstrual phase. It’s the composting and recovery time that prepares you for later growth.
Wait..., but I HATE my period. What do you mean by ‘a fresh start’?
I know, I know- if this is your experience, I get it.
I want to honor this feeling; you’re not wrong to feel that way. Obviously, for many, many people, it’s a time of extreme pain and exhaustion, and it disrupts business as usual.
This is true, and I would also like to open the door for a bit of softening and a little curiosity around it.
The cultural attitude that periods are embarrassing, an interruption, problematic, something that should be suppressed, actually makes it worse.
Remember those commercials for Midol or Tampons that would feature a woman using the product and then being able to go for a run or head into a business meeting like a bad b and get shit done?
Well, as much as I love these things for women in general, during your period, that’s not the vibe. That’s not female empowerment. It’s a worship of uninterrupted productivity and is such a disconnection from your body!
Our body is always listening to the messages we send, and this one can affect symptoms.
Overriding your period to function exactly the same way puts stress on the body, makes you overstimulated, and leaves you under-rested during a phase meant to slow down. That keeps inflammation elevated, worsens symptoms throughout the cycle, and even leaves the skin less resilient!
Productivity and outward expression aren’t always bad; we should do hard things and push ourselves, but for women, that isn’t every day of the month.
Your body goes through different cycles of growth and then breakdown.
This is such a cool demonstration of natural intelligence. Constant growth isn’t healthy. Corporate America is still workshopping this idea.
Here’s a look at what’s happening during your cycle.
During the first half of the menstrual cycle (the follicular phase), estrogen signals the uterus to build a lining in preparation for a possible pregnancy. After ovulation (during the luteal phase), progesterone helps maintain that lining. If there is no pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone levels drop during luteal phase. When those hormone levels fall, the body gets a clear signal that the lining is no longer needed. That hormonal drop initiates the menstrual phase, during which the uterine lining is broken down and shed. During the menstrual phase, immune cells arrive to clean up the breakdown. This is a temporary, good inflammatory response that is supposed to shut off after.
Your skin during your menstrual phase:
During your period, estrogen and progesterone are lower. Estrogen prevents collagen breakdown but also supports new collagen. It increases your natural hyaluronic acid production, is anti-inflammatory, increases hydration, increases blood flow to the dermis, which brings oxygen and nutrients, and improves wound healing.
So it’s very normal for your skin to experience:
dryness and dehydration
increased sensitivity
slight redness/flushing
duller skin
skin that feels thinner
When the menstrual phase is under more strain than it’s meant to be, you might see skin issues that are common, but not actually normal:
1. Deep, painful, inflamed breakouts (especially jaw, chin, lower face)
Menstruation involves a temporary inflammatory response (this is good- we want this inflammation), but when inflammation becomes excessive or systemic, immune cells in the skin overreact, turning clogged pores into tender, swollen lesions.
2. Skin that burns, stings, or reacts to products that usually are usually tolerated
Low estrogen lowers skin resilience, and burning or stinging indicates nerve sensitivity and inflammation, which can be driven by nervous system activation during your period.
3. Skin that feels raw or irritated
Inflammation is up, and oil is down. The barrier is already comprimised and if there is too much systemic inflammation, the skin will respond with irritation.
5. Thicker feeling congestion or bumps
Cell turnover is down during mensturual phase, which means there are more skin cells hanging out on the skin, these cells mix with oils and clog pores. This combined with decreased circulation can result in congestion.
How To Support
The key takeaway is that menstrual-phase skin is not supposed to be perfect, and that’s ok. Again, constant growth is not healthy. This is not a call to force the body to produce more collagen, or to be ovulation skin.
But it’s also not supposed to leave your skin with acne that doesn’t heal well every month. Problems arise when the body is under too much strain to regulate inflammation, circulation, and repair simultaneously.
Lifestyle:
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Rest when possible. Less social commitments, slower mornings, shorter work days if possible, avoiding intense exercise, reduced stimulation (less input from media, podcasts, etc)
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Incorporate warmth and reduce cold: warmth on the belly and back, wearing socks or slippers, warm foods, warm thoughts, etc.
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Reduce stress as much as possible (psychological and physical stress- try to avoid gnarly chemical cleaning products, eat organic, etc.)
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Let yourself indulge in cocoon lift, focused on self-care and nourishment
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Consistency- having one “perfect” period is great, but it’s more important to consistently work toward supporting your body. The body takes time, and it responds best to consistency and rhythm.
Topically:
During your period, your body is already doing a lot of internal work, so when we think of topical support, we don’t want to compete with that and divert energy and resources to the skin. This is not the time to be doing microneedling or other treatments that require energy for deeper healing.
Best topical support during your period:
Calming cleansers and less cleansing (Laurel cream cleansers!)
Oils, balms
Soothing hydrosols like rose, chamomile, and calendula
Creamy masks (Lavish)
Soothing, rhythmic facial massage
The Lymph Brush (face and body)
Facial reflexology
Abyanga
Foot baths and magnesium body butter on feet before bed
Red light if it feels soothing and calming, if it leaves you feeling buzzy, I would put it away until follicular.
Ingredients I love during this time include: seaweed, beta-glucans, functional mushrooms, honey, aloe, oats, and gotu kola.
What Topical Treatments To Avoid:
Exfoliation, acids, and harsh treatments like dermaplane, microneedling, chemical peels, and waxing.
Stripping cleansers that leave the skin squeaky clean
Drying products
“Corrective” products
Stimulating massage, like cupping
Fast or harsh dry brushing
Herbs and Foods to Support
Raspberry leaf is traditionally used not because it supports uterine tone and recovery. It helps the uterus contract and then relax efficiently, and indirectly supports skin by improving how well the cycle completes.
Motherwort helps when periods are painful and emotionally charged. It relaxes the uterus and calms the nervous system, so this reset doesn’t feel like a fight.
Antispasmodic herbs like crampbark and skullcap help by softening excessive uterine contraction and relieving tension and painful cramps.
Warming foods and herbs improve circulation and ease the constriction that can worsen cramps, stagnation, and discomfort. Examples include ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cacao, and warm-cooked foods.
Cold or raw foods can weaken digestive fire and increase tension in digestion and circulation, making the overall process harder.
Bitter Herbs: The liver is involved in clearing hormonal byproducts from the last month’s cycle, bitter herbs help stimulate bile flow and digestion, which helps move hormone metabolites out instead of letting them recirculate.
Examples: bitter greens like arugula, dandelion greens, or radicchio.
Nutritives: Mineral-rich replenishing herbs and foods help replace minerals lost during bleeding and support a calm nervous system. Examples include nettle leaf, oat straw, cacao, raspberry leaf, plantain, bone broth, cooked leafy greens, beets, and black sesame seeds to help rebuild reserves.
Nervous system and emotional support: Plants like lemon balm, motherwort, tulsi, milky oat tincture, yarrow, rose, and passionflower help relieve emotional tension and make it easier to let go and rest.
Anti-inflammatory herbs: We have that good inflammation cleaning up after the breakdown, but we also want to make sure the body is supported in turning it off. Examples include chamomile, marshmallow, ginger, and rose.
Healthy fats like ghee, olive oil, avocado, and seeds support hormone signaling, skin barrier integrity, and nervous system regulation.
Protein helps stabilize blood sugar. Hormonal shifts lower your resiliancy to stress, and big swings can increase inflammation, cramps, and skin reactivity. Slow-cooked meats are very supportive, and cooking them in a slow cooker makes them easier to digest than quick, dry cooking methods.
Fiber-rich foods like oats, root vegetables, and cooked vegetables support smooth elimination by helping the body move hormone byproducts out through the gut. Simple, well-cooked foods like rice congee, oatmeal, or soft grains provide consistent energy without taxing digestion, which helps keep the nervous system calmer during menstruation.
