Well, you ovulate two weeks before your period. I don't know about specific hormones, but maybe researching what exactly happens from ovulation would be helpful. I usually get a flare in my condition due to ovulation. How bad that flare is seems to depend on how I'm doing overall, but it may relate in your case as well.

My face has been much clearer than usual the past 2 weeks. I contribute that to going to bed 10pm and waking up at 6am on the dot each night because I had somewhere to be, it's the only thing that correlates.

Anyway,

Today my face exploded again. So many clogged pores and my forehead bumps - they are definitely hormonal they have to be.

It's exactly 2 weeks before my period. Which hormone is at play here? I've always been 'hormone confused', one thing I've tried to understand but never really could was the menstrual cycle and what happens week by week.

Can someone please tell me what happens 2 weeks before a period? Low estrogen? High estrogen? I'm clearest 2 weeks after my period. It's the 2 weeks before that are destroying my life.

However I'm on a birth control pill so I can't get tested and I'm pretty scared as to why this high estrogen pill is still making it possible for me to break out :/

I'm not going off the pill because I'm not ready for what's to come, if I can't get clear off it or on it I'm not ready to go back off it.

Can someone please give me a bit of advice as to what's going on with these hormones 2 weeks before and are they going to be the same as someone who wasn't on any pill?

I'm posting here rather in the hormone section as I feel like people on this board have a greater understanding of the body functions and that's more what I'm after, advice on explanation

Thank you

 

Since everyone likes pictures, I'll post a few and show you what's going on:

This isn't all of the hormones changing during ovulation, but you get the idea. The levels of estrogen to androgenic hormones may vary slightly from woman to woman, depending on the age an medications they may take. Estrogen is a protective and acne-reductive effect; if this level is lower than the androgenic hormones, it could cause a flare. Same concept applies to "postmenopausal acne": women can experience a breakout because their estrogen is lower compared to their androgens.

Some women may generally have a tad more testosterone than estrogen even when the cycle begins again (spiro is prescribed sometimes for this reason). If the breakouts are bad or are bothering you, your derm could prescribe you spiro.

You can look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle for more information. Plus the page has more pictures! 🙂

My face has been much clearer than usual the past 2 weeks. I contribute that to going to bed 10pm and waking up at 6am on the dot each night because I had somewhere to be, it's the only thing that correlates.

Anyway,

Today my face exploded again. So many clogged pores and my forehead bumps - they are definitely hormonal they have to be.

It's exactly 2 weeks before my period. Which hormone is at play here? I've always been 'hormone confused', one thing I've tried to understand but never really could was the menstrual cycle and what happens week by week.

Can someone please tell me what happens 2 weeks before a period? Low estrogen? High estrogen? I'm clearest 2 weeks after my period. It's the 2 weeks before that are destroying my life.

However I'm on a birth control pill so I can't get tested and I'm pretty scared as to why this high estrogen pill is still making it possible for me to break out :/

I'm not going off the pill because I'm not ready for what's to come, if I can't get clear off it or on it I'm not ready to go back off it.

Can someone please give me a bit of advice as to what's going on with these hormones 2 weeks before and are they going to be the same as someone who wasn't on any pill?

I'm posting here rather in the hormone section as I feel like people on this board have a greater understanding of the body functions and that's more what I'm after, advice on explanation

Thank you

 

Since everyone likes pictures, I'll post a few and show you what's going on:

This isn't all of the hormones changing during ovulation, but you get the idea. The levels of estrogen to androgenic hormones may vary slightly from woman to woman, depending on the age an medications they may take. Estrogen is a protective and acne-reductive effect; if this level is lower than the androgenic hormones, it could cause a flare. Same concept applies to "postmenopausal acne": women can experience a breakout because their estrogen is lower compared to their androgens.

Some women may generally have a tad more testosterone than estrogen even when the cycle begins again (spiro is prescribed sometimes for this reason). If the breakouts are bad or are bothering you, your derm could prescribe you spiro.

You can look at http://en.wikipedia....Menstrual_cycle for more information. Plus the page has more pictures!

 

Thanks for that 🙂

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, so 2 weeks before my period my estrogen is lowering and androgens are now in excess and causing the acne? So it really doesn't have much to do with the progesterone? I used to use spiro and it worked but I went off it because I wanted to try and solve my problems rather cover it up but I'm not sure how to permanently make my androgens 'less'. Is that possible? I know you can get progesterone cream and take estrogen pills but is there anything you can do permanently lower androgens? I'm not sure I understand where the androgens come from. I used to be on a low dose estrogen pill and was still clear. If I'm breaking out when my estrogen lowers that's kinda scary because I'm on a high dose estrogen pills I'm worried about whats going to happen when I take all that estrogen away -_-

Then again this all just takes me back to 2 years ago and why all of a sudden my androgens started affecting me out of nowhere :/

hm. very confused at the moment haha

My face has been much clearer than usual the past 2 weeks. I contribute that to going to bed 10pm and waking up at 6am on the dot each night because I had somewhere to be, it's the only thing that correlates.

Anyway,

Today my face exploded again. So many clogged pores and my forehead bumps - they are definitely hormonal they have to be.

It's exactly 2 weeks before my period. Which hormone is at play here? I've always been 'hormone confused', one thing I've tried to understand but never really could was the menstrual cycle and what happens week by week.

Can someone please tell me what happens 2 weeks before a period? Low estrogen? High estrogen? I'm clearest 2 weeks after my period. It's the 2 weeks before that are destroying my life.

However I'm on a birth control pill so I can't get tested and I'm pretty scared as to why this high estrogen pill is still making it possible for me to break out :/

I'm not going off the pill because I'm not ready for what's to come, if I can't get clear off it or on it I'm not ready to go back off it.

Can someone please give me a bit of advice as to what's going on with these hormones 2 weeks before and are they going to be the same as someone who wasn't on any pill?

I'm posting here rather in the hormone section as I feel like people on this board have a greater understanding of the body functions and that's more what I'm after, advice on explanation

Thank you

 

Since everyone likes pictures, I'll post a few and show you what's going on:

This isn't all of the hormones changing during ovulation, but you get the idea. The levels of estrogen to androgenic hormones may vary slightly from woman to woman, depending on the age an medications they may take. Estrogen is a protective and acne-reductive effect; if this level is lower than the androgenic hormones, it could cause a flare. Same concept applies to "postmenopausal acne": women can experience a breakout because their estrogen is lower compared to their androgens.

Some women may generally have a tad more testosterone than estrogen even when the cycle begins again (spiro is prescribed sometimes for this reason). If the breakouts are bad or are bothering you, your derm could prescribe you spiro.

You can look at http://en.wikipedia....Menstrual_cycle for more information. Plus the page has more pictures!

 

Thanks for that

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, so 2 weeks before my period my estrogen is lowering and androgens are now in excess and causing the acne? So it really doesn't have much to do with the progesterone? I used to use spiro and it worked but I went off it because I wanted to try and solve my problems rather cover it up but I'm not sure how to permanently make my androgens 'less'. Is that possible? I know you can get progesterone cream and take estrogen pills but is there anything you can do permanently lower androgens? I'm not sure I understand where the androgens come from. I used to be on a low dose estrogen pill and was still clear. If I'm breaking out when my estrogen lowers that's kinda scary because I'm on a high dose estrogen pills I'm worried about whats going to happen when I take all that estrogen away -_-

Then again this all just takes me back to 2 years ago and why all of a sudden my androgens started affecting me out of nowhere :/

hm. very confused at the moment haha

 

You're welcome!

'Androgens', admittedly, is a broad term for male hormones but I don't want to bog readers down with technical names and confuse them more.

Progesterone alone has not been extensively researched specifically for non-PCOS acne, but it's generally accepted that excessive levels of that hormone (including androgens) among dermatologists does influence acne in teen and young adult years. There is some research conducted all the way back in the 1950s specifically about progesterone and acne, however, concluding that higher levels of progesterone lead to acne. And now I wish I could just get the full text of these studies!

In the first 1 to 14 days (the follicular phase), estrogen (estradiol) is the "head hormone". A woman's period lasts a few days to a week from beginning to end in this time span, which is why she tends to clear up shortly after she gets her period. Then when the 14th day rolls around (again, this day varies in women) she ovulates then the luteal phase begins and usurps the estrogen, secreting a ton of various hormones (lots of androgens) but mainly progesterone. Estrogen spikes a little afterward, but not enough to offset the higher androgens and acne problem.

No, there is no way to permanently lower the androgens as far as gynecologists know. To do that, you'd have to change your genetics, and I (and much of the medical community) have no idea how you'd do it without causing potential side effects. And it's not that androgens themselves are entirely a bad thing -- your body needs it after all! Just the excess stuff is.

And I should be a bit more clear on the estrogen-lowering part: if you look at the chart, estrogen does lower and progesterone rises past day 15 or so and into 28+. For women in just in menopause, the hormones involved in carrying a baby are quite lowered, but it's the estrogen that takes the hit the most while some of the androgens remain relatively high and then it balances out later. Does that make sense to you, FSAS?

My face has been much clearer than usual the past 2 weeks. I contribute that to going to bed 10pm and waking up at 6am on the dot each night because I had somewhere to be, it's the only thing that correlates.

Anyway,

Today my face exploded again. So many clogged pores and my forehead bumps - they are definitely hormonal they have to be.

It's exactly 2 weeks before my period. Which hormone is at play here? I've always been 'hormone confused', one thing I've tried to understand but never really could was the menstrual cycle and what happens week by week.

Can someone please tell me what happens 2 weeks before a period? Low estrogen? High estrogen? I'm clearest 2 weeks after my period. It's the 2 weeks before that are destroying my life.

However I'm on a birth control pill so I can't get tested and I'm pretty scared as to why this high estrogen pill is still making it possible for me to break out :/

I'm not going off the pill because I'm not ready for what's to come, if I can't get clear off it or on it I'm not ready to go back off it.

Can someone please give me a bit of advice as to what's going on with these hormones 2 weeks before and are they going to be the same as someone who wasn't on any pill?

I'm posting here rather in the hormone section as I feel like people on this board have a greater understanding of the body functions and that's more what I'm after, advice on explanation

Thank you

 

Since everyone likes pictures, I'll post a few and show you what's going on:

This isn't all of the hormones changing during ovulation, but you get the idea. The levels of estrogen to androgenic hormones may vary slightly from woman to woman, depending on the age an medications they may take. Estrogen is a protective and acne-reductive effect; if this level is lower than the androgenic hormones, it could cause a flare. Same concept applies to "postmenopausal acne": women can experience a breakout because their estrogen is lower compared to their androgens.

Some women may generally have a tad more testosterone than estrogen even when the cycle begins again (spiro is prescribed sometimes for this reason). If the breakouts are bad or are bothering you, your derm could prescribe you spiro.

You can look at http://en.wikipedia....Menstrual_cycle for more information. Plus the page has more pictures!

 

Thanks for that

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, so 2 weeks before my period my estrogen is lowering and androgens are now in excess and causing the acne? So it really doesn't have much to do with the progesterone? I used to use spiro and it worked but I went off it because I wanted to try and solve my problems rather cover it up but I'm not sure how to permanently make my androgens 'less'. Is that possible? I know you can get progesterone cream and take estrogen pills but is there anything you can do permanently lower androgens? I'm not sure I understand where the androgens come from. I used to be on a low dose estrogen pill and was still clear. If I'm breaking out when my estrogen lowers that's kinda scary because I'm on a high dose estrogen pills I'm worried about whats going to happen when I take all that estrogen away -_-

Then again this all just takes me back to 2 years ago and why all of a sudden my androgens started affecting me out of nowhere :/

hm. very confused at the moment haha

 

You're welcome!

'Androgens', admittedly, is a broad term for male hormones but I don't want to bog readers down with technical names and confuse them more.

Progesterone alone has not been extensively researched specifically for non-PCOS acne, but it's generally accepted that excessive levels of that hormone (including androgens) among dermatologists does influence acne in teen and young adult years. There is some research conducted all the way back in the 1950s specifically about progesterone and acne, however, concluding that higher levels of progesterone lead to acne. And now I wish I could just get the full text of these studies!

In the first 1 to 14 days (the follicular phase), estrogen (estradiol) is the "head hormone". A woman's period lasts a few days to a week from beginning to end in this time span, which is why she tends to clear up shortly after she gets her period. Then when the 14th day rolls around (again, this day varies in women) she ovulates then the luteal phase begins and usurps the estrogen, secreting a ton of various hormones (lots of androgens) but mainly progesterone. Estrogen spikes a little afterward, but not enough to offset the higher androgens and acne problem.

No, there is no way to permanently lower the androgens as far as gynecologists know. To do that, you'd have to change your genetics, and I (and much of the medical community) have no idea how you'd do it without causing potential side effects. And it's not that androgens themselves are entirely a bad thing -- your body needs it after all! Just the excess stuff is.

And I should be a bit more clear on the estrogen-lowering part: if you look at the chart, estrogen does lower and progesterone rises past day 15 or so and into 28+. For women in just in menopause, the hormones involved in carrying a baby are quite lowered, but it's the estrogen that takes the hit the most while some of the androgens remain relatively high and then it balances out later. Does that make sense to you, FSAS?

 

Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate your help, I still don't quite understand (sorry >.<) I understand a lot about hormones and which ones do what and whatnot but still a little stuck, I have this weird notion in my head as to what and why my acne is. 2 years ago my acne just appeared full blast out of nowhere, I've never had acne in my life (nearly 21) so when I was late 18 it all happened.

Ideally shouldn't Diane clear me up? My identical twin has flawless skin so it's always hard for me to understand genetics because ideally her and I should have indentical skin if it is genetics. Not quite sure what I've done wrong in the meantime.

With hormones though, will I ever be able to get clear without always taking a pill or something? In that sense I mean like all of a sudden androgens are affecting my skin yet for 3 years I've done all requested to attempt to balance hormones from lifestyle, diet to sleep to meditation honestly done it all...so I guess I'm curious as to why things arent even moderately changing. I feel like all of a sudden my 'threshold' has changed and can't change back to the way I was 3 years ago :/

I'm not making sense sorry, not sure how to explain what I'm attempting to say.

I really don't know what my next step has to be :/