How Hormone Testing Can Help You Finally Clear Acne

You’ve got acne along your jawline and chin. It’s obviously hormonal, and it gets worse around your period, showing up right on schedule. And unfortunately, no amount of fancy face wash makes a lasting difference. So you see your GP, explain the pattern, and they run hormone tests. Everything comes back “normal”, and you’re told there’s no problem.

But the acne is still there, staring back at you in the mirror every morning.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not imagining things. It is actually more common than you think. Standard blood tests are designed to detect diseases such as ovarian failure, tumours, and serious pathology. What they are not designed to do, is test the hormonal imbalances that trigger persistent acne.

There’s not this overt underproduction or overproduction, but it’s quite obvious there’s a hormone problem, otherwise there wouldn’t be any acne. This pattern shows up constantly in clinical practice.

We are here to explain to you why “normal” test results don’t mean balanced hormones, what different types of hormone testing actually reveal, and how naturopathic treatment addresses the imbalances causing your skin to break out.

The “Normal Range Problem”: Why Your GP Missed Your Hormone Imbalance

The standard blood tests you get from a GP use reference ranges designed to detect pathology. These ranges are broad because they need to catch serious disease states. You can sit comfortably within a “normal” range whilst still experiencing significant functional imbalances.

For example, your testosterone may sit at the top of the normal range whilst your oestrogen sits at the bottom. Technically, both are normal on paper. But this is actually androgen dominance, which causes classic hormonal acne issues. One hormone peaks at the top of the range while the other bottoms out. That IS the problem.

While standard blood tests look for disease, functional testing looks for imbalance. Two completely different things.

Hormonal acne patterns have distinct signs, such as where the breakout on your face appears. Acne that is concentrated along the jawline, chin, and around the mouth is a clear sign of imbalanced hormones.

Many people go through their early twenties with clear skin, only to begin experiencing hormonal acne in their late twenties and thirties.

So, you’re not crazy for feeling dismissed when test results come back normal. The issue is that the testing was looking for the wrong thing.

What is the Hormone-Acne Connection?

There are a few hormones that affect your skin directly. And when they fall out of balance, acne follows. Understanding this connection is key to finding effective acne treatments.

Androgens (Testosterone and DHEA) Drive Sebum Production

When androgens are elevated relative to female hormones, your skin becomes oilier. This pattern is particularly common in individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but androgen dominance can also happen on its own.

Oestrogen Protects Skin When Balanced Properly

When oestrogen runs too low relative to testosterone, androgen effects dominate even if testosterone isn’t particularly high. If your body can’t detoxify oestrogen efficiently, the resulting metabolites drive inflammation, which shows up as acne.

Progesterone Balances Oestrogen

Low progesterone relative to other hormones is common in hormonal acne. Progesterone naturally drops before your period, which is why breakouts flare up so predictably during that part of your menstrual cycle.

Cortisol Throws Everything Off Balance

A chronic elevation of cortisol disrupts the delicate balance between all your sex hormones. It also increases overall inflammation.

It’s not just about individual levels, it is the ratio between hormones that creates the problem. One hormone being relatively high compared to another drives the acne, even if both sit within normal laboratory ranges.

How Naturopathic Hormone Testing Works Differently

As naturopaths, we approach hormone testing through three perspectives, each answering a different question about what’s happening in your body.

Blood Testing (Standard GP Approach)

The first is blood tests to measure hormone production. Is the body making enough hormones? These tests detect disease-level problems. But if you’re not dealing with ovarian failure or a tumour, blood tests often miss what’s causing your symptoms.

Saliva Hormone Testing

Saliva testing measures hormone levels in tissues, which is where the action actually happens. This type of hormonal testing reveals what hormone levels are doing in the skin itself.

Saliva tests measure cortisol, oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA. This reveals functional imbalances as it shows active hormone levels at the tissue level. For straightforward hormonal acne, saliva testing provides an excellent starting point. It is also cost-effective and clinically useful.

Urine Hormone Testing (DUTCH Test)

Urine testing measures what’s left after your body breaks down hormones.

Your body can process hormones through different pathways. Some create inflammation, others don’t. If you’re using predominantly inflammatory pathways, even “normal” hormone levels cause ongoing skin problems. The DUTCH test shows which ones you’re using. Even with normal hormone levels, breaking them down through inflammatory pathways causes persistent problems.

DUTCH testing becomes more relevant when you’re dealing with acne plus severe premenstrual syndrome, you have had bad reactions to birth control (emotional changes, weight gain, feeling unwell), or previous testing hasn’t provided answers.

The easiest way to think about it: blood hormone testing shows production. Is your body making the right amounts? Saliva hormone testing tells us what the hormone levels are out in the body within the tissue, where the action’s happening, like the skin. Urine hormone testing tells us what’s coming out of the body, how things are being broken down and eliminated. We’re just looking at the hormones through different angles.

What Your Test Results Reveal

Naturopaths read hormone tests through a different lens than conventional medicine.

Rather than checking whether results fall in range or out of range, they look for patterns. Where in the range do your levels sit? What’s the ratio between different hormones? Are there patterns explaining your symptoms?

Several common patterns emerge in hormonal acne cases.

• Androgen dominance is the most common pattern. Your testosterone sits higher than your oestrogen and progesterone. Blood tests call this “normal” because testosterone isn’t technically high. But compared to your other hormones? That’s the imbalance causing your acne.
• Low female hormones create a similar problem in reverse. When oestrogen or progesterone is low, androgens take over even if your testosterone isn’t elevated. This happens a lot after stopping oral contraceptive pills.
• Poor hormone detoxification shows up on DUTCH testing. Your body breaks down hormones through different pathways. Some pathways create more inflammation than others. Use of the inflammatory ones and even normal hormone levels becomes a problem.
• High cortisol means stress is disrupting your hormones, and chronic stress affects how your body produces and balances all your sex hormones. This rarely happens on its own.

You’ll usually find multiple imbalances happening at once. Treatment has to tackle all of them, not just one. That’s why testing matters. It shows exactly what needs fixing instead of guessing with generic protocols.

How Testing Translates to Treatment of Acne

Once testing reveals specific imbalances, treating hormonal acne is targeted to those exact patterns using herbal medicine, nutritional strategies, and lifestyle adjustments.

Different imbalance patterns require different protocols:

• For high androgens (elevated testosterone or DHEA): Herbs like liquorice, peony, and saw palmetto help reduce androgen dominance, supporting the body in bringing male hormones down relative to female hormones.
• For low female hormones: Peony, black cohosh, and withania (also called ashwagandha) help raise oestrogen and progesterone levels.
• For poor detoxification: Liver support herbs alongside nutritional strategies that promote healthier breakdown pathways. Gut health becomes particularly important here because the digestive system plays a crucial role in hormone elimination.
• For elevated cortisol: Stress management protocols, adaptogenic herbs, and attention to sleep quality and lifestyle factors.

The Two-Phase Treatment Timeline

Hormone rebalancing isn’t quick, but it’s effective when done properly.

Phase One: Rebalancing (Months 1 to 6)

The first phase means using herbs and supplements to shift hormone levels. If you’re menstruating, think in cycles not months (six cycles is about six months). You’ll typically see initial improvements after one to two cycles, however real changes show up around cycle six, when your skin starts clearing as hormones rebalance.

Phase Two: Sustaining (Months 6 to 12)

This is a longer, but extremely important phase. The body needs time to make this new hormone balance its default setting.

Your body needs time to adopt the new hormone pattern as its baseline. If you stop too soon, your hormones will revert, and your acne will return. You end up in that frustrating cycle of good, then bad, then good, then bad.

You also have to focus on a realistic timeframe. The first noticeable improvements should be within one to three months, with your skin clearing significantly around six months. The average time for the full treatment to take place and sustain is around nine to twelve months.

Long-term clear skin, the kind that persists after treatment ends, requires you completing the full protocol. It’s about breaking that frustrating cycle and supporting your hormones long enough, so your body learns the new pattern. Eventually, you don’t need the supplements anymore.

Although most content promises thirty-day results, real hormone rebalancing takes longer. Unlike topical treatments that only work while you’re using them, addressing the root cause means genuinely clear skin without ongoing medication.

Naturopathic treatment can work alongside dermatologist care when appropriate. This approach is about addressing the underlying cause whilst managing symptoms during the rebalancing process.

Why the Holistic Approach Looks Beyond Just Hormones

Naturopathy looks at the whole picture. It’s a holistic look, not just one particular thing, but how they all interact.

Lifestyle Plays A Substantial Role

Stress levels directly affect cortisol and disrupt other hormones, while sleep quality matters because significant hormone production happens during sleep. The amount you exercise also affects hormones differently depending on intensity and frequency, too much or too little both create problems.

Diet Influences Hormone Detoxification In The Liver

Your blood sugar stability impacts insulin, which affects androgen levels. Your body needs specific nutrients that are required for hormone production. Your liver function is also imperative in breaking down hormones properly.

Miss these nutritional building blocks and your body can’t manufacture hormones properly.

Gut Health Impacts Hormone Elimination And Overall Inflammation

The gut also affects hormone recycling, determining whether hormones get reabsorbed or properly eliminated. Poor gut health can trigger inflammation that worsens hormonal acne.

The approach is about adjusting the right factors to help your body function optimally. Rather than forcing the body into a state requiring constant supplementation, treatment restores natural patterns. Once your body’s natural rhythm is restored, it maintains hormone balance independently.

Just remember, lifestyle influences hormone production, diet affects how hormones are cleared, and stress impacts everything. These factors are all connected.

Adjusting them allows your body’s natural rhythm to restore itself so it can function the way it should.

Is Hormone Testing Right for Your Acne & Skin Health?

You’re likely a good candidate if:

• Acne appears primarily on your jawline, chin, and around your mouth
• Breakouts worsen around your period
• You’ve been told your hormones are “normal” but symptoms persist
• Topical treatments provide temporary relief at best
• Acne started or worsened during your late twenties or thirties
• You experience other hormone symptoms, like premenstrual syndrome or irregular cycles

DUTCH testing becomes especially relevant if you’re dealing with severe premenstrual syndrome alongside acne, you had bad reactions to birth control pills, your symptom picture seems complex, or you suspect hormone detoxification might be contributing.

Just remember that testing won’t reveal everything. It won’t tell you about genetic predisposition to acne or address past scarring. Hormone testing is one piece of the puzzle, but it’s often the missing piece that finally provides answers after years of frustration.

For residents of Miranda, Cronulla, Caringbah and surrounding areas, comprehensive hormone testing is available locally. No need to travel to CBD practices for saliva and DUTCH testing. We order the test kit you need, it gets shipped to your home, you do the sample collections, and then you post it back to the lab.

Even if you aren’t local we can get a test kit shipped to you as our Australian lab ships nationally. And if you’re international we can get test kits shipped from US and European labs.

Breaking Free From Hormonal Acne

If you’ve got hormonal acne and standard tests have come back that there is no issue, the problem isn’t that nothing’s wrong, rather the testing was looking for disease rather than functional imbalance. The ranges are set to catch serious pathology, not the relative imbalances between hormones that drive persistent skin problems.

With specific test results in hand, treatment can target your exact hormone pattern.

This isn’t a quick fix. Hormone rebalancing takes six to twelve months when done properly. But unlike topical treatments that only work whilst you’re using them, or birth control that suppresses symptoms without addressing underlying causes, working with your hormones means long-term clear skin without ongoing medication dependency.

You deserve answers, not dismissal. Hormone testing provides the roadmap to actually clearing acne for good. The patterns are there in your hormones. The right testing shows them. Targeted treatment rebalances them. Clear skin follows.

If you’re tired of being told everything’s normal whilst your skin tells a different story, comprehensive hormone testing might finally provide the answers you’ve been searching for. Happy & Healthy Wellbeing in Miranda can test your hormones, identify the imbalances, and create a treatment plan that actually works.

Speak with us today to talk about the first steps with managing hormonal acne and achieving healthier skin.