Hormones?
Bacteria?
Both?
Are you frustrated with constantly trying to work out why your acne won’t go away?
If you are then there are 2 possible causes of your acne… bacteria and hormones.
Telltale signs of hormonal acne
A telltale sign of a hormonal breakout is it’s located on the lower part of your face in the ‘beard area’ (jaw, chin, cheeks and neck).
If acne also pops out on your back, chest, and shoulders, especially around your menstrual cycle, then more than likely it’s hormonal acne too.
Check our guide here: What Hormonal Acne Looks Like And Ways To Check
What trigger hormonal acne?
Hormonal acne is triggered when androgen hormones, which include testosterone and DHEA, dominate over female hormones. Androgen hormones stimulate increased oil production from oil glands within skin pores.
The increased oil clogs the pore and causes a pimple.
Learn more how to treat this here:
How to Know If My Pimples Are Hormone Cuased Or By Other Factors
Surprisingly, androgen dominance doesn’t always result from the overproduction androgens. it’s often the result of low female hormone production.
When female hormone production is insufficient, androgen hormones have more of an effect than they should and the skin reacts in the same way as if they are high.
What causes low female hormones?
The most common cause of low female hormones is stress.
When you are stressed your body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. This hormone has a suppressive effect on the two female hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Because modern life is stressful your body constantly pumps out cortisol and over time this suppresses your female hormones and allows androgen hormones to dominate.
What causes bacterial acne?
Bacterial acne, on that other hand, is caused by bacteria on the surface of the skin which infects the pores. This shows up anywhere anytime with a reddish or pinkish area around red bumps and pimples.
Another sure fire sign that your acne is being caused by bacteria is if it responds to antibiotics. Antibiotics kill bacteria but don’t have any effect on hormones.
So if you’ve taken antibiotics for your acne and it didn’t improve then your acne is hormonal.
Hormonal acne usually won’t respond to topical acne treatments either. Whereas bacterial acne may improve. This can be a big clue to what’s going on.
Unfortunately you can have both hormonal and bacterial acne at the same time.
A hormonal problem can cause your body to produce too much sebum. This not only clogs your pores, but it creates an excellent environment for bacteria to thrive and cause acne.
So, what’s going on with you? It’s especially important to know the underlying cause of your acne so you can take proper action, including the correct herbs and supplements.
Our motto is… ‘Test!. Don’t guess!’
This way we can treat your hormonal acne cause directly, not just the symptoms.
If you want to get your hormones tested and a personalised supplement program created then you need to work with us 1-on-1.
This can be face to face in our clinic or online via ZOOM if you prefer (including if you are interstate and international).
For all the details about how to schedule a 1-on-1 consultation click here.
