With hormones sending clients’ skin into overdrive, AMANDA PAULEY explores how you can help women make the best skincare choices during their monthly cycle

Skincare

Periods are a pain (literally) but it’s not just the cramps, bloating and mood swings that us women have to contend with. The crimson tide is also well known for playing havoc with our skin, resulting in a combination of premenstrual flare-ups, enlarged pores and increased oiliness.

Right now, more than 800 million women and girls around the world are menstruating, according to figures from the International Business Times, and the NHS says each person will lose on average 30 to 72 millilitres of blood during their period – the equivalent of five to 12 teaspoons. So, is it any surprise that the largest organ in our body is reflecting what’s going on internally?

“In the week leading up to your period, your oestrogen levels are dropping and androgen (the male hormone that affects oil production in the skin) is at an increase.

When this happens, a message is sent to your sebaceous glands telling them to produce more oil”, says Pamela Marshall, clinical aesthetician and co-founder of Mortar & Milk salon in Fulham, London.

This imbalance stimulates inflammation and an increase in sebum around two to seven days prior to menstruation.

“When oil production spikes and our skin cells aren’t easily sloughed off, the extra sebum builds up and feeds into whatever acne-causing bacteria is there, causing breakouts”, explains Samantha Kendrew, training and development manager for Gerrard International, which distributes skincare brand BeautyLab.

Ease the pain

Basically, this time of the month can be a real bummer. However, there’s lots you can do to help clients manage these symptoms and get them under greater control period-to-period, especially important when you consider that women are estimated to have around 450 in their lifetime, according to the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.

With analyst Mintel reporting that Brits spent an impressive £7.6 billion on beauty treatments in 2017 alone, and forecasting this figure to surpass £8bn by 2021, surely the industry is best placed to provide non-medical remedies to clients’ period skin woes?

The Natural Spa Factory recently launched its first periodfocused treatment Woman:Kind, which aims to “normalise the typically taboo conversation surrounding periods” with a specific protocol to balance hormonal skin and tackle sensitivities.

Meanwhile, UK salons such as Harrogate Health and Beauty and Sugar Box Clinic in Newport are tailoring their services to this issue by creating bespoke treatment and product offerings to help clients during their menstrual cycle, giving a much more personal approach.

Stage one: understand skin behaviour

So, how can you go about creating a personalised treatment and homecare regime for each client that works with her body during her menstrual cycle? Step one is to have the right dialogue, as Donna Tait, co-founder of Katherine Daniels Cosmetics, explains: “Therapists should be listening to their clients to treat the problem rather than the symptoms

“For example, when a client says, ‘My skin always behaves like this when I am on my period’, you need to respond by helping the skin protect itself – strengthening its defence mechanisms and reducing its negative memory”, she adds. The best way to do this is to fully understand how your client’s skin behaves during menstruation, so you need to ask them to track their cycle. There are lots of free ovulation-tracking apps, such as Clue, Flo Period and Period Diary, that can help your customers get to know their bodies better.

Emma Webber, co-founder of Natural Spa Factory, also recommends asking them to keep a skin diary in the month leading up to their next facial. “Ask them to note sensitivities, flare ups, dry patches, excess sebum or breakouts on a day-to-day basis and to bring this to the consultation, as it will give you an idea of which ingredients to steer away from, what to focus on and the products to recommend.”

Then, explain to your client why these things happen.

For example, that congestion will typically appear on the chin and jawline because, as Gemma Lea, UK national training manager for Comfort Zone, explains, “When you map the face, the lower areas are connected to the reproductive system. Plus, the skin on the face has more sebaceous glands then the rest of the body.”

Lea recommends using a clay-based mask in treatment to absorb the excess sebum and purify the skin, as well as “products packed with marula oil because it’s rich in omega 9 and full of phytosterol, which helps preserve, calm and soothe the skin”, she adds.

Formulas that minimise the growth of bacteria and the size of breakouts are also important to incorporate into treatments, especially for clients who suffer with more aggressive menstrual flare-ups. You could use blue light technology because it has an antibacterial effect on the skin.

“Female adult skin tends to heal slower, meaning breakouts linger, and pigmentation and scarring is common when these blemishes finally clear”, explains Victoria Schofield, education executive for Dermalogica. “Using products with hyaluronic acid and colloidal silver will help to hydrate and boost wound healing.” All our experts recommend asking your clients to book in their facial a week before their period is due.

Stage two: introduce power products

For clients to maintain treatment results long term, you need to get them on board with the idea that they’ll need to regularly switch up their skincare regime in the run up to their period. “Your client’s skin is constantly changing and there will be times when the products you recommended for their skin type several treatments ago might not be working”, explains Christina Salcedas, global director of education for Aromatherapy Associates.

“It’s like your wardrobe. You don’t wear the same coat all year and it’s the same principle with your skin – you have your basic regime but then clients should have one or two products that they use intermittently during their period.” The menstrual cycle is known to make skin more sensitive, so ask clients to stop using anything heavily scented or packed with harsh exfoliants that could irritate during this time.

Formulations with ginger and black pepper should also be avoided as “they are warming ingredients and the skin is already inflamed due to clients’ body temperature being hotter than normal”, adds Salcedas.

Kendrew recommends getting clients to adjust their cleanser to one containing glycolic acid in the week leading up to their period as “this alpha hydroxy acid works preventatively to decrease sebum production and stop pores from clogging so acne doesn’t develop”, she says. “It’s also renowned for its exfoliating properties and smoothing out the skin’s texture.”

Cleansers packed with beta hydroxy acid are also ideal for those who don’t get the pustules but experience bump-like cysts underneath the skin. “Salicylic acid is a great anti-blemish formulation. It’s water soluble, meaning it can penetrate deep into the pores, and has antiinflammatory properties”, says Tracy Wilmot, training and education director for Murad.

Stage three: address nutrition

Of course, other factors such as your clients’ snacking habits will also have an impact on how their skin reacts during this time. “Hormones affect food cravings, causing clients to reach for fatty or sugary foods, which can contribute to things like breakouts”, explains Nicci Anstey, global training and education director at Elemis. Use your expertise to help feed their skin externally with the right products as well as internally with the right foods.

Wilmott advises recommending foods like onion and garlic, which “have natural detoxifying and purifying benefits for skin, while pineapples and pomegranates are helpful for breakouts because they have lots of natural enzymes and antioxidants that help with inflammation.”

Pro brands Aromatherapy Associates, Comfort Zone and Murad all have nutritional advice on their websites which your therapists can direct clients to when giving aftercare advice, adding a new dimension to your service.

Aromatherapy Associates has a panel of wellbeing experts that includes nutritionist Yvonne Wake, who has made a series of videos on “mindful eating”, which could be a good entry point for clients willing to adapt their diets to help alleviate period symptoms. Plus, Murad and Comfort Zone regularly share simple recipes online that clients can easily adapt into their busy lives.

Marshall also promotes the value of gut health in her clinic and will put clients on a high dose of oral probiotics (30 to 50 billion cultures) for three months to get their gut back in working order.

“If our gut is unhealthy – with leaky gut syndrome, for example – toxins aren’t leaving through our normal digestive system, so they spread out into the body and it’s our skin that has to take on the release of them”, she says. “It’s a factor that can make a small situation such as a period even worse.”

Stage four: help with lifestyle habits

Clients’ basal body temperature will also vary during menstruation, which is why many women may tell you that they often feel flushed. This spike in body temperature can lead to poor-quality sleep, which shows itself as bad skin. It’s a vicious cycle.

“In your aftercare advice, tell clients to have a cut off point for looking at their digital devices and to get into bed earlier because your skin heals when it rests”, says Vicky Convy, Nimue’s educator for Europe and the Middle East.

Pass on your knowledge of helpful lifestyle tips like meditation techniques because these “help balance emotions and stress levels, which will impact skin more positively”, adds Schofield, as well as making sure clients keep themselves hydrated so their body can do what it needs to do.

You could even incorporate breathing techniques into your facial and then recommend clients practise at home. “Concentrating on breathing can help take the mind away from the pain of cramps”, explains Salcedas. “I recommend holding your breath to the count of four and then exhaling for four.”

Using your intricate knowledge of the body to advise clients on skincare, nutrition and lifestyle adjustments should help keep skin fluctuations under control and create a loyal customer.