Acne Before your period: Why do you get pimples on your chin and jawline?

Acne worsens for many women in the 7 to 10 days before menstruation due to hormonal fluctuations. During that week, certain hormones make your skin oilier, while the hormone that normally keeps your skin calm decreases. This leads to more sebum, increased inflammation susceptibility, and typically pimples on the chin and jawline.

“It’s always the same. A week before my period: bam. Pimples on my chin, an underlying tightness along my jawline, my skin becomes impure… and I can feel it coming.”

And at some point, you might think: Is it my skincare?
Am I doing something wrong? Are my hormones out of balance?

Let me reassure you. What happens to your skin just before your period is no coincidence. And if you understand what's happening, it feels less like your body is working against you.

What happens to my hormones just before my period?

This period is called the late luteal phase. That's the last week before your menstruation.

After ovulation, your progesterone rises sharply. At the same time, your estrogen slowly decreases. In the very last days, both drop, but relatively, androgens (male hormones like testosterone) become more dominant in your skin. (Read more: Hormonal acne explained)

And that's where hormonal acne often begins.

Cause

• Progesterone and androgens stimulate your sebaceous glands
• More sebum means oilier skin
• Estrogen, which normally has a calming and anti-sebum effect, decreases
• Your skin becomes more susceptible to inflammation

That's the perfect cocktail for premenstrual acne.

In a classic study of adult women, an average of about 20 to 25 percent more inflamed lesions were observed during this last phase of the cycle. So it's not just in your head. It's measurable.

Why do I mostly get pimples on my chin before my period?

If you mostly get pimples on your chin, or along your jawline, you are experiencing a very typical pattern of adult acne with hormonal influence. (Read more: Acne before your period? Here's how to adjust your skincare)

Symptoms

• Worsening 7 to 10 days before your period
• Red, painful or subcutaneous lesions
• Location: chin, jawline, sometimes neck
• Recurring pattern every month

The skin in that zone contains more androgen receptors and sebaceous glands that are more sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. This makes that V-zone more vulnerable.

Additionally:

• We touch our chin more often
• Makeup can accumulate there more easily
• Friction from scarves or hands also plays a role

And another important point: even when your period starts and your hormones drop, your sebum production doesn't suddenly stop. What has already been set in motion continues for a while. That's why you can still see new pimples appear and experience impure skin in the first few days after your period.

Does this mean my hormones are out of balance?

That's a question many young women ask themselves.

The answer is nuanced.

A cyclical worsening of hormonal acne does not automatically mean your hormones are out of balance. For many women, hormone levels in the blood are completely normal. The difference is often local in the skin.

Your sebaceous glands may react more sensitively. Or there is more local conversion of testosterone to a more active form in the skin itself. This is not always visible in a standard blood test.

When to test?

When do we consider an underlying hormonal cause such as PCOS?

• Irregular cycles
• Excessive hair growth
• Hair loss
• Very pronounced sebum production
• Acne that is continuously present and not just cyclical

Then further investigation is useful. But for many women, it concerns a normal hormonal fluctuation with a sensitive skin reaction.

What else plays a role in premenstrual acne besides hormones?

Hormones are not the only piece of the puzzle.

When you eat a lot of fast sugars, your insulin rises, which also increases a growth hormone (IGF-1) in your body. These two together can further stimulate your androgens, causing you to produce more sebum and get pimples faster.

Stress increases cortisol. And cortisol can also activate your sebaceous glands and increase inflammation susceptibility.

That's why you often see a combination:

• Busy work week
• Worse sleep
• More cravings
• More sugar
• And then impure skin just before your period

Your body works as one system. Your skin is not a separate island in it.

Read more about the link between diet and acne here.
Read here how hormonal acne differs precisely from other forms of acne. 

Do I have hormonal acne or regular acne?

In summary: when do we speak of hormonal acne?

• Worsening 7 to 10 days before your period
• Mainly inflammatory lesions
• Location: chin and jawline
• Improvement in the first week of your cycle

Non-hormonal acne is more often seen:

• Equally severe throughout the entire cycle
• More comedones on the T-zone
• Strong link with wrong products, occlusion or overtreatment

And sometimes it's a combination of both.

Do you want to know if you should adjust your skincare during your cycle? You can read about that in this blog about adjusting your skincare around your cycle. 

Why does hormonal acne feel so frustrating?

Because it keeps coming back. Every month again.

And you think: I'm doing everything right, why does this keep happening?

But what you need to understand is this: hormonal acne doesn't mean your skin is broken. It means your skin reacts sensitively to predictable fluctuations.

Predictable means we can learn to work with it.

Not by being more aggressive. Not by drying everything out. But by understanding what your skin needs during that phase. 

Frequently asked questions about premenstrual acne

How many days before my period do I get acne?
Usually 7 to 10 days before the start of bleeding, during the late luteal phase.

Is premenstrual acne normal?
Yes. In adult women, this is a common hormonal pattern.

Does hormonal acne go away on its own?
It can improve as hormones stabilize, but often requires a targeted approach.

Can diet worsen premenstrual acne?
A high intake of fast sugars can further stimulate sebum production via insulin and IGF-1.

Author: Sofie Dewitte

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