Survey study, 2004
Do women get more acne before their period?
Yes, most women (63%) had a 25% increase in acne lesions before their period. But this was a small study without a comparison group, so we should be cautious about how much this applies to all women.
What they did
They recruited women aged 18-44 with normal periods who were not being treated for acne. They counted acne lesions on their faces during two complete menstrual cycles, measuring both the first half and the second half before the period.
What they found
Most (63%) of the women showed a 25% increase in inflammatory acne lesions during the late luteal (premenstrual) phase.
What it means for you
Premenstrual acne flares are real and can be measured. This was the first study to measure them with numbers. The limitation is that this was a small study without a control group, and only included women with untreated acne, so results may not apply to everyone.
63%
women with increase in acne before period
25%
average increase in acne lesions
2
full menstrual cycles monitored
About the study
- Original title
- Quantitative documentation of a premenstrual flare of facial acne in adult women
- Authors
- Lucky AW
- Journal
- Archives of dermatology
- Year
- 2004
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1001/archderm.140.4.423
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