If your teen is prone to getting spots and oily skin before their period, they’re not alone. It’s perfectly normal to get pre-menstrual breakouts just before your period.
While teens' pre-period breakout will soon clear, they can knock confidence, leading to tears and teen anxiety and taking a toll on their mental health.
The key to avoiding this is supporting your teen's development of healthy habits, including establishing an age-appropriate teen skin care routine that keeps spot-prone teen skin in check.
Why do teens get spots and oily skin before their period?
How many days before your period does your face break out? How long does period acne last? Many teens may wonder why they get spots and greasy skin before their period, and it's all due to hormonal fluctuations that take place during the luteal phase of ovulation.
As oestrogen levels drop, progesterone levels rise. This causes all kinds of skin havoc, including a surge of acne-attracting sebum – the reason skin gets oily before a period. Pre-period breakouts emerge around the jawline, staying put until their period has passed.
While we can do little to stop hormonal spots completely, oil-balancing teen skin care rich in sebum-regulating ingredients can help pre-period breakouts on their way—more about that in the next section.
6 ways to help teens manage oily skin and breakouts naturally
Are spots and pre-period breakouts causing your teen to stress? Here are a few things you can try to help your teen better control their oily skin before their period.
1. CALM WITH WILLOW BARK
When spots strike, Willow Bark knows just how to wilt them away. A non-irritating form of salicylic acid which we use in our Oy Clear Skin Purifying Serum and our Oy Clear Skin Foaming Face Wash, it gently reduces inflammation and calms redness, all whilst being kind to sensitive teen skin.
The perfect ingredient for a pre-period teenage skin care routine, it even accelerates cell renewal, helping keep pores clear. Better yet, this spot-buster acts against Staphylococcus aureus and Propionibacterium acnes (two strains of bacteria known to cause acne).
“This product works wonders on my 13 year old daughter's skin. Any sign of a spot or rash, it is soon cleared up with this wonderful serum. It is not drying or oily and is perfect for her sensitive skin.” Rachel
2. DISCOURAGE SPOT POPPING
Far from being a quick way to clear teen skin, popping spots can push bacteria deeper into the skin and could make the inflammation worse! Worse still, it can also cause the skin around the spots to scar and damage young pores.
Instead of popping spots, encourage your teen to purify their pores with our Charcoal Face Mask. Powered by mattifying Activated Charcoal, this draws dirt and impurities out of the pores just like a magnet, leaving their young skin oh-so fresh and clean.
Purifying Face Mask 50ml
Balance and detox with our pore-purifying Charcoal face mask
€25,95
“This mask is perfect for controlling teenagers spots and oily skin. Just remember to buy a dark face cloth to remove it as it could stain lighter colours.” Cinzia
3. HELP YOUR TEEN TO EAT WELL
Does your teen crave sugary, processed foods in the days before their period? Girls and women tend to crave more calories before their period, so it's perfectly normal for teens to turn to comfort foods. However, this won’t help to clear their complexion. In fact, eating oily food like crisps can risk leaving an oil residue around the jaw, inviting acne in.
Plan healthy meals rich in iron to help clear their complexion and ease feelings of anaemia.
If cramps cause your teen to lose their appetite, encourage them to have something soothing and nutritious, like a comforting bowl of homemade soup.
4. TAME TECH
Did you know that the average smartphone screen is thought to harbour more bacteria than a toilet seat? Yuck! To help your teen clear their skin, encourage them to limit their screen time and to cleanse their phone and skin regularly.
Is your teen prone to scrolling on their phone when they should be sleeping? Teens who skip sleep are also more prone to spots. That’s because their skin needs rest time to rejuvenate and remove toxins.
5. DEEP CLEAN THEIR HAIR
Oily hair is typical in teens, and if your teen has a fringe or hair that falls over their face, they may be more prone to spots during and after their period.
Our scalp-soothing Eucalyptus and Mint Shampoo bar is a waste-free way for teens to wash their hair and is perfect for keeping their scalps in balance. Entirely free from SLS, it won’t strip their scalp and cause it to overproduce oil, a common cause of greasy teenage hair.
Eucalyptus & Mint Shampoo Bar 50g
Calm your itchy scalp with our zero-waste natural shampoo bar
€18,95
6. INVEST IN THEIR SELF CARE
Anxiety and low mood are other common teen PMS symptoms[i], so it’s understandable why teens think their spots are worse than they are.
Whilst PMS can make it difficult for teens to see their pimples positively, encourage them to keep some perspective; their hormones will stabilise, and their skin will start to clear!
Relaxing exercise sessions, like yoga or mindfulness, are great ways to support teen mental health and take their minds off their skin worries, and skin care can be self-care, too!
Calm the mind and help their blemishes on their way with the spot-soothing actives in our Oy Clear Skin Goals Gift Set. It’s the perfect pamper pack for premenstrual teens.
Best-selling natural skin care gift set for teenagers and tweens
€47,95
Oy Clear Skin Goals Gift Set
Are you looking for teen-friendly skin care to help your teen balance their oily skin? Not sure where to start?
Browse our collection of natural and organic skin care for teens or try our skin care finder tool! It takes just a minute and makes finding the best products for your teen's needs easy.
Would you prefer to talk to us? No problem. Our UK customer care team is happy to help with questions about teenage oily skin problems. Please call us on 01403 740350 or drop us a note at @GreenPeopleUK.
Reviewed by:
This blog post has been reviewed by Charlotte Vøhtz, founder of Green People, who has 25+ years of experience in the natural and organic beauty industry. A recognised leader in the field of organic beauty, Charlotte helped inform the UK's first organic beauty standards and was voted the People’s Choice in the 2023 list of Who’s Who in Natural Beauty. A published author, she wrote the organic beauty bible ‘Naturally Gorgeous’. Previously, she qualified as a nurse and spent over 10 years working in pharmaceuticals.
If you wish to republish this content, please credit Green People as the original creator with a link to 'How to manage teen breakouts & oily skin before your period.' Please do not use an affiliate link.
[i] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pre-menstrual-syndrome/
[ii] https://www.nuffieldhealth.com/article/menstrual-cycle-impact-on-physical-activity
