Why Am I Getting Acne In My 40s? | PYHP 119
b'Patient Question: Why am I getting acne in my 40s?\\nShort Answer:\\xa0Women\\u2019s hormones are always changing. From puberty to middle age, to when the ovaries cease producing hormones in menopause. When we hit our 40s, our progesterone starts to decline. And our estrogen levels drop slightly as well. But the androgens, which are testosterone and DHEA do not decline. That means that there is less progesterone and estrogen to buffer the effects of the androgens.\\nTestosterone and DHEA are great, useful hormones for a female\\u2019s body. They help with muscle mass, motivation, ambition, libido, bone density, and stress management to name a few. But in our 40s when estrogen and progesterone start to decline that makes the androgens the \\u2018leaders of the hormonal pack.\\u2019\\nThere is no buffer against the negative side effects of androgens. One being, acne. Women in their 40s are usually still getting a period and cycling. So that means that the breakouts and acne are worse anywhere from 7-14 days before their period. That is because women really only make progesterone in the last half of their cycle. Those days being days 14-28.\\xa0 Because of the decline of progesterone, acne can be quite prominent before a period.\\nBut because the estrogen may have declined a bit in our 40s, we are still apt to have breakouts all month long. Because acne in the 40s is from the unopposed androgens, the acne is mostly on the chin and jawline. Although the neck and back are also common in a lot of women in their 40s. And the breakouts are more cystic in nature. They are deep and hard to \\u201cpop\\u201d (which we all know we should never ever do, and yes, I can\\u2019t help it either). And cystic acne lasts for weeks. So when one cystic pimple is starting to heal, aggravatingly three more show up. It is very frustrating.\\nIn addition too unbalanced androgens, stress, and cortisol levels can exacerbate acne. Women in their 40s are busy. There are family commitments, work, home life, and trying to stay fit is certainly not as easy as it was in our 20 and 30s. Plus the drop in progesterone and estrogen lets the androgens (testosterone and DHEA) make us feel more easily \\u2018testy.\\u2019 The stress and unbalanced hormones cause cortisol levels to rise. Which unfortunately also makes the breakouts worse.\\nWe really like to use Acnutrol and Inflammatone to help with breakouts.\\nBelow are some other episodes where we discuss other issues related to Perimenopause.'