Women are mystical human beings. Our mood changes from time to time, our skin goes from acne-prone to glowing like the sun, our energy levels go from high up to way down and so much more. We know our body's best, but most of us still don't know how to cope with the changes and the fluctuation we deal with everyday. For me this is also still a road to explore, but I did manage to control my skincare based on my menstrual cycle. Which I would like to share and explore with you all.

ALIGNING SKINCARE WITH YOUR CYCLE

You've probably noticed changes on your skin during your cycles. Before we dive deeper in the skincare routines, we must understand how the body works and what impacts the skin: HORMONES

Every cycle can be divided in four phases. For some each phase is exactly a week, for others it is longer or shorter. Each phase (or week) is influenced by a different set of hormones. These hormones don't only impact your womb, but also your skin. Therefor we advise every woman to adapt here skincare routine to each phase of her cycle.

Let's discuss the phases, the hormones that control your body, the impact it has on your skin and how your skincare routine should look like.

The Follicular Phase 1

The first part of the follicular phase is also known as the menstruation. You might have noticed that during your menstruation your skin feels dry. Your skin might be more sensitive and inflame faster. It may also look tired and / or dull. This is because of the rise of the prostaglandins hormone.

Since your skin is more sensitive and tends to inflame faster, you should avoid to shave or wax your skin. Exfoliation should also be postponed to a later phase. What your skin needs right now, is hydration:
- Use and elixir or face oil that is moisturizing and calming.
- Make and apply this FACE MASK that gives your skin the most needed hydration and glow. For extra hydration you can add raw honey to this mask.

The Follicular Phase 2

This is the second part of the follicular phase, which is mostly around day 6 till 12 of your cycle. During this time the estrogen levels in your body rise and your skin is at its best. It glows naturally, it gets thicker and is elastic! You want to maintain this, right?!

- Use a face oil or Morning Elixir that contains vitamin C to keep the glow. This vitamin stimulates the production of collagen.
- You want to prevent your skin (and pores) from creating a build-up. So this is the week to exfoliate it. Use an exfoliator with lactic acid (like yoghurt). Fruit enzymes also work well!

The Luteal Phase 1

This phase is also called, the ovulation. This is the time an egg (or more eggs) will be released. The releasing of the egg is stimulated by the hormone luteinizing. In the mean time your estrogen levels are rising just like in the follicular phase 2. Your skin is glowing and oily and you feel confident. Some woman might experience breakouts due to the high rise of estrogen and the excessive sebum. So now you also want to prevent the sebum from building up.

- Just like in the previous phase it is important to exfoliate your skin to prevent build-up. Use an exfoliator with lactic acid (like yoghurt) or a exfoliating clay mask. Fruit enzymes also work well!

- Deep cleanse you skin daily with the RELIX cleanse routine. After washing your face, steam it for 15 minutes, massage the skin with your hand to remove the dead skin cells. To finish it off use the tea tree oil cleanser to cleanse the skin. Afterwards you can apply your daily moisturizer. Try to prevent moisturizers that are to oily if your skin is normal, mixed or oily. We advice to use this Morning Elixir.

The Luteal Phase 2

You're now in the last phase of your cycle. In this phase progesterone rises and if your hormones are imbalanced the testosterone also rises. You might experience your face / body to swell up and your pores to tighten, due to the rise of progesterone. On the other hand, the rise of testosterone increases sebum production. This sebum can get stuck in the tight pores, causing breakouts and / or pimples. Overall it is important to balance your hormones, read here how you can do that. In the mean time we've got a list of things you can do in this phase.

- Use a mild cleanser on your face when washing your face. Decide how many times you should do that on a weekly basis, depending on your skin and the oiliness of your skin

- Deep cleanse you skin daily or a few times in the week with the RELIX cleanse routine: After washing your face, steam it for 15 minutes, massage the skin with your hand to remove the dead skin cells. To finish it off use the tea tree oil cleanser to cleanse the skin. Afterwards you can apply your daily moisturizer. Try to prevent moisturizers that are to oily if your skin is normal, mixed or oily. We advice to use this Morning Elixir.

- Use at least once a week a Ghassoul Clay mask. This is a very mild exfoliator and moisturizer at the same time.

- Dab the skin effected by the break-out or pimple(s) with an anti-inflammatory oil. Examples are: Tea tree oil & Rosemary oil