By Makayla Hawes

If you are anything like me, you may have thought that acne is only a condition that affects those going through their teenage years. Sadly, this isn’t always the case. I went through most of my high school years blemish-free, and I was convinced it would stay like that. As you can probably already guess…I was wrong. Once I turned 20, my skin decided to turn against me. Going from relatively smooth skin to painful, cystic, and very red acne was a wake-up call. I tried what felt like everything to manage my skin. I cut sugar out of my diet, incorporated more whole foods, and tried various skincare brands that promised clear and glowing skin. I even started using the EWG Database to check the toxicity score of any product that was going onto my skin. And while these steps did help, they didn’t fully resolve my problem.

When all else failed, I started diving into gut-skin connection, and that led to me researching hormone health. I soon discovered that when your hormones are out of balance, it can trigger acne.

What is a telling sign that you are experiencing hormonal acne? The breakouts show up around that time of the month, and they primarily reside in the chin and jawline area. For me, I knew that something was off internally and figured that what I was experiencing with my skin wasn’t an isolated occurrence. I was bloated frequently, my PMS was out of control (mood swings were my enemy), and my cramps were way worse than they needed to be—all things that are considered common, but not normal. 

Shortly after this, I stumbled upon Apothékary. I discovered You Dew You, an herbal blend specially-formulated to support skin by balancing the body internally. With that, I also found an article of a customer who had great results in her hormonal acne. Like anybody else, I was a bit skeptical, but I decided to give it a go. And as you can guess, I was very happy with the outcome. It seemed that hibiscus, cordyceps mushroom, and chaga mushroom were these magical ingredients that my skin was missing.

Let’s dive into these skin healing ingredients a bit more:

Hibiscus is full of antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory properties, and is very high in vitamin C, which can support your body's natural collagen production.

Antioxidants are amazing at keeping free radicals from wreaking havoc on your skin, which mainly manifests as classic signs of aging. Better yet, antioxidants can promote an even skin tone and promote an overall healthier complexion.

Cordyceps mushroom, an adaptogenic mushroom, is noted for its free radical fighting ability and immune support. It also enhances our aerobic capacity, or our body's  ability to utilize oxygen. 

Chaga mushroom has a high amount of bioactive compounds to support immune health and fight off free radicals that can harm the gut. 

Burdock root is rich in prebiotic fiber (beneficial compounds that can increase the number of good bacteria in our guts) and is also a great plant for supporting healthy elimination and detoxification. 

As I started taking You Dew You alongside another helpful herb called maca root (an adaptogenic herb that is known to support hormones), I noticed that my PMS was a lot more manageable and the breakouts went from cystic acne all along my jawline/chin area to being a lot less red and inflamed. For me, I think the hibiscus and maca specifically went a long way in reducing PMS symptoms and all of these ingredients (plus a healthy diet—cannot stress this enough!) worked harmoniously together to help me heal from the inside out. 

It’s also worth mentioning that it is imperative to form a tight-knit relationship with understanding your body, especially when it comes to hormone balance. As part of my journey, I discovered the incredible things my body was doing for me on a monthly basis. I dove deep into learning exactly about the four phases of our cycles: menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal (the Balanced Beyars have great resources to learn about this) and educating my body on what hormones rise and fall at different times. Through this, I learned that my body tends to lean towards estrogen dominance (here is a helpful blog that can break this down). It took changing what I was using in, on, and around my body to truly heal and learn to give my body gratitude for all that it does. 

It can be overwhelming to start on your healing journey, but believe me—it can lead to something amazing. For me, it was not only the start to healing my body, but it led me to pursuing a career in health coaching and later in herbalism! You can check out my before and after with You Dew You here and if you still have questions, book a consultation with us to find the support you need!