Acne during menstruation is common in women with a damp-heat constitution. These women generally have oily skin, easily dirty hair, and oral odor. The pimples they develop will have white sebum if they are scratched, but no serous fluid or pus. They may also experience irritability, irregular menstrual flow, and a darker red color in their menstrual blood, which may be sticky in texture.
When acne affects appearance and mood, there are self-regulating methods that can be used to resolve the issue. For example, drinking teas with heat-clearing and fire-reducing functions, such as chrysanthemum tea and honeysuckle tea, can be effective. Soups and porridges made from mung beans and coix seeds also have good fire-reducing effects.
It is well known that chrysanthemum flowers, represented by Gongju and Hangbaiju, have good heat-clearing and fire-reducing effects. Honeysuckle flowers also have similar effects.
The reason is that chrysanthemum and honeysuckle flowers bloom in late autumn and are more cold-resistant compared to most flowers that bloom before the summer solstice. Therefore, they have strong cold-resisting and contracting properties, which contribute to their excellent fire-reducing effects. The vine leaves of honeysuckle are used in medicine and are called "wintergreen vine". The addition of tangerine peel in the heat-clearing and fire-reducing tea is mainly because tangerine peel has the effect of promoting qi circulation, invigorating the spleen, drying dampness, and transforming phlegm, which can comprehensively regulate the damp-heat constitution.
For women who like to use acne products, it is recommended to boil chrysanthemum flowers in water and then use a cotton swab dipped in chrysanthemum water to clean the facial skin. This can also have a certain acne-controlling effect.
