We received an excellent question from Brandi last week that I thought I would share with our lovely DeLush readers. If you have a beauty-related question, please email us at support@delush.com!

I have combination skin but when I start having PMS symptoms the oily goes into overdrive and I break out like crazy. Have you found any type of product that can control this without having to switch to something else each time it happens? I would like to find just one product I can use all the time and have it work for both periods.

- Brandi

Brandi,

I've had this same exact problem for years. I've had a lot of improvement just over the past year, and I wanted to share with you some of the things that I've been doing that I think have really helped the monthly battles.

Avoid Deep Cleansers
I know this probably sounds unintuitive, but I think a large part of the breakouts are due to your skin being more sensitive during bouts of PMS. I stop using grainy exfoliators, peels, and masks for a week to a week and a half before my period. I still make sure I clean my face really well before I go to bed, of course, I just leave off anything that might irritate my face.

Preventative Medicine
If you're having breakouts, I assume that somewhere in your medicine cabinet there's some acne medication. Before the breakouts start happening, start putting some acne treatment in the areas where your breakouts usually occur. You only need to do this at night, and you may only need it once or twice during the week. I use Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment, but anything that is for adult acne or for sensitive skin will work here.

You Are What You Eat
There's a really interesting article in the August issue of Elle called "Eating Pretty" that discusses the effect of food on your complexion. I've changed my diet this year to include a lot more fruits and vegetables, healthy oils, dark chocolate and water, just as it spells out in the article. And the results I've experienced are remarkable. I have far fewer breakouts than I ever have before, throughout the entire month, but especially before and during my period.

I believe fried foods are a major source of acne problems. I am not sure if it's from ingesting them or from touching my face during or after my meal. If you're constantly compulsively touching your face like I do, avoid fried foods for the week before your period, or if you can't resist their siren song in your time of need, make sure you wash your hands immediately after your meal.

I really could talk all day about how important eating well is for your skin, but I will leave it at that for now. Feel free to email me if you want any more details.

One Product You Might Want To Think About
I admit, I haven't tried it, but I've been reading a lot of good stuff about Feverfew's calming effect on the skin. I know Aveeno makes a new face cream that incorporates it, and it is recommended for PMS breakouts in particular. So that's something you might want to consider as well.

I think period-related breakouts are a problem for just about everyone, so I hope some of these suggestions are a help to all our DeLush readers. If anyone has any additional tips to share, feel free to leave a comment!

Jen