THE ESSENTIAL
- About 1% of women carry bacteria from the Staphylococcus aureus family in their vagina without causing symptoms.
- In some cases, the presence of this bacterium can lead to toxic shock syndrome during menstruation if patients wear internal sanitary protection.
“#Periodbloodfacemask“. This is the hashtag of a recent trend popularized on Tiktok. The latter consists of applying a “menstrual mask” to the face, more precisely to use the blood of your period to make a facial treatment. “I made a menstrual mask and my skin has never looked better”, said a netizen in a video published on the platform.
She is not the only one to praise the merits of this trick. “It’s the first time I’ve used my menstrual blood as a face mask and my skin is already super shiny!”, said another user. They claim that menstruation blood contains “all the stem cells and nutrients a baby could need and, of course, your skin and body need”.
Periods: white blood cells in the blood “can cause rashes”
Still, Following This Trend Is A Bad Idea, According To Dermatologists. “Applying period blood to your face is like trying to get more vitamin C by rubbing lemons on your skin,” reported Dr. Karan Rajan, a British physician and surgeon. In a video published on his TikTok account, he also recalled that “The menstrual blood did not contain stem cells, as is generally believed, only a fertilized egg or a fetus contain them”.
“Then, although the uterus is a relatively sterile environment, menstruation blood is not. It contains cellular debris, mucus, dead blood cells, bacteria and other microbes picked up during its passage. in the genital tract. The blood itself is an inflammatory compound, especially the white blood cells which are irritating to the skin and can cause rashes”, continued the practitioner.
Transmitting STIs “to the skin on your face”
Just like Dr. Karan Rajan, other dermatologists advise against using this menstrual mask. In a video posted on the platform, dermatologist and founder of Skin Refinery, Joyce Park, explained that “If you have sexually transmitted infections, you can also transmit them to the skin of your face by using contaminated period blood.”