What's the deal with menstrual blood face masks for skin care?

Ask Dr. Jen

I’ll get straight to it. What is the deal with the latest fad using menstrual blood as a face mask??? I have come across it now numerous times from people I know and I cannot find any info on it that involves any kind of scientific reasoning. Are there actually benefits to doing so…and please say no. Thank you so much and stay well!

Eilysh, via Facebook

Quick Take….

No benefits, rest easy Eilysh. 

Tell Me More…

Look, I know you want to know more.

The “idea” of menstrual face masks — applying menstrual blood to the face for medical benefit — seems to have started relatively recently. The Google Trends for both “menstrual mask” and “period blood face mask” are below. Sadly, there seems to be a recent increase in interest about “period blood face mask.”

Proponents claim a menstrual mask can treat acne, make the skin look younger, and provide a glow along with other assorted medical benefits. Cosmopolitan covered it in February 2020. The title of the piece is, “I Tried a Period-Blood Face Mask and, Uh, You Definitely Shouldn’t.” I read it so you don’t have to. I assumed it would be a horror story, but it’s a personal anecdote-cum-advertisement for the practice that ignores the experts and takes liberties with science. It’s also, unsurprisingly, filled with what amounts to legal disclaimers. Here is a choice quote:

Still, even the haters can’t keep me from masking the next time my period rolls around. It’s free, it’s easy, and my skin loves it. And that’s more than I can say about the majority of things I’ve put on my face in the name of beauty.

To tackle this idea of a menstrual blood face mask let’s first look at the composition of menstrual blood — blood, dead cells from the lining of the uterus (endometrial cells), and vaginal discharge. Also going along for the ride with the blood and cells from the uterus are some stem cells, enzymes, and inflammatory mediators, such as prostaglandins and cytokines. The vaginal discharge contains bacteria, lactic acid, dead cells from the vaginal surface, and mucus, as well as a variety of other proteins.

Some menstrual mask aficionados claim that menstrual blood nourishes a embryo, so it must be healing. This is a gross misunderstanding of both menstruation and pregnancy. The embryo implants in the endometrium or the lining, it isn’t sloshing around in menstrual blood. There is no menstrual blood during pregnancy as menstruation never happened! Menstrual blood would be of no help to an embryo or fetus.

If it menstrual blood works magic on your face, you would think there would be some benefit for the vagina and vulva. Right? There isn’t. The vagina is literally bathed in menstrual blood for days and yet the blood doesn’t get absorbed and affect the cells beneath the surface, or otherwise create some kind of stem cell menstrual magic. There is no menstrual triggered vaginal renewal. Similarly, the skin of the labia minora, which is more permeable than the skin on the face, doesn’t get a menstrual vulvacial each month either. 

So what happens if one applies menstrual blood to the face? Blood doesn’t penetrate the skin. Meaning, if you apply it on the skin surface that is where it’s going to stay. You basically just have blood on your face until you wash it off.

Typically if people get some menstrual blood on their face while giving oral sex, they wash it off afterwards. But intentionally putting a large amount on the face and leaving it there for an extended period of time and/or doing it repeatedly could theoretically be an issue. Might the bacteria and yeast from your vagina affect the microbiome on your face? Possibly. Might the bacteria or yeast from the vagina be especially harmful for people who have acne or compromised skin integrity, say from eczema or rosacea? Possibly. Are the inflammatory mediators in menstrual blood irritating? Who knows?

What about transmitting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from the vagina to the face via the blood or vaginal secretions? Viral infections such as herpes simplex virus type 2, human papillomavirus, or hepatitis B are unlikely to be problematic as the presence of these viruses in the blood or vagina means a previous infection and hence, protection from antibodies. But if you happen to have chlamydia or gonorrhea, well, that’s another story. The risk of STIs is also a good reason not to use someone else’s menstrual blood. 

Admittedly, I am a gynecologist so I reached out to some dermatology colleagues. 

Dr. Heidi Waldorf, a cosmetic dermatologist, told me that “menstrual blood face masks are definitively NOT a good idea.” She raised similar concerns about the different microbiomes and especially about facial application of vaginal bacteria for people with “disruption of the skin barrier including conditions like atopic dermatitis (eczema), seborrheic dermatitis or acne.” Dr. Waldorf thought perhaps this misuse of menstrual blood was based on a misunderstanding of platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapies, which require separating the components of the blood and injecting the now separated plasma filled with growth factors “into the skin or applied to skin in which channels have been created in a sterile, controlled manner.” So not like a menstrual face mask at all.

Dr. Sacharitha Bowers, also a dermatologist, also wondered if this was a misunderstanding of PRP. She pointed out that with PRP the wounding the skin is also required to stimulate collagen production (don’t wound your skin and then apply menstrual blood!). She was in the “no” camp. And two other dermatologists, Dr. Rita Khodosh and Dr. Roxana Daneshjou were also in the resounding “please, no” category, both adding that the blood or any blood components won’t penetrate the skin.

There is zero evidence that a menstrual face mask is helpful and there isn’t even a good hypothesis to support its use. The practice is likely based on a complete misunderstanding of stem cells, but who knows? There are some theoretical risks, especially for people with undiagnosed STIs and those with skin conditions (who are probably most likely to use face masks).

On a personal note….

Menstruation has long been considered toxic and I can see how someone might consider putting menstrual blood on their face during a march for equal rights or as an act of refuting taboos about menstruation. The ultimate fuck you to the patriarchy is to do what you want with your menstrual blood and to have no shame about it. This might be a situation where a single application may have an emotional benefit for someone, although it isn’t medically recommended. The key in this situation is there is no disinformation about medical benefit.

However, the false claims about miracle health benefits from menstrual blood sound like the same old myths about toxic menstruation, just now the “special powers'' or menotoxins have been reworked in a twisted manner for wellness. Claiming menstrual blood has some kind of magic powers — whether evil or good — is not helpful.

Menstruation is a bodily function, and bad science and disinformation about health benefits from applying it to the face are most definitely not empowering. Can we please do away with menstrual shame without simultaneously substituting fairy tales and fabrications? 

Remember, tomorrow (Sunday) is The Dodge at 9 a.m. PST. This is a menopause chat for subscribers only. We’ll be talking about the menopause transition (also known as premenopause and perimenopause). I’ll lead off with a short post (which will come to your email) and everyone is free to post their experiences, chat with others, and I will chime in as well. Hope to see you there!