A parents guide to the skin shedding trend

What is the period skin peeling trend?

As a parent, it's natural to feel concerned about what your teens and tweens are seeing on their phones when using social media.

Many parents have shared with luna their worries about not knowing what information their children are exposed to and how to help them discern what is true or false.

To support you in this, luna aims to provide the medical knowledge you might need if such topics come up or if you want to discuss them with your teen.

One popular trend that’s been going around is menstruators peeling their face skin off, claiming this is a normal part of a period. The comments from other menstruators often back up this claim.

So is this true – does skin shed during a period?

Firstly, luna needs to say in no uncertain terms: peeling your skin off after each period is a myth, and it's important to discourage your teen from trying this. The videos circulating online are created using a peel-off face mask.

Understanding period-related skin changes

It's true that periods can come with different side effects and can even cause skin changes like breakouts. However, shedding skin from your face is not one of them. The shedding that occurs during a period involves the uterus lining, which is what causes menstruation.

The joke behind the trend

This trend was likely created as an inside joke to convince those who do not menstruate that this is the case. While many might understand it as a joke and we get that it's created as a bit of fun, some teens, especially those who have not yet started their periods or are new to menstruation, are starting to believe it – luna gets plenty of anonymous questions from worried teens and tweens asking if it's true, like this one on skin shedding.

How to support your teen

If your teen comes to you with questions about this trend, it's important to provide them with accurate information. Explain that while periods can cause skin changes, peeling facial skin is not one of them. Reassure them that this is a myth and that the videos use peel-off face masks to create the illusion.

Encourage your teen to always verify information they come across online and to speak to a trusted adult if they're unsure about it – like yourself or the medics on luna.

Finally, you’re really not alone in this journey – luna’s here to help!

Our app, luna, has dedicated advice on navigating the digital landscape – we have our finger on the pulse and reactively support your teen with what’s genuinely front of mind for them.

You can think of luna as a modern, digital approach to wellbeing – it’s cost-effective, verified by doctors and safeguarding experts, and has a direct line into the biggest concerns facing teens today – so it’s actually addressing what they need advice on, when they need it.

If you’ve been looking for an antidote to the misinformation and negativity shared on social media or forums, you can get luna for your teen via our luna premium page for the price of a coffee each month or manage their subscription by downloading luna yourself and signing up as a parent (it's "we are luna" in app stores).