Tapping into your ‘Venus Week’

In her book “The Venus Week,” gynecologist Dr. Rebecca Booth contends that women have awesome hair days and glowing skin in their pre-ovulatory period, when their levels of estrogen and testosterone are highest. With Dr. Booth’s simple tips, women can trick their bodies into producing that Venus glow all month long.

How can women figure out their “Venus Week”?
The easiest way is to understand where you are in your cycle, the first day being the first day of your period. About day 10 or 11 women start to experience some hormonal highs. Another simple way to do it is a temperature chart, which can give a woman a reflection of her hormones throughout the month if she’s not on the pill.

How can women achieve the hormonal boost that will help them look their best?
The way that hormones control our emotions is by altering the mood regulators in our brains, like serotonin and dopamine. During that peak hormonal time, those chemical levels are pretty high. Women can offset the drop in these chemicals with exercise and meditation. Nutrition is also important. Plant proteins like nuts, lentils, soy and seeds contain phytoestrogens that mimic our bodies’ estrogen and boost metabolism.

What can “The Venus Week” teach women about beauty?
Women should limit foods containing carbs and sugar that raise the body’s insulin level, which upsets the body’s ratio of estrogen. Cycle-related acne is also related to a dip in estrogen, which decreases pore size. Omega-3 fatty acids are a great natural lubricant that offset the decline of collagen.

VENeffect
Dr. Booth created a line of products with her sister Cecil Booth, a skin care expert, to reverse the signs of hormonal aging. The products — ranging from $85 for the anti-aging lip treatment to $195 for the firming serum — are sold at Neiman Marcus and at www.veneffect.com.
“VENeffect stimulates the production of collagen and supports elasticity  to help sustain that glow so that we don’t just have a Venus Week, but the Venus effect,” says
Dr. Booth. “Our product line uses a very high level of plant-derived estrogens that are safe and prescription-free.”