Hormones & Your Skin

Perimenopausal Skin Conditions:

Perimenopause is the time during which a woman’s body is transitioning to complete loss of fertility, or menopause.  A woman can enter perimenopause at different ages, usually starting to occur in the mid 40’s, but can begin as early as the mid-30’s.  It is during this time that there is a gradual shutdown of the ovaries, during which important hormonal changes take place.

The woman’s body is thrown off balance due to the declining production of the dominant female hormones such as B-Estradiol, a common estrogen, and progesterone. Conversely, although women produce only a small amount of male sex hormones, or androgens, due to the depletion of estrogen and progesterone, the effects become more dominant. This can lead to skin becoming excessively oily as well as excessively dry during different times of the month.  This can also lead to increased hair growth on the face and other areas of the body.

Hormone Basics:

As we know, estrogens such as 17β-estradiol is a key signaling hormone in the body, generated at ovarian and peripheral sites, and transmitted via estrogen receptors to influence many important biological functions.  It is associated with a dramatic reduction in skin health and wellness by negatively impacting dermal cellular functions.

Skin estrogen biosynthesis has been reported in keratinocytes, melanocytes, and fibroblasts.  Also, estrogen induces the structural protein ezrin that enables the intercellular bridges that furnish epidermal integrity, induces the hydrophilic glycosaminoglycan hyaluran that underlies skin thickness and opacity, induces elastin which gives the skin its resilience to deformation.  It also Induces the expression of several types of collagens that are the basis of the mass of the dermis.

The changes include loss of collagen, elastin, fibroblast function, blood flow vascularity, and increased enzyme activities that causes cellular degradations leading to dryness, wrinkles, atrophy, impaired wound healing and barrier function, decreased antioxidant capacity [i.e., defense against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress], and increased perception of aging.  All of this, of course, can have tremendous impact on psychological health, which can create a vicious cycle of internal and external problems.

The first signs of dermal aging begins around 30 years of age when estrogen levels begin to decline, the skin thins, dries, wrinkles, becomes pigmented unevenly and wound healing is delayed.

While the list of effects to skin is extensive, the following is a summation of the major skin concerns that can present themselves after estrogen cessation or perimenopause:

1. WRINKLES:  Studies show that women’s skin loses about 30% of its collagen during the first five years of menopause and elasticity decreases by 1.5% per year after menopause.

Skin is a composite tissue, consisting of a fibrous matrix containing elastin and collagen. Collagen provides strength to the skin structure and elastin provides the snap or resiliency. When the elastin fibers undergo changes that cause them to lose their resiliency or snap, the skin no longer is able to return to its original state.  As a result, sagging and wrinkling can occur, around the eyes and mouth, and frown lines form along the forehead. 

2. DRY SKIN:  The hormonal changes brought on by perimenopause decrease sebum production, so that with each passing year the average moisture content of the stratum corneum is slightly decreased. Estrogen also enhances moisture/hydration (via hyaluronic acid, mucopolysaccharides, and sebum production) where skin strength, dermal thickness, and keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation is increased.

3. THIN SKIN:  During menopause, the blood flow through the skin’s capillaries is reduced as the capillaries are partly under the control of the estrogens, resulting in fewer nutrients and oxygens feeding the skin.  This is a contributory factor both to the thinning of the skin and reduced cell turnover rate leading to water loss and dry skin.

4. SENSITIVITY:  As skin ages it becomes thinner and more sensitive to irritants.  As women enter perimenopause, they may notice that their skin reacts to products which never bothered them in the past—certain cosmetics, soaps, perfumes or laundry detergents suddenly cause rashes.

5. ROSACEA: According to the National Rosacea Society, rosacea can worsen during menopause. Many women report more flushing episodes and increased numbers of bumps and pimples during these times.

6. ACNE:  During perimenopause, estrogen levels decline but the male hormones (androgens such as testosterone) remain relatively highly.  This creates a hormone imbalance which can lead to excess testosterone at the skin receptor, which in turn can cause the skin to produce excess sebum, a common cause of adult acne.  Brought on by a reaction to androgens, acne can remain a problem until post menopause when the production of androgens finally falls.

7. PORES:   As our skin loses its elasticity, the pores on our face become bigger.

8. HYPERPIGMENTATION:  Estrogens also moderate melanin production.   As menopause begins, melanin synthesis increases due to a lack of estrogen.  Any areas of the skin that that have been exposed to UV rays can generate brown age spots, most likely appearing on the face, neck, hands, arms and chest.

9. SAGGING SKIN:  Sagging skin and thin skin are due to the loss of definition/abundance of the underlying collagen and especially the elastin fibers in the dermal layer that provide the recoil properties of youthful skin associated with normal premenstrual estrogen levels.

-This just doesn’t relate to the face: lower estrogen levels during perimenopause redistribute fat to the stomach, thighs and buttocks. This leads to a loss of supportive fat below the skin of the face, neck, hands and arms.

The Importance of Peptides:

Amino Acids are the smallest building blocks of protein and thus life.  When several amino acids link they form a peptide.  For example, five of them make up a pentapeptide.  When many amino acids link together, proteins are formed.  Because the choice and sequencing of the amino acids are so varied, so are the resulting proteins. Today the technology of pentapeptides creates the underlying firmness without the irritation of Retinoids.

Messenger Pentapeptides:

This breakthrough technology provides us with a biomimetic messenger peptide, patterned on a specific natural collagen fragment show a reduction in the appearance of deep wrinkles. Again pentapeptides have been found to have better results than retinol without the irritation.