Balance Your Hormones to get beautiful radiant skin.
Recently I was interviewed by Nicole Harlow founder of the Centre for Menstrual and Sexual Health. We talked about all things skin and beauty products plus how hormones influence your skin and what you can do to get your skin glowing and radiant.
This chat with Nicole got me thinking about all the aspects of radiant skin, it’s not just about what you eat, it’s also about your hormones and metabolism and how they all work together.
You’ll notice through the years that small niggly signs pop up from age spots, premature ageing, acne, hair, skin tags, open pores all of which can be related to hormonal health. By helping your hormones balance can go along way to ensuring your skin is the best possible version of itself.
We all want super radiant and bright skin, right?
Here are some of the ways hormones can influence your skin
Blackheads
These little critters can be caused by excess oil/sebum on the surface of the skin. Sugar and inflammatory foods can exacerbate these but also an elevation on DHEA and testosterone can cause flare-ups.
It’s not all about skin care routine, you might find your beautician tells you to scrub, scrub and scrub some more. But here’s the thing! If your hormones are out of whack, the scrubbing won’t do anything except dry out your delicate skin.
Melasma
I’ve seen so many women fret about Melasma, it can be very traumatic when it is at it’s worst. More often than not pigmentation is caused by excess estrogen and also unfriendly estrogen metabolites.
Estrogen triggers the melanocytes which cause this browning of the pigmentation. Sometimes it can be a little spot, for others though it can be half the face.
Acne
Acne can be a major skin issue not only in teenagers but also midlife and even after menopause. Acne can occur due to a few different hormone imbalances.
Elevated testosterone can activate androgen receptors cause hair growth and acne around the mouth, chin and jawline. Elevated androgens can also cause acne on the back.
There’s another side to that which can be attributed to hyperglycemia often triggered by stress, diet and conditions such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
Low Progesterone in relation to elevated estrogen can also cause acne, most often seen on the jawline. Simply balancing out the hormones can relive this type of acne.
Othe skin conditions which can be caused by hormonal imbalance can be:
Moles
, dermatitis,
rosacea
, puffiness
, redness
and keratosis pilaris.
Excess Estrogen
Estrogen causes excessive proliferation such as dermatitis, eczema, flaky lips and scalp.
Low Progesterone
Progesterone is a diuretic hormone. It helps to regulate aldosterone, sodium and potassium in the body. low progesterone causes sodium and water retention causing puffiness in the face. You might also notice your cellulite gets worse.
Elevated Testosterone and DHEA
Testosterone activates androgen receptors causing hair growth and acne on the cheeks and chin.
Testosterone + DHEA cause more sebum to be produced exacerbating blackheads.
One interesting sign of high DHEA is smelly sweat under the arms ….
Radiant skin = balanced hormones
Estrogen (estrone, estriol, estradiol )
With estrogen out of balance, you might experience, thin skin, acne, red inflamed skin.
Progesterone
Progesterone helps to keep moisture in your skin. If progesterone is to low you might get dry, flakey, eczema prone skin.
Testosterone / DHEA
This androgen help with sebum production. If you have to much your skin might be prone to being greasy, acne issues or too many blackheads or even hair growth on the face.
What are some of the things to look out for to give you an idea your acne is hormonal?
Is your acne cystic?
Is your acne cyclic?
And where is /the location of your acne?
Back
Chest
Face
Forehead
Jawline
Cheeks
Sides of the neck
Pimples or acne on the jawline can indicate:
High estrogen too low progesterone ratio
Acne on the cheeks can indicate:
Elevated testosterone / PCOS
Testosterone receptors / elevated free testosterone
Melasma
Melasma is darkening areas of the face and body, caused by Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH).
Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) – increases the production of melanin which causes darker pigmentation. This hormone is produced in the pituitary gland and targets tissue to cause moles, melasma, chloasma in pregnancy and freckles.
Other roles of Melanocyte-stimulating hormone
Protects the skin from UV damage
MSH is anti-inflammatory
MSH reduces appetite (this might explain the loss of appetite when you are on a hot holiday)
Supports Leptin control
Factors that increase production of MSH:
Oral contraception pill and synthetic hormones can cause more to be produced
Naturally unbalanced hormones
UV
Hypothyroid issues
