Hormones, Wrinkles and Aging Skin
Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 1:58PM We all understand that hormone problems can cause symptoms like hot flashes or PMS, but did you know that hormone imbalances cause wrinkles too?
What do hormones have to do with wrinkles and aging skin?
Just the sound of those words can make us cringe. I don’t mind getting older at all. I am wiser. But the looking older part, well I just don’t care for that at all. We all realize and face the fact that we will age and we will get wrinkles due to what is called chronological aging. We also know that we can certainly speed up the aging of our skin from what is termed environmental aging, due to sun damage, tanning, etc. So ladies, if wrinkles and skin aging must happen, I certainly don’t want it to happen rapidly or any sooner than necessary. How about you? In this newsletter, I want to share with you insight on which hormone imbalances trigger and can accelerate what some experts call hormonal aging of our skin.
Hormones affect every single cell in our bodies so of course they affect our skin too. Hormone imbalances can also lead to more than just aging skin, they can cause: thinning skin, dehydrated, dry, sensitive skin, decreased elasticity and firmness, flushing, uneven skin pigmentation, occasional itchiness, breakouts and photosensitivity.
It is All About Collagen, Elastin, and Hyaluronic Acid
To begin, we need to review the 3 basic components that keep our skin youthful:
1. Collagen- a protein found in the skin, bone, cartilage and tendons, which acts like rope to give our skin strength and prevent sagging. After age 30, we lose 1 percent of our collagen a year. Studies show that skin loses up to 30% of its collagen over the first five years following menopause.
2. Elastin - acts like rubber bands and gives our skin elasticity and “bounce back.”
3. Hyaluronic Acid - keeps our skin plump and hydrated. Aged skin, which is less plump than youthful skin, is characterized by decreased levels of hyaluronic acid.
Our hormones are directly responsible for the production and maintenance of these three components of our skin.
Estrogen and Aging
Let’s cover the effect of hormones on collagen, elastin, and HA starting with estrogen. Estrogen is necessary for the production of collagen, elastin, and HA. The skin on our face has a high concentration of estrogen receptors, which means these receptors are meant to receive normal amounts of estrogen. Declining estrogen or a deficiency of estrogen causes less collagen and elastin production which means more wrinkles, fine lines, less eslasticity and firmness. Additionally, declining hyaluronic acid due to lower estrogen levels mean less moisture in our skin. Aged skin can appear paler because the lack of estrogen reduces the number of blood vessels in the skin affecting vascularity. Low estrogen also causes increased skin pigmentation.
What I am about to share next is not good news! A study found that the skin of women with low estrogen levels looked significantly older than their age, and those with more optimal levels looked much younger than their age. Those with the lowest level of estrogen looked 8 years older than their age and those with the most optimal levels looked 8 years younger than their age.1
I do have some good news! Several studies have shown that estrogen replacement therapy has had beneficial effects on collagen content and skin thickness. Even HRT has been shown to prevent dry skin and wrinkling, but I certainly don’t recommend synthetic or animal derived hormones for any reason. Postmenopausal women using estrogen were 1/3 less likely to develop skin wrinkles, according to one study. Bioidentical (natural) estrogen replacement has been shown to improve collagen levels and moisture content of the skin and reduce wrinkles.
Here is more good news: application of bioidentical estrogen face creams has been shown in a couple of studies to cause a marked improvement in fine wrinkles. Estrogen face cream caused increase in collagen, elastin and HA.2 ,3, Researchers in one study used estradiol and estriol face creams on women. After treatment for 6 months, elasticity and firmness of the skin had markedly improved and the wrinkle depth and pore sizes had decreased by 61 to 100% in both groups. Furthermore, skin moisture had increased and the measurement of wrinkles revealed significant, or even highly significant, decreases of wrinkle depth in the estradiol and the estriol groups, respectively. On a side note, both HRT and bioidentical topical estrogen replacement substantially accelerates skin healing in elderly humans.
Progesterone and Wrinkles
Estrogen is not the only hormone that affects collagen and elastin. Progesterone also helps prevent collagen breakdown and stimulates collagen and elastin production. Progesterone applied on the face has been studied too. Researchers found that applying progesterone cream on the face in peri- and postmenopausal women for 16-weeks demonstrated a 29% reduction in wrinkle counts and almost 10% reduction in wrinkle depth around the eyes (that would be crow’s feet), almost 10% decrease in nasolabial wrinkle depth (the smile line) and 23% increase in skin firmness.5
Phytoestrogens and Wrinkles
Phytoestrogens are plant-derived molecules that are similar to endogenous (produced by the body) hormones. Soy is one common phytoestrogen. Studies have demonstrated that genistein found in soy, may prevent sun related aging in human skin. Other studies have reported that genistein and daidzein stimulate hyaluronic acid production. One study conducted on a cosmetic cream preparation including isoflavone showed improvement in the skin dryness and wrinkles after 12 weeks of treatment.6
How do you get these hormone creams for your face?
Talk to your BHRT physician or pharmacist if you are using BHRT creams. You may be able to use your prescription on your face or your physician can prescribe one for you. You may even be able to use some over-the-counter progesterone creams on your face. Be aware that if you are using hormones on your face this will interfere with saliva hormone testing. When your doctor orders this type of hormone testing you should not use hormones on your face for two weeks prior to taking the test or check with the lab or your doctor.
Androgens and Wrinkles
Testosterone levels can decline with age or abruptly with removal of the ovaries. Since testosterone is a hormone that is anabolic (tissue building), it affects the structural integrity of the skin. If testosterone is low, the deepest layers of our skin will start to thin and sag. Thinning skin can be very noticeable on the back of the hands too. We have all seen the hands of elderly people that appear papery thin and don’t heal very fast from cuts.
Other Hormones and the Skin
Other hormones that also affect our skin are thyroid and the adrenal hormone cortisol. When your thyroid function is low, skin becomes dry and scaly. Since Cortisol is catabolic, which means to break down, elevated cortisol may also trigger more rapid wrinkling.
Prevention
We think about applying sunscreen to protect our skin. We use our day creams and night creams that claim to make us look younger. Some of us have utilized injectables and other medical procedures as a means of addressing wrinkles. There isn’t anything wrong with any of these. A woman’s got to do what a woman’s got to do! However, maybe we would spend less money on facial repair if we also focused on preventing and slowing the wrinkling process by making sure we have optimal levels of hormones. We eat right, exercise, and take supplements to prevent things like heart disease. It is much easier to hold on to what you already have, than try to try to get that youthful appearance back. So, let’s do our skin a favor and make sure it has the hormones it needs too.
1 Lancet. 1999 Jul 17;354(9174):224. Wildt L, Sir-Petermann T.
Oestrogen and age estimations of perimenopausal women.
2 Int J Dermatol. 1996 Sep;35(9):669-74. Schmidt JB, Binder M, Demschik G, Bieglmayer C, Reiner A. Treatment of skin aging with topical estrogens.
3 Exp Dermatol. 2004;13 Suppl 4:36-40. Sator PG, Schmidt JB, Rabe T, Zouboulis CC. Skin aging and sex hormones in women -- clinical perspectives for intervention by hormone replacement therapy.
4 Biogerontology. 2011 Mar 3. Emmerson E, Hardman MJ. The role of estrogen deficiency in skin ageing and wound healing
5 Br J Dermatol. 2005 Nov;153(5):1092. Schmidt, JB. Effects and side-effects of 2% progesterone cream on the skin of peri- and postmenopausal women: results from a double-blind, vehicle-controlled, randomized study.
6 Climacteric; Aug 2007; 10, 4; Health Module pg. 289 S Verdier, Sévrain. Effect of estrogens on skin aging and the potential role of selective estrogen receptor modulators.
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