You know how our eyes are the window to our souls? In the same way, our skin is like a mirror of what’s happening inside our body. Like when you suddenly have acne breakouts, skin rashes, or unexpected hair fall. You might not realize it but it’s your hormones that are likely calling the shots for this. From hormonal imbalance pimples to dry patches, the effects can be frustrating. But in order to solve this issue, understanding the link between hormones and our skin is key. In this blog, we’ll break down how hormones impact your glow, for men and women both.
What are Hormones?
Hormones are chemicals that are released into our bloodstream to travel across to our several organs to send messages and coordinate their functioning. In this way, they regulate and maintain a lot of our internal physiological changes, like our development, metabolism, and reproduction. Certain hormones are responsible for different functions in our body. Some of these are:
1. Testosterone, which is produced in higher levels in men than women, increases the production of oil in our skin. This can give our skin a shiny appearance. It also maintains our skin elasticity.
2. Estrogen, produced more in women than men, helps hydrate the skin. So this prevents dryness and wrinkles, and keeps our skin soft. Estrogen also works to regulate the effect of testosterone in oil production.
3. Cortisol is released as the body’s reaction to stress, which grants it its nickname “stress hormone”. It also plays a part in influencing the immune system and metabolism.
4. Insulin regulates our blood sugar levels and affects metabolic processes.
5. Growth hormone, as the name suggests, is responsible for our physical and internal development, metabolism, and tissue and cell repair.
6. Thyroid hormones affect our metabolism and energy levels. They can also play a part in our skin moisture levels and hair growth.
Naturally, a hormonal imbalance or frequent stark fluctuations will affect our health, but more, our skin. Even the visible effects of aging are largely caused by a decline in hormones that occurs naturally over time. And these effects are first reflected on our skin. Of course, men and women experience these hormonal changes on their skin differently. So let’s explore both. (1)
What Causes Hormonal Imbalance?
Several factors lead to hormonal imbalance. Some common ones are:
· Prolonged stress
· Hyperglycemia (higher blood sugar levels than normal) or Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
· Hyperthyroidism (overproduction of thyroid) or Hypothyroidism (lower production)
· Poor diet
· Overuse of steroids
These affect our body’s natural secretion of hormones, causing excessive production or blocking hormones. Either outcome has consequences on our skin health.
Hormones & Her: Your Skin at Every Stage
Hormonal changes in women are more distinct and cyclic. Their lives can better be sectioned and divided into stages that are largely framed and dominated by their hormones. So it’s easier to understand women’s hormonal changes and its effects on their skin by going through the cycle.
1. Puberty: During puberty, there is a sharp increase of hormone levels like estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone (which stimulates the production of oil), signalling the oncoming of menstruation. The upsurge in these hormones causes a rise in oil production, leading to acne in pre-teens. Young girls don’t understand this relation between their internal body and the appearance of their skin. So we hear a lot of complaints from them about their suddenly “ruined skin”, which is actually just hormonal imbalance pimples – and is totally natural.
2. Menstrual Cycle: Estrogen levels keep fluctuating during menstruation. And because it’s responsible for regulating the excess oil production, a drop in estrogen leads to oily skin. It’s like the guard for hormonal imbalance acne has gone off duty, and now there’s no one to check on testosterone and progesterone to stop them from stimulating more oil. So you might find your skin to be more oily or suddenly break out in pimples during or even just before your period. It’s because of the changing levels of hormones happening internally.
3. Pregnancy: This stage brings about a lot of physiological changes which cause several skin problems. The most common skin issue for pregnant women is hyperpigmentation or melasma – which makes some areas of our skin appear darker than others). This happens because pregnancy once again shoots up production of estrogen and progesterone which stimulate our pigment cells, leading to melasma. And of course, pregnant women aren’t even spared by hormonal imbalance acne. But at least they sometimes they get the benefit of pregnancy glow! (2)
4. Post-partum: Now the body is abruptly trying to return to its pre-pregnancy state. But it all happens so fast that our hormones aren’t able to keep up, so there’s fluctuation again. And by now we know that any imbalance or changes in our hormones causes several skin problems – oily skin, dehydrated and dry skin, sensitivity, etc.
5. Menopause: Remember when we mentioned that the reason that our skin ages first is because of a decline in hormones? The age for menopause is roughly 45-55 years old, and the characteristic factor of menopause is the decrease of estrogen levels. This causes dryness, wrinkling, and even thinning of skin. This is why some women have sagging skin or wrinkles even though they’re not “old” – because of the internal hormonal changes in women.
6. Post-menopause: The continuing decline of estrogen levels further deteriorates women’s skin. Additionally, loss of collagen as we age makes our skin dry, less elastic, more wrinkled, and thin.
Hormones & Him: Why Skin Isn’t Just a Girl Thing
While the relevance of hormonal changes in men isn’t as well documented as women, they still have a significant impact on men’s skin health. Similar to menopause, men experience “andropause”, which is the natural decline of testosterone in men as they age. Andropause causes a lot of skin-related problems:
1. Acne: Men are also prone to hormonal imbalance pimples. Testosterone increases oil production, which leads to acne breakouts. But even fluctuations in testosterone can affect our skin and cause acne.
2. Wrinkles: It also plays a role in regulating production of collagen. As testosterone levels decrease with age, the body produces lesser collagen. So men’s skin becomes less elastic, forming wrinkles and lines.
3. Dry Skin: Because of a reduced oil production, the skin loses its hydration and becomes dry, rough, or coarse.
Getting Your Hormones Back on Track
To alleviate the effects of hormones on our skin, the best strategy for both men and women is to build up our health in ways that we can control. The recommended approach is to just regulate your lifestyle, and some of these ways even support hormonal balance:
1. Healthy Diet: Include foods that support hormone balance. Proteins help regulate the hormone that makes us feel hunger. It also provides essential amino acids needed to upkeep skin health. (3)
2. Include Healthy Fats: Omega-3s and other healthy fats help reduce insulin resistance and can keep your hormones balanced. Some foods to include are fatty fish, eggs, nuts, almonds, dark chocolate.
3. Regular Exercise: Exercise reduces insulin levels. Apart from this, also limit your sugar intake to keep your blood sugar levels in check.
4. Managing Stress: We must learn to better manage our stress to regulate cortisol levels. Spend some time everyday doing activities that calm or relax you.
5. Adequate Sleep: Getting good amount of sleep and having a normal sleep schedule prevents hormonal imbalance. Sleep is also crucial for release of the growth hormone.
Final Thoughts
We might think of our skin as only an external organ, but it also reflects how we’re doing on the inside. Whether it’s hormonal changes in women across different life stages or the quieter hormonal shifts in men, these internal changes have a visible impact on skin health. Diving into the connection between hormones and your skin is the first step towards maintaining its health from the roots, not just the surface. With this awareness and following healthy lifestyle habits – like balanced diet, hydration, and rest – you can help support your hormones and let your skin show the results.
FAQs
Q1. How do hormones affect skin health?
The hormone levels in our body determine oil production, collagen levels, and skin hydration. So fluctuations in our hormones affect its condition by making it too oily or dry, forming wrinkles, and making our skin look aged.
Q2. How can I balance my hormones for good skin?
A healthy diet, exercise, and sufficient sleep should help regulate hormone levels. Learning to manage our stress is also crucial. Overall following a healthy lifestyle might help balance our hormones, but we should understand that fluctuations are natural bodily processes that can’t be controlled completely.
Q3. How to improve hormonal skin?
To improve hormonal skin, maintain a nutritious diet, a good sleep schedule, and a healthy skincare routine to target specific skin issues.
Q4. What can I drink to boost my hormones?
Pomegranate juice is recommended to boost testosterone. Green tea, chamomile tea, and ginger tea can help balance hormone levels in the body. Turmeric milk is especially beneficial for regulating the menstrual cycle.
Q5. Which hormone makes skin glow?
Estrogen can add glow to your skin, by regulating oil production (to prevent excess production that makes your skin look oil), and boosting collagen (which maintains skin elasticity). This makes your skin look nourished, giving it that healthy glow.