The Surprising Connection Between Your Skin and Your Hormones

Hormones can cause oily skin.

Hormones can cause dry skin.

Hormones can cause aged skin.

But hormones can also support beautiful, ageless, healthy skin, as long as we build a great relationship with them. 

What are hormones? 

Hormones are communicator molecules in the body that are produced by special glands of the endocrine system. Each hormone has its own role. Secreted in the blood, they are carried to their destination, notifying specific tissues or cells to do their job at a certain time. 

Surprisingly the skin is where the majority of hormonal activity happens.  Research tells us that the skin is metabolically engaged with our hormones, for both the function of the skin and the body’s whole biological system.

If we have a hormonal imbalance, it may show up in various ways such as acne, rosacea, oily, dry, or aged skin. 

Physiologically speaking males and females are both impacted by hormonal imbalances. Based on  Dr. Raymond Peat’s research, estrogen can be the most problematic, especially in regards to aging. 

While estrogen is important to our health, no matter your gender, it can sometimes be produced in excess and cause accelerated aging or rapid cell division. (Weird, right? Because estrogen is often put in anti-aging skincare products. Keep reading.)

Here’s what Dr. Raymond Peat has to say about estrogens:

“All of the unpleasant consequences of estrogen excess happen to resemble some of the events of aging.” – Ray Peat PhD

Read more of Dr. Ray Peat’s research on estrogen impacting aging >>

Excess estrogen travels around the body, snatching up oxygen molecules from your hard-working mitochondria (the powerhouses of energy in each of your cells) and it can lead to “shifting patterns of growth and adaptation” or in other words - the cell affected “will either die or adapt in some way to its deprived conditions”(Dr. Raymond Peat). 

While we do not see the microscopic actions of tissue atrophy and loss of activity underneath, we can see it reflected back to us as aging on the surface of our skin. 

If we allow the toxins in our personal care products, such as Xenoestrogens, to be absorbed through the skin, we are risking the potential effects of unnecessary hormonal activity such as estrogen dominance. 

“Xenoestrogens are a sub-category of the endocrine disruptor group that specifically have estrogen-like effects. Estrogen is a natural hormone in humans that is important for bone growth, blood clotting and reproduction in men and women. The body regulates the amount needed through intricate biochemical pathways. When xenoestrogens enter the body they increase the total amount of estrogen resulting in a phenomenon called, estrogen dominance.”
-Amy LaRue ND

Keeping a healthy hormonal balance is yet another important reason to take extra good care of your skin. And vice versa. 

Read more about endocrine disruptors and how to avoid them in Part II of this article.

How can you support your hormones and your skin? 

Avoiding chemical-laden skincare products is our core philosophy at KOSSMA.

We encourage every consumer to be mindful of what you put on your skin. That’s why we created hormone friendly skincare.

www.kossma.com

One of the best things you can do for your health is to ensure the personal care products you are using do not antagonize all the hard work you are doing to keep your body and your skin healthy. 

The relationship between our skin and hormones is kind of like the chicken and the egg concept, but either way, you look at it, for the skin to be healthy, our hormones must be healthy. For our hormones to be healthy, our skin must also be healthy. It’s a beautiful relationship!

What is also encouraging is that there are many other things you can do to support balanced hormones such as a healthy diet, exercise, and avoiding PUFAs (even in your skincare routine). All of which can also support healthy skin. 

“The recognition of a wide variety of estrogen's effects has made it possible to adjust many things in our diet and environment to more perfectly oppose the estrogenic and age-accelerating influences.” – Ray Peat PhD

This is a topic that is not commonly addressed in the mainstream of consumer information, let alone in the world of natural health. In this article I’ve just skimmed the surface on the relationship between your skin and your hormones. I totally encourage you to do your own research as this topic goes way deeper than what is shared here. 

Jump to part two of this article “Learn How to Avoid Pesky Endocrine Disruptors in Your Personal Care Products”

References

Christos C Zouboulis - The Human Skin as a Hormone Target and an Endocrine Gland

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16982574/

Ray Peat PhD - Aging, estrogen, and progesterone http://raypeat.com/articles/aging/aging-estrogen-progesterone.shtml

Ray Peat PhD - Blocking Tissue Destruction
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/tissue-destruction.shtml

Ray Peat PhD - Natural Estrogens 

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/natural-estrogens.shtml

Ray Peat PhD - Progesterone Summaries
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/progesterone-summaries.shtml

Women in Balance  -  Xenoestrogens - What are they? How to avoid them.   https://womeninbalance.org/2012/10/26/xenoestrogens-what-are-they-how-to-avoid-them/