First strand of grey hair, fatigue, aching joints and fine lines on the face are all signs of the inevitable – aging. But I’m a firm believer in aging gracefully, especially when it comes to our largest and most exposed organ, the skin.
When talking about skincare, many believe that the only way to fix the “blemishes” on our skin is through expensive treatments and surgical procedures. While these treatments can have immediate effects, my first advice for beautiful and healthy skin is not related to needles and ointments.
No matter your condition, if you want to fix your body, you have to start with healing and cleansing your body from within first. In the case of skin, this means taking necessary supplements, and implementing dietary and lifestyle changes as early as possible. Really committing to a healthy lifestyle can significantly ‘extend’ our clock and promote optimal aging. BUT…
…a growing body of scientific literature shows that there is another factor contributing to youthful and glowy skin… and that is hormonal balance in our body.
HOW ARE HORMONES CONTRIBUTING TO SKIN HEALTH?
It is no secret that hormones regulate numerous processes in our body, including growth, metabolism and even mood. When in balance, hormones assist in:
- regulating mood
- strengthening the bones
- distributing fat
- maintaining lean mass
But many don’t realize that hormones also play a big role in skin health.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise if you think about it. You have probably noticed that a vast majority of young adults suffer from hormonal acne. This suggests that hormones (and particularly their imbalance) can have visible effects on our skin. But what most people don’t know is that hormones continue having an effect on our skin even as we age. Various studies indicate that hormones, particularly estrogen, play a big role in skin health.
THE MIRACULOUS WORK OF ESTROGEN
Estrogen is one the key players in oil production and elasticity of skin. Modern skin treatments are all about collagen boosting. Well, guess what? Estrogen insufficiency and other hormonal imbalances decrease collagen level, making our skin that much drier and duller.
Estrogen protects the skin against photoaging, which is premature aging due to exposure to UV light. In general, UV exposure is linked with deeper wrinkles and lower skin elasticity; however, estrogen is able to counteract these harmful effects and thus, slow down skin wrinkling and sagging. One of the ways estrogen prevents skin aging is through decreasing epidermal thinning and maintaining skin thickness. Sounds easy, right? BUT…
DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH ESTROGEN FOR GRACEFUL AGING?
Unfortunately, as we age hormonal imbalances become almost inevitable. On one hand, we start producing less and less hormones and on the other hand, even the ones that stay at the same level become weaker and lose their effectiveness. This is especially true during menopause when women start losing dermal collagen.
And, now, it’s time for some hopeful news…
Turns out, decreasing collagen level is linked to decrease in estrogen rather than aging itself, which means that if you restore your estrogen levels, it will not only relieve menopause symptoms and decrease risk of health conditions like osteoporosis, heart disease and dementia, but reduce skin aging!
At the Dempster Clinic – Center for Functional Medicine, we pay special attention to our patient’s hormone levels and offer full hormonal analysis for a variety of hormones. If you are menopausal or are experiencing symptoms related to hormonal imbalance, like sudden weight gain or loss, muscle weakness, joint pain or stiffness OR if you simply want to maintain your skin through improving your hormonal state, there is an easy, quick and accurate way to get a hormonal analysis. The type and amount of hormones you need will depend on your individual hormone health history, symptoms, and lab testing results.
HOW DO I RESTORE MY HORMONE LEVELS?
If you would like to restore your skin health and improve its elasticity by restoring hormonal levels in your body, the Dempster Clinic offers natural solutions to balancing hormones such as botanical and nutritional strategies, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT).
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is a natural and effective way of getting your body back in balance and reviving your skin.
What’s so special about bioidentical hormones is that they are derived from plant estrogens and are chemically identical to the ones that our body naturally produces, which makes them completely safe for the human body.
ADDED Anti-aging BONUS
In addition to having visible anti-aging effects, potential benefits of restoring hormonal levels using bioidentical hormone replacement therapy include reduced fatigue, increased sex drive, weight loss, improved mood and sleep, better memory and less hair thinning. This is no surprise, because having your hormones in check means having your entire body in check.
If you would like to check your hormone levels or discuss bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, give us a call today. We are here to help you every step of the way.
