I want to share some research articles I have found. I am a Patient Consultant for BHRT & TRT. It is part of my job to find medical research to share with our patients. As well as part of my job to listen to the patients throughout their care, which I love to do! I would like to share these research findings & stories with you! Here is one I love, simply bc I know every woman wants to maintain her youthful skin. Let us start with the inside!
Hormones and Your Aging Skin
Your Retinoids Can Only Do So Much
By Jen Adkins http://skincare.about.com/od/insiderinterviews/fl/Hormones-and-Your-Aging-Skin.htm
Think your retinoids will take care of those new wrinkles or sagging skin? There is more to it than that according to Dr. Morley, Medical Director of Womens Healthy Hormones. He's here to share why hormones, not skin care products, are one of the biggest keys to slowing down the ticking of the clock.
One of the most distressing parts of aging is watching our skin begin to wrinkle, dry and age. Indeed, preventing this is a billion dollar industry. Unfortunately, one common mistake is to attack this dilemma from the outside only by applying topical solutions. However, the key to younger looking skin is to approach this issue from both the outside and inside. Don’t forget, your skin is an organ and will reflect your overall health.
The Effects of Hormones
An unfortunate fact of life is that as we age, our hormone levels decline, having a detrimental effect on our organs including heart, lungs and skin. Replacing certain hormones will prevent this. Numerous studies have shown how balancing estrogen, progesterone and cortisol can combat this natural aging process and help restore our skin to its younger natural appearance.
The Effects of Estrogen
There are two proteins, known as collagen and elastin, which deteriorate as we age, causing wrinkles and dry, sagging skin. This is in part a result of declining estrogen levels. Quite simply, increasing estrogen levels will minimize the breakdown of these proteins and give your skin a younger healthier appearance.
Boosting your estrogen levels can be done internally with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and externally with estrogen creams. However, to begin HRT you should seek out a physician who is highly qualified with specialty training, specifically in the use ofbioidentical hormones which are safer and have fewer side effects than non-bioidentical hormones.
Effects of Progesterone
Another intervention for preventing skin breakdown is topical progesterone cream. There have been clinical trials which clearly demonstrate that a 2% progesterone cream increases elasticity and firmness to skin, especially in women who are entering menopause. This has been found to significantly decrease wrinkles and have a favorable impact on skin with essentially no side effects. Again, one should be prescribed a high-quality bioidentical progesterone from a trained physician to ensure purity and potency.
Effects of Cortisol
Cortisol is a “stress hormone” which is secreted when we need that “fight or flight” response to our environment. However, long term exposure to cortisol due to our over-stressed life style causes your skin to become dry, thin and weak. You tend to retain water with a puffy appearance to your skin and face, and you tend to bruise more easily.
Lowering cortisol levels comes from life style change and taking care of yourself. Additionally, supplementing a hormone called DHEA along with estrogen and progesterone minimizes the effects of cortisol on your body.
If you are looking to begin Hormone Therapy, you may send me a private message, or post here, for advice on how to find an expert in your area....well, more like advice on how to know you are speaking to an expert...Do not go to your General Practitioner! He treats many things, but hormones, he is not a specialist in the field. In the past 10 years or so, there have been amazing discoveries on how much they impact us! - Cris