So our skin makes up about 22 pounds of our bodies, and can cover almost 22 square feet if it was flattened out. Obviously, that is a huge amount of our bodies, but how much attention is really paid to the care and wellbeing of the skin?

Sure, you take mostly good care of your skin, but do you give it the same level of attention you give other organs? And more importantly, are you trying to fix the symptoms of your skin issues or the root cause?

Hormones and the Skin

With the huge percentage of our body weight being dominated by the skin, it seems natural that the hormones that control all aspects of our body would also impact our skin.

Estrogen: Estrogen is responsible for thickness of the skin with impacting the collagen content. As we age, collagen decreases and skin becomes thinner thus resulting in more fine lines (Shah).
Thyroid Hormones: The thyroid controls so much in our bodies, it is only natural that when this gland is out of balance, other manifestations will be noticed in the body. For those with hypothyroidism (under active thyroid), skin changes can be seen as cold, dry, and even slightly jaundice skin. Hyperthyroidism (over active) can cause warm, moist, smooth skin. (Lause)
Adrenal Excess: Commonly found in those who have PCOS, excess adrenal hormones can cause moderate to severe acne as well as excessive hair growth (Lause)
Insulin: Insulin resistance is linked to many skin issues, such as persistent acne and darkening of the skin. (González-Saldivar)
Cortisol: Acne and high stress have often been linked anecdotally, but studies have confirmed that stress definitely increases the presence of acne. (Chen)

Fix Your Hormones, Fix Your Skin

Applying products to your skin may mask the symptoms of skin issues, but does not get to the root of the issue. One of the best ways to first fix your hormones is to see exactly which ones are not performing in the way we would like. If you are able to see a functional medicine provider, they can run a full panel of labs to see exactly what is happening. If you are not, I love the DUTCH test for easy, at-home testing. CBW will soon be able to help with that!

Environmental Changes to Decrease Skin Issues Caused By Hormonal Imbalance

Balancing your hormones is a lot easier said than done, that is why this is such a complex issue. But there are lifestyle changes you can start doing to begin balancing your hormones:

Sleep: Sleep is key to basically everything. While you are sleeping, you are giving your body to repair, recharge, and rebuild due to the release of melotonin.
Hydrate: Water, like sleep, fixes all. Adequate water intake helps flush the body of toxins, provides necessary and lovely moisture, and tons of other great benefits.
Decrease Toxic Chemicals: Check your labels on your skin care and makeup to ensure they are free of parabens, phthalates, oxybenzones and other chemicals with known negative effects to our body. Many of these known endocrine disruptors are found in our skin care, make up, shampoo, and even bubble baths!
Increase Relaxation: Don’t worry, I am not going to tell you to go relax right now, because that is literally the opposite of relaxing. Instead, I am going to suggest you find ways to build moments of quiet into your daily life. This could be sitting a few minutes longer while you finish your coffee, taking 5 deep breathes after each cup of water you drink (you see what I did there?), or spending a few minutes longer in the quiet bathroom alone. However you find relaxation that works in your life will yield the best results.
Find Patterns: Notice when you break out more based on your monthly cycle, and see if you can pick up a pattern. This pattern can be helpful for you to either figure out where the hormonal imbalance is, or how you adjust your life a bit to account for the changes that your body is going through, and give it a bit more grace.