Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) or Estrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT) describes prescription-only treatments that give your body estrogen and/or progesterone. HRT, taken in pills or via skin patches, has been shown to restore some amount of the skin’s support tissue and elastic quality. A number of studies have demonstrated that ERT and HRT can increase the thickness and elasticity of skin as well as lessen the appearance of skin’s “aging.” Estrogen appears to aid in the prevention of skin aging in several ways, including an increase in collagen production, improving barrier function, and creating healthy skin cells; it can also increase wound healing, and improve skin elasticity.
(Sources: Skin Research and Technology, May 2001, page 95; Maturitas European Menopause and Andropause Society, May 2000, pages 107-117; and American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2001, volume 2, issue 3, pages 143-150.)
There are serious risks associated with ERT and HRT and there are controversies regarding their effects on heart disease, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. But there seems to be little opposition to the notion that they ease hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and vaginal thinning while improving the appearance of skin experiencing perimenopause. It is essential to weigh the pros and cons of ERT and HRT to decide if they are the right direction for you.
Around the age of 40 you can consider getting a baseline estrogen count to determine what normal is for you. That way you can monitor the changes and balancing effect that varying combinations of supplements are having on your body.
(Sources: Climateric Journal of the International Menopause Society, August 2007, pages 289-297; and Experimental Dermatology, February 2006, pages 83-94.)
topical application of Progesterone and estrogen
There are a lot of believers in “natural estrogen” and “natural progesterone” creams and lotions. Particularly for progesterone, the Internet is replete with advocates and believers who are convincing in their rhetoric, describing it as the fountain of youth. It’s important to point out that while natural progesterone applied to the skin is absolutely an option for perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms and improvement in the appearance of skin, the versions you buy at health food stores or over the Internet are not regulated in any way by the FDA, and so they are, in actuality, merely cosmetics. That means any cosmetics company can put progesterone or estrogen into whatever products they want to and make outrageous claims for them.
Having said that, there is research showing that topical application of 2% progesterone creams can have benefit for improving the appearance of skin, reducing wrinkles, and increasing elasticity. The same is true for topical application of estrogen. For both estrogen and progesterone, applying patches or creams with these actives appears to greatly reduce the risk associated with oral medications. Objective research about topically applied estrogen and progesterone is limited and should be discussed with your physician before you consider this route.
(Sources: Maturitas European Menopause and Andropause Society, May 2007, pages 77-80; British Journal of Dermatology, September 2005, pages 626-632; Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, June 2005, pages 614-619; Menopause, March 2005, pages 232-237; and Drugs in Aging, 2004, volume 21, issue 13, pages 865-883.)