Skin, hair, and nails are often thought of purely as a beauty thing, but in fact they can be indicative of a lot of other aspects of health. Dr. Andrea Suarez takes us through some of them in this video about the systemic (i.e., whole-body, not just related to sex things) effects of estrogen, and/or a deficiency thereof.

Beyond the cosmetic

Low estrogen levels are usual in women during and after untreated menopause, resulting in various changes in the skin, hair, and nails, that reflect deeper issues, down to bone health, heart health, brain health, and more. Since we can’t see our bones or hearts or brains without scans (or a serious accident/incident), we’re going to focus on the outward signs of estrogen deficiency.

Estrogen helps maintain healthy collagen production, skin elasticity, wound healing, and moisture retention, making it essential for youthful and resilient skin. Declining estrogen levels with menopause lead to a thinner epidermis, decreased collagen production, and more pronounced wrinkles. Skin elasticity also diminishes, which slows the skin’s ability to recover from stretching or deformation. Wound healing also becomes slower, increasing the risk of infections and extended recovery periods after injuries or surgeries—bearing in mind that collagen is needed in everything from our skin to our internal connective tissue (fascia) and joints and bones. So all those things are going to struggle to recover from injury (and surgery is also an injury) without it.

Other visible changes associated with declining estrogen include significant dryness as a result of reduced hyaluronic acid and glycosaminoglycan production, which are essential for moisture retention. The skin becomes more prone to irritation and increased water loss. Additionally, estrogen deficiency results in less resistance to oxidative stress, making the skin more susceptible to damage from environmental factors such as UV radiation and pollution, as well as any from-the-inside pollution that some may have depending on diet and lifestyle.

Acne and enlarged pores are associated with increased testosterone, but testosterone and estrogen are antagonistic in most ways, and in this case a decrease in estrogen will do the same, due increased unopposed androgen signaling affecting the oil glands. The loss of supportive collagen also causes the skin around pores to lose structure, making them appear larger. The reduction in skin hydration further exacerbates the visibility of pores and can contribute to the development of blackheads due to abnormal cell turnover.

Blood vessel issues tend to arise as estrogen levels drop, leading to a reduction in angiogenesis, i.e. the formation and integrity of blood vessels. This results in more fragile and leaky blood vessels, making the skin more prone to bruising, especially on areas frequently exposed to the sun, such as the backs of the hands. This weakened vasculature also further contributes to the slower wound healing that we talked about, due to less efficient delivery of growth factors.

Hair and nail changes often accompany estrogen deficiency. Women may notice hair thinning, increased breakage, and a greater likelihood of androgenic alopecia. The texture of the hair can change, becoming more brittle. Similarly, nails can develop ridges, split more easily, and become more fragile due to reduced collagen and keratin production, which also affects the skin around the nails.

As for what to do about it? Management options for estrogen-deficient skin include:

• Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which can improve skin elasticity, boost collagen production, and reduce dryness and fragility, as well as addressing the many more serious internal things that are caused by the same deficiency as these outward signs.
• Low-dose topical estrogen cream, which can help alleviate skin dryness and increase skin strength, won’t give the systemic benefits (incl. to bones, heart, brain, etc) that only systemic HRT can yield.
• Plant-based phytoestrogens, which are not well-evidenced, but may be better than nothing if nothing is your only other option. However, if you are taking anything other form of estrogen, don’t use phytoestrogens as well, or they will compete for estrogen receptors, and do the job not nearly so well while impeding the bioidentical estrogen from doing its much better job.

And for all at any age, sunscreen continues to be one of the best things to put on one’s skin for general skin health, and this is even more true if running low on estrogen.

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

These Signs Often Mean These Nutrient Deficiencies (Do You Have Any?)

Take care!

Cori Lefkowith, of “Redefining Strength” and “Strong At Every Age” fame, is back to help us keep our hips in good order:

These tips don’t lie

It’s less about stretching, and more about range of motion and “use it or lose it”:

• Full range of motion in lifting exercises enhances joint mobility and stability, whereas strengthening muscles through a limited range of motion (e.g., half squats) can cause tightness.
• Lifting through a larger range of motion may result in faster strength gains too, so that’s a bonus.
• Customize your range of motion based on your body type and capability, but do try for what you reasonably can—don’t give up!
• Lower weights and focus on deeper movements like split squats or single-leg squats, but work up slowly if you have any difficulties to start with.
• Using exercises like the Bulgarian split squat and deficit split squat can improve hip mobility and strength (you’ll really need to see the video for this one)
• Fully controlling the range of motion is key to progress, even if it means going lighter; prioritize mobility over brute strength. Strength is good, but mobility is even more critical.
• Adding instability, such as raising the front foot in lunges, challenges muscles and increases mobility. Obviously, please be safe while doing so, and slowly increase the range of motion while maintaining control, avoiding reliance on momentum.
• Final tip that most don’t consider: try starting exercises from the bottom position to ensure proper form and muscle engagement!

For more on each of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• Train For The Event Of Your Life!
• Building & Maintaining Mobility
• Avoiding Later-Life Falls

Take care!

Kait Ann-Michelle describes herself as an “exercise scientist”, so what does that mean?

It means: she has an MS in exercise science, and an MA in clinical psychology.

With this mind, here’s what she has to say about hormones, weight gain/loss, and more:

What she wants us to know

Things to bear in mind over a certain age include:

• That “certain age” is about 35. If that seems a lifetime ago to you, in a way it could well be, if your hormones were very different then. In popular culture, menopause is often played as a joke, and the bar for having passed it is usually set quite high. But since the hormonal changes themselves begin nearer 35, that’s where to start examining things.
  • A lot of online advice is woefully inappropriate for women over that age. Which is quite an injustice, as the 25–35 age range is such a tiny slice of life, yet it seems 80–90% of everything is aimed at it and tailored for it.
• Estrogen gets talked about a lot, but there are many hormones involved in perimenopausal symptoms, as one thing affects another, and before you know it, estrogen, progesterone, and even non-sex hormones like cortisol, insulin, thyroid hormones, and melatonin can be entirely out from where they should be. And the longer this goes on, the more pronounced and deep-rooted the effects.
  • That goes for weight too, especially given the cortisol, insulin, and thyroid imbalances.
• It’s not just a case of “one hormone affects another”, either. Yes, it’s that too, but for example if you have a mood swing due to low estrogen, which creates a stressful situation that ups your cortisol, then you don’t sleep so well, then the next day you are more tired so you skip the exercise you planned, and then and then and then… In short, lifestyle factors matter a lot too; they affect, and are affected by, our hormones.
  • All of this does tend to lead to weight gain if mismanaged.
• She advises advises taking up HRT once it becomes appropriate (which for most women means around menopause—though other conditions can make HRT indicated earlier or in some cases not at all), and/but also focusing a lot on “lifestyle medicine”, that is to say, diet and exercise, good sleep, stress management, and so forth.
  • All of this does tend to lead to weight loss/maintenance if managed correctly.
• She doesn’t recommend guesswork when it comes to hormones, though, and rather recommends getting regularly tested for: thyroid panel, estradiol, progesterone, DHEAS, testosterone, CBC, lipid panel, CMP, and hemoglobin A1c, as well as, ideally, “nice-to-have lab values” of cortisol, IGF1, vitamin D3, homocysteine, B12, SHBG, FSH, LH, iron, ferritin, and CRP.
  • That’s a lot of tests, so note, they’re in relative order of importance.

She notes that your doctor probably won’t want to do all those and will probably try to talk you out of them, so be prepared to advocate for yourself, as comprehensive lab work gives a full picture that the bare minimum does not.

For more details on all of these, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• What Does “Balance Your Hormones” Even Mean?
• What You Should Have Been Told About The Menopause Beforehand
• HRT: A Tale Of Two Approaches (Bioidentical vs Animal)
• HRT & Your Heart
• Hormones & Health, Beyond The Obvious

Take care!