Perimenopause, HRT and the skin

I started Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) in January. I have no issue taking (body identical) HRT alongside good nutrition, high quality supplements and a healthy lifestyle to top up the dwindling levels of Oestrogen and Progesterone in my body and it has made a big difference to my symptoms.

However, not surprisingly, it has triggered a couple of skin issues.

I say not surprisingly as my skin is usually the area that highlights that something is not quite right and that's how i got in to this area of work in the first place, though my own skin issues. For other people, it might show up as headaches and migraines or digestive problems.

Firstly, i had periocular (eye) dermatitis and now more recently acne on my chin and jawline, so I thought it would be helpful to write about this and what to do about it for other Women who are going through this too.

Periocular dermatitis

Periocular dermatitis is common during perimenopause and (once diagnosed correctly and not mistaken for eczema or a bacterial or fungal issue) the treatment will start working fairly quickly.

Bear in mind that the skin becomes more sensitive during perimenopause, so issues like dermatitis become more common and you may find that your skin starts to react to make up, products, eyelash treatments etc that you have previously had no problems with.

It is a good time to have a review and make sure you are using products and make up that are as natural as possible for the skin, as well as using a gentle cleanser to thoroughly remove make up at the end of the day.

Acne

As for the acne, it makes sense to me that this has appeared, as my body adjusts to different levels of Oestrogen and Progesterone and the knock on effect that has on other hormones in the body.

Acne on the chin and jawline is often an indicator of a hormone issue and needs careful, gentle management to manage the external appearance of the acne as well as the internal issues such as inflammation.

Just as we might have done in our teenage years, going straight for the ‘anti-acne’ products that dry out and irritate your skin just causes more breakouts, irritation and inflammation.

To actually support your skin and get in control of the acne, we have to understand what is going on to cause it.

Here are some factors that will be causing it

Changes to Oestrogen and Progesterone levels which in turn impacts on our thyroid hormones such as thyroxine.

Changes to the gut microbiome. The gut- skin axis is a huge topic in itself but any changes to your gut health will impact on your skin.

An increased load on our body (e.g. more hormones) that we need to process and remove. Yes we want these hormones but once they have been used, we want to get them out of the body, not have them recirculating around because we are not detoxifying as efficiently as we could be.

That’s why its not as simple as putting something on the surface of the skin, although of course gentle cleansing, moisturisation and nourishment is important too.

Stress

If you are in your forty’s and fifty’s and juggling a lot, stress will also be playing a part in skin flare ups such as dermatitis and acne.

I know it does for me.

Don’t underestimate the impact of too much cortisol (the stress hormone) circulating in your body all the time, rather than being released in short bursts and then used up as it should be.

In simple terms, this not only impacts on all the other hormones in your body and all the side effects of that, but it also  causes inflammation and inflammation is an underlying factor in many skin problems and skin conditions.

So, what can we do to support our skin during perimenopause and hormonal changes regardless of whether you take HRT or not

Take stress seriously. Do what you need to do to look after yourself. You will know what works for you by now and what helps you to ‘empty your stress bucket’. Healthy eating, exercise and supplements will only do so much if you have high levels of cortisol constantly circuiting your body. It will show up in your skin, regardless of whether you take HRT or not.

Support your body to process and get rid of waste, aka detoxify. We do this with movement, sweating, dry body brushing, facial massage, eating lots of fibre ( a lot more than you think), drinking lots of fluids (not wine!) and giving our liver the nutrients it needs to actually work properly.

Give your gut microbiome what it needs such as a really varied diet, with lots of different fruit and vegetables, fibre, less sugar, take steps to manage stress and eat fermented foods.

When it comes to skincare products, keep it simple. Don’t overload your skin. Use natural, gentle products that contain as few ingredients as possible and avoid ones that contain alcohol.

Like other parts of our body and areas of our life, we have to look after our skin a bit differently in perimenopause but the key is to support your body as a whole and i hope this blog has given you some useful pointers to get started. What is one thing you can do today?

Looking for some help with your skin?

Book a free skin clarity call. We will discuss what is going on with your skin and I will advise you on the best course of action to take. Book your session here: https://tidycal.com/amywoodcock480/30-minute-meeting

Hi, I'm Amy Woodcock, a nutritional therapist specialising in the skin and a natural skincare creator with my own plant based, skincare range for sensitive and problem skin. I help Women and their families to solve their skin problems and get their confidence back. Find out more at www.naturallygrownhealth.co.uk