3 Surprising Hormone Triggers That Mess With Your Skin

When we think of the myriad things that affect the skin, perhaps things like diet, moving your body, drinking water, and so forth also come to mind. But one of the biggest influences on the skin is our hormones, as they influence so much of our overall health.

On some level, you likely understand that hormones affect our skin, whether that's acne during puberty or skin flare-ups as part of a monthly cycle. But it's not just the sex hormones that change our complexion; several other hormones do so as well. And on this week's episode of Clean Beauty School, I spoke about this with hormone expert and board-certified dermatologist Keira Barr, M.D. In it, she shared how dealing with hormones is never a one-size-fits-all endeavor, but there are things we can all pay attention to. 

"I think it's so valuable to understand you are unique—we have a lot of similarities, but your particular situation may not fit neatly into a box," she says. 

We often talk about how stress messes with the skin here at mindbodygreen. And the reason for this all comes down to cortisol, the stress hormone. "Cortisol, our primary stress hormone, is one that significantly affects the skin. So when we stress out, our brain sends a signal to our skin, and cortisol is generated. This has some of the biggest impacts you see, especially from an aging perspective," says Barr. 

Again, we talk at length about the importance of a good night's rest—for the skin, body, and mind. As far as the skin goes, we often note that skipping rest can cause sallow skin, dark eyes, and a lackluster complexion. But perhaps the most dramatic way it affects the skin is limiting repair—and this comes down to melatonin. 

Of course, products affect your skin! But did you know that they also influence hormones? Yes—endocrine disrupters can dramatically influence our skin health. "A lot of preservatives in beauty products can irritate the skin and cause endocrine disruption," she says. Endocrine disrupters are ingredients that disrupt your normal hormone balance. This can happen in a variety of ways: First, they mimic your body's natural hormones, then they influence your hormone receptors. Or they can block your natural hormones from reaching those hormone receptors. Finally, they can simply increase or decrease the normal levels of hormones that you have in your body.