Acne and Hormones
Acne can be a very embarrassing problem for all age groups. For instance, hormonal acne can often flare up at puberty, during pregnancy, or even during menopause. Our hormones play a vital role in our body’s metabolic functions and thus they can play a key role in our acne breakouts. Understanding how our hormones work is one of the keys to determining what the best acne control treatment might be for our individual skin.
Hormones are small molecules that are secreted by certain glands in our body. They affect nearly every biological function in our body. They accomplish this by carrying instructions to different sites all over the body – delivering signals to cells that influence our genes and the cellular protein activity.
Estrogen: This is known as the female hormone, because of the role it plays in forming the female body and its particular metabolic processes; 90% of estrogen is made by the ovaries.
Progesterone: The ovary is also responsible for making progesterone. It counters the effect of estrogen helping to provide a healthy environment in the body. It has a number of health benefits such as promoting fertility, metabolism of fat, and balancing body fluids amongst others. Symptons of menopause can be associated with progesterone deficiency.
Androgens: These are a group of three hormones called DHEA, Androstenedione and testosterone. Men produce androgens in the testes and women produce them in the ovaries and adrenal glands, they are known as sex hormones. Testosterone is the most commonly known hormone, and is responsible for masculine attributes, such as excess hair and deepening of the voice.
Testosterone: This is the hormone that is involved in acne control as it stimulates oil glands, if too much oil is produced breakouts can occur. Although considered a male hormone, this can also be found in small amounts in women. Too much testosterone is often the cause of excess hair and polycystic ovaries that, if left undetected, can cause infertility. When testosterone is converted to a potent form called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by the enzyme 5A Reductase, it influences sebum production stimulating the sebaceous gland, which in turn blocks the hair follicles and causes breakouts and oily skin conditions.
By understanding the hormones that are responsible for causing acne, it has enabled many skin care companies to treat the acne hormonal imbalance and resulting skin condition more effectively. An ingredient called Azelaic acid is having very positive results in curbing hormonal breakouts. What azelaic acid actually does is, inhibit the 5a Reductase enzyme, preventing it from flourishing in the follicle. The acid also has an antibacterial effect that reduces the growth of bacteria in the follicle. This latest finding shows that although the fight against hormonal medicated acne conditions is still not over, science is definitely one step closer to finding a cure.
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