【Prestige】Lost in Translation: The Delicate Balance Between Hormones and Skin Health

Press: Prestige

Type: Online & Printed magazine

Issue Date: 14 Aug 2025

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Hormones can make or break our skin health. Prestige finds out from three experts how we can manage these chemical messengers.

For all the magic creams and potions we lather on our faces to achieve that sought-after glow up, sometimes the culprit behind that one pesky pimple is simply our hormones. Hormonal fluxes impact the skin throughout our lives. Your acne breakouts during puberty? Blame it on rising estrogen and androgens. Pre-period flare-ups and puffiness? Caused by the rise and fall of progesterone. That pregnancy glow? All thanks to a boost in estrogen levels. In perimenopause and menopause, the drop in estrogen is most dramatic, leading to dryness, dullness, a reduction in elasticity and slower skin repair, according to Beth Wright, a functional medicine health coach and certified functional nutritionist specialising in women’s health and performance. “Many women assume their skincare has suddenly stopped working, but it’s actually their hormonal baseline that’s changed.”

According to Dr Stephen Chan, chief medical advisor for LifeHealth Group, the most important hormones for the skin are the sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Estrogen plays a central role in skin health, supporting collagen production, hydration, elasticity and overall skin structure, while progesterone’s function is “less clear”, though it’s important for maintaining skin firmness and elasticity…..