Topical estrogens help reverse skin aging, are safer than oral estrogens
Ryan M Svoboda
Aging is a fact of life, but the signs of aging don’t have to be. Aging skin has certain characteristic traits: It’s thin, dry, uneven in color, and often wrinkled. Research has shown that decreased levels of circulating estrogens play a role in aging of the skin. Estrogen can promote the proliferation of the cells that make collagen, which is necessary for skin’s youthful appearance.
Therefore it seems that estrogen replacement would be a logical way to treat aging skin. However, despite these positive effects on skin, estrogens can affect many different systems in the human body. In an article published in SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine, the authors state, “Research into alternative substances such as soft estrogens … suggests that estrogenic-like benefits on aging skin could be harnessed safely, while avoiding the potential pitfalls associated with estrogen use.”
The extensive review goes on to describe the potential negative effects of systemic estrogens and how soft drug design can overcome these unwanted side effects. The guiding principle of soft drug design is developing therapeutic drugs in a way that predictably alters metabolism and restricts the effects to the designated targets.
The authors conclude that “aging of the skin is a complex, multi-faceted process that has not only cosmetic but also medical and quality of life implications.” They note that there are currently no commercially available topical estrogens that work exclusively in the skin and stress that continued research leading to the development of such products is paramount.
SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine is a peer-reviewed online medical journal and the official journal of The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine. The mission of SKIN is to provide an enhanced and accelerated route to disseminate new dermatologic knowledge for all aspects of cutaneous disease. For more details, please visit jofskin.org or contact jofskin@gmail.com.
Dr. Ryan M Svoboda works in the Dept. of Dermatology at Duke University School of Medicine.
