Medical Questions » Skin Questions » Question No. 1605
| Question: | I' m a woman with acne on the jaw and neck (the ' beard' area). What causes this and what should I do? |
| Answer: | This can be caused by low oestrogen. High oestrogen affects your sebaceous glands by making them smaller and reducing sebum production, making your skin less oily. Low oestrogen has the opposite effect, making your skin oilier and more susceptible to blockage and infection of the pores. Low levels of oestrogen leave the very small amount of testosterone in women unopposed, so it is able to exert its effects, which may include aggressive behaviour, facial hair and even spots in the ' beard' region - testosterone controls beard growth in men.
Oestrogen also increases the rate at which the cells of the epidermis divide and reproduce, so as it declines, the reproduction of new cells does too, and this ends up thinning the skin. Oestrogen also stimulates the production of substances (such as hyaluronic acid), which keep the skin well hydrated, supple and smooth, so low levels can make the skin become dull-looking.
Natural progesterone cream may help, as your body can make oestrogen out of it. Ask your doctor to prescribe it, or contact the Natural Progesterone Information Service (see below). Excess sebum production can also result from a vitamin B6 deficiency, so you may benefit from taking B6 in addition to a high-strength multi, up to 100mg. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to get your hormone levels checked by either your doctor or a nutritional therapist. |
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