Watching your hair gray and your skin crease has long been considered an inevitable part of life, but a new study has revealed promising avenues for combating visible signs of aging.
Few hormones have been used in anti-aging skincare — mainly topical retinoids like retinol and tretinoin, as well as estrogen, which treats symptoms related to menopause.
Now, researchers in Germany have identified a much wider variety of hormones that may have the potential to turn back time.
“Our paper highlights key hormone players that orchestrate pathways of skin aging such as degradation of connective tissue (leading to wrinkling), stem cell survival and loss of pigment (leading to hair graying),” said lead study author Markus Böhm, a dermatology professor at the University of Münster.
“Some of the hormones we studied have anti-aging properties and may be used in the future as agents to prevent skin aging.”
The researchers wanted to better understand how hormones affect skin aging, so they focused on insulin-like growth factor 1, growth hormone, estrogen, retinoids and melatonin.
Melatonin stood out as a promising anti-aging treatment because it is a small, affordable and well-tolerated molecule that also acts as an antioxidant and helps regulate energy production in cells.
Most widely known as a hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles, melatonin can be found naturally in milk, which contains an amino acid called tryptophan that the body converts into melatonin.
Melatonin can also be found in high amounts in nuts (especially almonds, pistachios and walnuts), some fish (tuna and salmon) and tart cherries — the key ingredient in the TikTok-famous Sleepy Girl Mocktail.
Some of the identified hormones had surprising effects on skin and hair aging, especially in people with certain genetic conditions.
The researchers also looked at other hormones, such as α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (which controls skin color), hormones from the thyroid system, oxytocin and endocannabinoids (found in CBD products).
As you get older, your skin experiences intrinsic aging — a natural process that follows the passage of time — and extrinsic aging — aging due to external factors such as sun exposure, air pollution, smoking, poor diet, lack of sleep and stress.
The researchers found that these hormones could help protect skin from sun damage, slow signs of aging and influence hair pigmentation.
The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Endocrine Reviews.
“Skin is not only a target for various hormones that control pathways of skin aging but itself is certainly the largest and richest site for hormone production besides classical endocrine glands,” Böhm said.
“Further research into these hormones may offer opportunities to develop new therapeutics for treating and preventing skin aging.”
