Menopause is a normal part of life. It is one step in a long, slow process of reproductive aging. For most women this process begins silently somewhere around age 40 and declining levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone is responsible for physiological and emotional changes in a female.
Menopause, or the “change of life,” affects each woman in a different way. In an attempt to help women cope up better with menopause, hormone replacement therapy is instituted and numerous studies and debates have been conducted on the advantages and disadvantages of the same.Long-term hormone therapy used earlier in menopause has been found to be associated with fewer wrinkles and less skin rigidity in postmenopausal women, and may have cosmetic benefits according to a new study.
Hormone therapy, if started early can be a key to the prevention of wrinkles by maintaining the elasticity of the skin. They found that rigidity was significantly decreased in hormone therapy users compared to nonusers at both the cheek (1.1 vs. 2.7) and forehead (20 vs. 29).
Just as it is said, ”the skin is a mirror of the inner health” what is happening in the skin may be reflective of the functioning of other organs such as the heart and bone, which might also be benefiting from estrogen therapy. The fact that hormones can maintain a healthy skin but cannot reverse existing damage has to be borne in mind.
