The hormonal gist: "During puberty," says Dr. Wu, "your raging hormones make your sebaceous (oil) glands enlarge and pump out lots of oil. This is why teens are typically oily in their T-zone area, with large pores, blackheads and pimples." In their book, doctors Rodan and Fields point out that with the onset of menstruation, come other problems. "The hormonal surges that accompany menses frequently cause moodiness, bloating, cramps and acne."
Other problem-causing factors: Dr. Murad says that "teens and young adults are being exposed to more free radical aggressors and sun damage than ever before so it is imperative to wear sunscreen daily to minimize the possibility of skin cancer."
Next: The plan of attack
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Adolescence -- Plan of Attack
Dr. Wu, whose new book "Feed Your Face" discusses the food/skin connection, gets down to brass tacks with her teen patients. "I tell [them] to avoid dairy if they have acne -- dairy hormones can also stimulate oil glands and lead to clogged pores," she says, pointing out that it's important for them to get their calcium and protein elsewhere. (Soy and almond milks are both rich in calcium and tofu, apricots, figs and hazelnuts are great protein sources.) She also says that adolescents should "watch their sugar, since high blood sugar can cause inflammation leading to redness, swelling, and whiteheads."
Next: The specific ingredients teens should look for in skin care
Ah, hormones. Those wacky chemicals that carry messages from our organs to our cells. Those super-busy messengers that dictate pretty much everything in our bodies -- from the speed of our metabolism to how tall we grow -- hormones call all the shots, they have the control, they, in short, are king. And, as noted dermatologists Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields say in their book, "Write Your Skin a Prescription for Change," hormones also have a ton to do with the way our skin "changes and ages throughout life" and, a lot to do with any and all of our skin problems.
"With the onset of puberty," the doctors write, "sex hormones skyrocket, ruling behavior and altering the appearance of skin." And, guess what? That roller coaster continues all the way through menopause � and then some.
There are six major hormones that affect our skin: estrogen, progesterone, melanin, cortisol, testosterone and the thyroid hormones. And, their levels fluctuate all the time, which explains, among other things, why our complexions also change throughout the month (and years).
To get an idea of how our skin is affected by these hormones during three key periods of our lives (adolescence, pregnancy and menopause), we talked to two preeminent dermatology experts, Dr. Howard Murad and Dr. Jessica Wu -- both of whom specialize (and excel) in the medical and cosmetic aspects of their field. They walked us through the three stages, offering up insight into what happens from a physiological standpoint and giving suggestions for how to best handle the situations to keep the resulting skin problems to a minimum.
So, if you're ready to get a firmer understanding of what the heck is going on inside our bodies that can sometimes wreak havoc on our complexions, and learn what you can do to outsmart them, you're in luck.
