Estrogen Creams don’t Revive Sun-damaged Skin

Estradiol, the hormonal cream designed and promoted as a new anti-aging solution seems effective, but only on the skin that has never been exposed to the sun, researchers of a new study have found.

The estrogen based cream Estradiol stimulates the production of collagen – the skin protein that improves the appearance of the skin.

70 volunteers - 40 postmenopausal women and 30 men - average age 75 years, all with sun-damaged skin, participated in the two week drug trail.

Biopsies of skin were collected from each participant’s hips, forearm and face, both at the start of the trail and after its completion two weeks later.

During the course of the trial, participants were treated topically with the estrogen cream either on the sun-exposed areas on the face and forearm or on non-exposed skin near the hip. Doses varied from 0.01 percent, 0.1 percent, 1 percent or 2.5 percent, or a placebo that contained no estradiol.

Comparison of biopsy results revealed that although the topical application of cream managed to stimulate collagen production in sun-protected skin areas, it did not score as well in sun-damaged areas.

The collagen levels in women's hip skin increased more than threefold, as compared to placebo.

In contrast, collagen levels in the sun-damaged skin on the forearm and face did not improve significantly with treatment, no matter the dosage of estradiol.

Moreover, the collagen-promoting effects were found in both men and women but were more pronounced in women volunteers.

"When we look for treatments for aging skin, we usually want to treat the face or hands or neck, in other words, sun-exposed areas," Laure Ritti, a research investigator in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, noted.

Unfortunately, “despite commonly held beliefs, estrogen was not able to raise collagen when the skin was damaged by sunlight” Ritti remarked.

The findings of the study will appear in the new issue of the journal Archives of Dermatology.