It occurred to me, when I woke up and washed my face, that I feel like my skin has been bleached. It is definitely "milky" (like Alaina puts it) and glowey but it has a paler thin undertone. Does your skin continue to get paler on hrt?
The very top layer of the epidermis (Stratum Corneum layer) becomes smoother. This is one of the very first changes your skin will make (that you can see at least).
As far as color, skin pigment deep in the epidermis changes on HRT. From what I've noticed (not only from me, but from others) is that it goes from a brownish red tint to a pinkish white tint. It changes however much your body wants it to change, there's really no set amount. From what I understand of the process, the very bottom layer of the epidermis (stratum germanitivum) starts producing a lighter color of skin cells. Skin cells produced in the bottom layer work their way up to the top layer to be seen by the world. Over time, all of the old skin cells are pushed up the layers and shed. Therefore, after a period of months (or years, depending on genetics) the skin becomes gradually lighter over time as the new "estrogen produced" skin cells outnumber the older, "testosterone produced" skin cells.
Quote from: Alainaluvsu on July 03, 2012, 10:58:24 AM
Skin pigment deep in the epidermis changes on HRT. From what I've noticed (not only from me, but from others) is that it goes from a brownish red tint to a pinkish white tint. It changes however much your body wants it to change, there's really no set amount.
Well now that I'm acne free and my skin has changed I get the "are you wearing makeup" thing a lot. Ironically, the only time I get acne is when I put lotion or anything like that on my face:p.
Get lotion that says "non comedogenic" on it. These types do not trap sebum and other junk in the pores.
Also, reread my post, I modified it to be a lil more detailed :)
omg i dont wanna get pale. is hormones gonna make me look paler if im tanning in the sun and its a natural tan? or will it be like im starting all over on my tan?
Quote from: Angelique1994 on July 03, 2012, 11:12:17 AM
omg i dont wanna get pale. is hormones gonna make me look paler if im tanning in the sun and its a natural tan? or will it be like im starting all over on my tan?
It's not something anybody can answer for you. Your skin will probably be more susceptible to burning under HRT, since you will more than likely not produce nearly as much sebum as you used to (sebum is the oil produced by the skin, which acts as an SPF). However, you can still produce a tan just like natal women can. I'm not too sure how tanning works hormonally, however.
I really hope so :).
I hate my ability to get dark as soon as I see the sun :(.
i prolly wont burn really cause i dont use spf at all now i use baby oil so that kinda makes the spf i have naturally to go away and i still dont burn and its prolly cause im naturally olive skin tone
Quote from: Angelique1994 on July 03, 2012, 11:26:26 AM
i prolly wont burn really cause i dont use spf at all now i use baby oil so that kinda makes the spf i have naturally to go away and i still dont burn and its prolly cause im naturally olive skin tone
Keep it up and you may make a great handbag for someone one day.
Quote from: Angelique1994 on July 03, 2012, 11:26:26 AM
i prolly wont burn really cause i dont use spf at all now i use baby oil so that kinda makes the spf i have naturally to go away and i still dont burn and its prolly cause im naturally olive skin tone
I didn't burn either... until HRT lol!! Now I put at least SPF 10 on my face every time I see the sun. Also, you're gonna want to use SPF because sun breaks down the elastin in the skin. Elastin is what keeps your face from looking like a raisin.
Quote from: Jaime on July 03, 2012, 11:36:27 AM
Keep it up and you may make a great handbag for someone one day.
I think Angelique knows to avoid this:
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_WAi2txkagVM%2FSfWYKzjlJjI%2FAAAAAAAAFXY%2F09fTdmn1mL4%2Fs400%2Ftanning_wrinkled.jpg&hash=c8ddbdfabb5f8d273608f06245a9b10a6fdfc045)
Everybody, regardless of skin tone or color, should consider used some type of sunscreen which outside for more than a few minutes. This is especially true for the fair-skinned like me.
You're a lady, get used to wearing sunscreen.
I have one for my face and a separate one for my arms/legs and down my chest if any of it is exposed.
The sun can do so much damage, but it's the kind that shows up over time. That's why no one takes it seriously.
I don't have the best skin ever, but I take care of it so it won't go out on me in my 40s.
That's way too young for your beauty to be fading like that.
Look at Gwen Stefani, she still looks like a goddess.
I'm sure shes has some procedures done but most of it is good skin care.
Quote from: Aeris on July 03, 2012, 12:16:03 PM
You're a lady, get used to wearing sunscreen.
I have one for my face and a separate one for my arms/legs and down my chest if any of it is exposed.
The sun can do so much damage, but it's the kind that shows up over time. That's why no one takes it seriously.
I use sunscreen and I'm not even white. I would imagine Angelique needs it more than me too. In the summer though, that why always have hats and caps on, to minimize sun damage to the face and get all old and wrinkly. So if you don't want your expiration date set at 25 Angelique, wear some damn sunblock. I know you wanna look like the jersey shore cast, and you can, but you still won't have their money. You'll just come off looking trashy, cheap, and low-rent like so many girls I know...
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Frapgenius%2Fcoppertone_LittleMiss.jpg&hash=c549c8c4dff936478fcceea07f59bc8ff324f33a)
A throwback ad I remember.
You do get paler on HRT, and I quite enjoy the fact. The tanned look is out of style, at least where I live, and it's about time, too. Pale skin is far more attractive; at least, it is in my opinion (as I'm liable to have people thinking I'm trying to declare a universal truth if I didn't include that disclaimer).
i dont understand. how does taking estrogen make u paler? i mean shouldnt u have the same color tan?
I have always been on the pale side, especially in winter. Probably half of it has to do with being half Irish. Another trait I got from mom along with hips and breasts :D
After 3 years on HRT I cannot say I noticed any difference with how pale I am nor how I tend to tan. All that is the same. My arms seem the same, I can't do topless anymore to judge for the rest of me.
Perhaps the paleness might be do to loosing muscle mass and a lower metabolism? I sure do feel the cold a lot more than ever before. Happened around the same time I realized I sure wasn't as strong as I used to be
I've been on HRT 6 years now. My skin isnt pale but has become more translousent. And HRT can cause melasma also known as "pregnancy mask" which is super pigmented patchs on your face. usally on the forehead upper lip cheecks and nose. it just these areas of skin begin to tan faster. it also happens to Natal women on Birth Control.
Pregnancy masks... As far as I know (which isn't all that much I concur) they are pretty unlikely to appear if HRT is managed like it should, normally.
As for why HRT makes you paler, it's just that men's bodies tend to tan more than women's, simply. On oestrogen, your body produces its melanin more like women, which is, in lesser amounts, in a different colour and it also reacts less to sun exposure. In short, you burn more; you tan less. But you don't stop tanning altogether, eh. Just less, and with a different colour.
If you need evolutionary reasons, prehistorical women tended to stay at home to care for the children or in the woods (with less light) to pick wild fruit and such. So they didn't need as much protection as men who tended to go out in the open to hunt. I'd say that men have a "mutation" to resist the sun, whilst women are more "normal" in that regard.
There's also the fact that in general, the natural tendency of Caucasian men is to prefer women's skin paler (if you want to know further, look up "neonesy"), therefore women whose skin is paler were more likely to reproduce.
Finally, I don't mean to bash on you or anything, but I highly advise against tanning. A light tan (and never without SPF 15+) is not the end of the world, but what you are doing isn't just unadvisable, it's plain unhealthy. If you keep doing this, I'll call it a miracle if you don't have a skin cancer in a few years. You might even have one sprouting as we speak. Moreover, I know our beauty standards differ on many points, but it's my belief that very tanned people (putting aside naturally darker skin) are not considered very attractive.
Do you know where it comes from when a skin tans? The UV rays from sunlight damage and destroys your cells' DNA randomly, creating either dead cells or cancerous cells (which may or may not develop into a true cancer, depending on your body's efficiency and the number of cancerous cells to manage). Then the body learns from this and tells itself (not literally, but I'm vulgarising) "We're constantly under attack. We'll get cancer if this goes on!" and consequently puts melanin to absorb light before it can reach too deep and minimise damage. But it can't do miracles.
In other words, tan = you damaged your skin. Not just tanning too much. The slightest amount of tan is skin damage. And you do this again, and again, and again. Not only that, when your body is all dark brown from being under such attacks but shouldn't be suffering too much more damage since it has so much melanin, you manage to hit it harder by putting oil to amplify harmful radiations and negate its defenses. I saw a TV report on a woman with an obsessive-compulsive disorder who couldn't keep herself from using tweezers to tear out skin from her face, a compulsion retained from wrongly taking care of her teenage acne. She has permanent scars everywhere from hitting her skin again and again with such violence. You're doing just the same with your tanning.
There's a reason why Québec's government has just outlawed the use of tanning cabins in minors. Tan is bad, entirely and fully. And you know what? It's been proven that excessive exposure to sunlight during one's youth is associated to very high risks of developing cancer.
One thing that is harped on in cosmetology is how UVA rays destroy your skin. UVA rays are responsible for up to 60% of your aging process. If you want to look 35 by the time you are 20 and have fine lines running all up and down your face, keep tanning out of obsession.
I had very pale skin with millions of freckles as a kid. At about age 16 i started tanning on the beach with friends. Throughout my twenties i spent years at the beach, weeks at a time, all day long surfing. I never once used sunblock and laughed at people who suggested i should. Now im 28 and on hrt fpr one year, since i decided to transition all sun exposure stopped, and i began using spf's and finally moisturizing. My skin has now returned to its previous lightness but i have fine marionette lines and other random lines on my face that bring me to tears. As a man i never cared, but now as a female i kick myself for so carelessly damaging my skin.
Hopefully goodskin care now and from here on out will help. But the sun also discolored my upper lip giving me a perma stache even tho the hair has been removed.
Protect your skin. Its thw only skin you get this entire life, and this life goes on longer than you think.
Only my arms, face and neck are exposed. I was never a stripped down tanner, I always wore jeans. One reason that my skin on my legs are smoother, even pre HRT, than the women my age that did expose them. The skin on their legs resembles the HRT smoothed skin on my arms. Also, the tan on my arms are a ruddy brown than the sallow brown from before. I do use the sunblock now, especially working out in the garden in 100 degree heat!
Also I noticed that the skin on those females who have olive or dark skin is more often lighter than the man she married of the same skin type.
Joelene
I'm not getting any paler - except in patches. The HRT seems to have triggered vitiligo, which I inherited from my mum - this is a loss of pigment in small areas, and is more noticeable in summer when theoretically I tan (except that English summer is now officially 'monsoon season' so there's no sun, humph).
I definitely burn more easily (thinner skin) and bruise more easily - my last laser session burned me, so this next one I have to remember to ask her to take it down a few notches :).
I've got some really nice moisturiser from Lush (called British Nanny) - it includes SPF30, and is great, since HRT has made my face really dry.
Quote from: Alainaluvsu on July 03, 2012, 10:58:24 AM
The very top layer of the epidermis (Stratum Corneum layer) becomes smoother. This is one of the very first changes your skin will make (that you can see at least).
Your lucky! My skin is as hard as nails! even after more than a decade of HRT. I moisturise and have tried various skin treatments like micro dermibrasion often to try and soften my skin but it still looks very hard and more like male facial skin. My facial skin has got paler though as mentioned in the first post. My body skin is much softer but the main problem is my facial skin.
Weirdly my skin is actually gaining colour - not brown though, blue and pink as my skin goes more and more translucent and veins and blood glow through. And if I step outside for more than a few minutes without SPF I turn red and peel. Turning into a true English rose. :P
Quote from: Sarah7 on July 05, 2012, 07:41:24 AM
Weirdly my skin is actually gaining colour - not brown though, blue and pink as my skin goes more and more translucent and veins and blood glow through. And if I step outside for more than a few minutes without SPF I turn red and peel. Turning into a true English rose. :P
LOL I know how that feels like :D.
Yesterday I made a big mistake and went to the beach with a friend of mine, before HRT I was pretty insensitive and could be in the sun for days without burning.. But this time.... Well..... 3hrs on the beach and ouch!!!! I went red all over :S.
Lesson learned... Never go out without SPF when the sun is showing :P.
My skin is getting paler since starting hrt, but it was already quite pale to start with. At 33 years old I have been very luck in regards to my skin. It is very soft, softer than my ex wife's skin, and hers is very soft! Lol
Also I have neve been one to care about tanning, so there hasn't been any damage to my skin from the sun over the years. I'm using a facial sunscreen all the time now and its spf 60. I use a spf 80 sunscreen for the rest of me and i have not a single wrinkle or line on my face.
With proper skin care and avoidance of the sun, your skin can be in great shape well past my age. I see teenagers with skin that's no more youthful looking than mine, so I suggest wearing lots o sunscreen and avoid the sun as much as possible. and moisturizer is good too
I knew texture would change on HRT but this is the first I heard about color. Though I enjoy a nice tan in the summer, I would welcome paler skin overall...yet another thing to measure once I start in October!! ;D