How Hormone Therapy Affects Your Skin During Gender Transition
When a transgender person begins their official transition process, a process that involves multiple steps, both emotional and physical, to convert to their true gender identity, this experience, while also liberating, brings with it many changes that can be scary.
The idea of your outward appearance finally reflecting who you are on the inside can be exciting, but it can also feel insecure when your body begins to change in new ways.
If you or someone close to you has made the decision to go through the transition, it will most likely start with a hormonal treatment which will change the distribution of fat in your body, affect your mood, your libido and your skin.
How does hormone therapy affect your skin?
A priori this will depend on whether hormone therapy is designed for a patient transfemenino (assigned male at birth, but identify more with femininity) O transmasculino (they were assigned the female gender at birth, but identify more with masculinity), as in the first The most common effects include acne and body hair loss and in the second, the patients transmasculine, common conditions include hirsutism (growth of facial hair) la pseudofolliculitis barbae (quistes a causa de la barba) y el melasma (manchas en la piel).
Why does hormone treatment have different effects in transfeminine and transmasculine patients?
This is because patients' hormone therapy transmasculine, is linked to increased testosterone, which causes your body to produce more sebum, which in turn, along with increased body hair, tends to trigger cystic acne.
in patients transfeminine, on the other hand, after acclimatization to the new hormonal situation, They may notice that their acne improves thanks to the decrease in testosterone, but they also tend to suffer from drier skin, as well as small red spots or moles all over the body and melasma.
What solutions are there for the side effects of hormone therapy on my skin?
The first thing to understand is that when you go from one genre to another, the skin has to acclimatize to the new hormonal environment, in a way can be considered as a new puberty.
For transfeminine patients the most important thing is to hydrate, protect and exfoliate your skin.
For dry skin: We recommend a light moisturizer with regenerating and revitalizing ingredients.
for melasma: A good exfoliation with the Facial Soap and daily use of the Vitamin C + Hyalurance Serum will help you reduce stains. Very important! always use SPF30 or higher.
And for transmasculine patients We recommend greater attention with exfoliation and a routine of light and soothing textures:
Facial soap is perfect for daily use, its light exfoliation will prevent the appearance of cysts and cystic acne. The Box good face with the Regenerating Serum will help keep sebum at bay and the healing benefits of hemp oil will reduce your skin irritation.
A change as big as this always brings a difficult transition period, both for the person and for their body. self care, the Spending time with yourself and taking care of your body can help you gradually accept these new changes.
