Treatments and supplements · Hormone replacement therapy for skin

Does HRT actually improve my skin as I age?

What we can tell you today: how thoroughly this has been studied.

Thoroughly studied

22 studies, of which 7 bring together the results of several trials in people. This is as strong as evidence gets.

5 Repeated evidence 7 studies

4 Large controlled trial 14 studies

3 Small study in people 1 study

This says how thoroughly something has been studied — not whether it works for you. What each study actually found is in the study itself, and in the plain-language write-ups we are adding.

Appears under: Menopause and hormones · Sleep, energy and the brain · Hair and nails · Skin aging

The studies

5 Repeated evidence Type and timing of menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk: individual participant meta-analysis of the worldwide epidemiological evidence.
2019 · Lancet (London, England)
5 Repeated evidence Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of menopause hormone therapy on cognition.
2024 · Frontiers in endocrinology
5 Repeated evidence Long-term hormone therapy for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
2017 · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 43,637 participants
5 Repeated evidence Different regimens of menopausal hormone therapy for improving sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
2022 · Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 15 participants
5 Repeated evidence Hormone Therapy and Other Treatments for Symptoms of Menopause.
2017 · American family physician
5 Repeated evidence Effect of gender-affirming hormone therapy on hair growth: a systematic review of the literature.
2023 · Clinical and experimental dermatology · manufacturer helped fund this
5 Repeated evidence Effects of low-dose norethindrone acetate plus ethinyl estradiol (0.5 mg/2.5 microg) in women with postmenopausal symptoms: updated analysis of three randomized, controlled trials.
2006 · Clinical therapeutics · 1,265 participants
4 Large controlled trial Quality-of-life and depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women after receiving hormone therapy: results from the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS) trial.
2002 · JAMA · 2,325 participants
4 Large controlled trial Menopausal symptoms in older women and the effects of treatment with hormone therapy.
2003 · Obstetrics and gynecology · 2,763 participants
4 Large controlled trial A Multi-center, Randomized, Controlled and Open Clinical Trial of Heyan Kuntai Capsule () and Hormone Therapy in Perimenopausal Women.
2018 · Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 390 participants
4 Large controlled trial Hot flushes, coronary heart disease, and hormone therapy in postmenopausal women.
2019 · Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2,448 participants
4 Large controlled trial Long-term safety of drospirenone-estradiol for hormone therapy: a randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial.
2007 · Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 1,147 participants
4 Large controlled trial Does hormone therapy improve age-related skin changes in postmenopausal women? A randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled multicenter study assessing the effects of norethindrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol in the improvement of mild to moderate age-related skin changes in postmenopausal women.
2008 · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 165 participants
4 Large controlled trial Estradiol 1 mg and drospirenone 2 mg as hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal Chinese women.
2011 · Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopaus · 183 participants
4 Large controlled trial Vasomotor hot flushes and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure in normotensive women: A placebo-controlled trial on post-menopausal hormone therapy.
2010 · Annals of medicine · 147 participants
4 Large controlled trial Climacteric skin ageing of the face--a prospective longitudinal comparative trial on the effect of oral hormone replacement therapy.
1999 · Maturitas · 140 participants
4 Large controlled trial Hot flushes and biochemical markers for cardiovascular disease: a randomized trial on hormone therapy.
2010 · Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopaus · 150 participants
4 Large controlled trial Mammographic breast density and tolerance for short-term postmenopausal hormone therapy suspension.
2012 · Journal of women's health (2002) · 881 participants
4 Large controlled trial Continuous combined hormone replacement therapy compared with tibolone.
1999 · Obstetrics and gynecology · 119 participants
4 Large controlled trial A low-dose start in hormone replacement therapy provides a beneficial bleeding profile and few side-effects: randomized comparison with a conventional-dose regimen.
2004 · Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopaus · 132 participants
4 Large controlled trial [Combination of hormone replacement therapy with buspirone in the treatment of climacteric complaints].
2000 · Orvosi hetilap · 100 participants
3 Small study in people Hormone therapy in the postmenopausal years: considering benefits and risks in clinical practice.
2022 · Human reproduction update