Our hormones are responsible for a whole range of body functions – from your heart rate to the quality of your sleep. But did you know they can also impact your skin? Jenna Farmer chats to the experts to uncover the connection…

While the hormones whizzing around our bodies can have some pretty powerful effects (whether that’s progesterone keeping your menstrual cycle in check, or adrenaline giving you a surge of energy in a ‘fight-or-flight’ situation), they don’t just impact what’s happening on the inside. Our skin, the body’s largest organ, can be affected too. Whether that’s due to stress making your skin look dull, or being more prone to blemishes at certain points in your cycle. Let’s take a look at some of the most common hormones that could impact your skin health.

Stress hormones

These can be particularly detrimental to our skin health, with studies showing more than 10 different kinds of conditions (such as acne or psoriasis) are closely linked to psychological problems. But why is this? Well, part of it is down to how we manage our stress.

Consultant dermatologist and founder of klira.skin, Dr Emma Craythorne explains: “Poor stress management can have a poor impact on the skin, because sometimes patients might scratch or pick at their skin or pull their hair out. They might over-focus on acne lesions and picking them can lead to scars or worsening of acne.”

Other conditions are more directly linked to stress hormones – when we release large amounts of cortisol (due to being super stressed for a long time), our skin can sometimes become much more oily than usual, which can trigger an eczema outbreak.

“Stress has multiple and wide-ranging physiological and clinical impacts on skin disease. There are skin conditions that are known to flare due to stress, such as eczema and psoriasis, and in these situations increased stress levels can make the disease much more severe,” adds Emma.

Menstrual cycle hormones

As well as stress hormones, the hormones responsible for your menstrual cycle – such as oestrogen and progesterone – can also impact your skin. However, it’s not all bad news. Nutritional therapist Aneequa Godart, explains: “Oestrogen, which is more prominent in the first half of your cycle, helps to stimulate collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid production in the skin, so you may notice that it is looking plump, hydrated, and clearer during the first 10–16 days.”

However, once we’ve ovulated, we may start to notice more skin issues. “Our levels of progesterone start to increase in the second half of our cycle, which can become more problematic for the skin as sebum production is stimulated so it becomes oilier, which can lead to blocked pores and breakouts,” adds Aneequa.

What’s more, when our female hormones are a bit off kilter (which may be a temporary blip or due to conditions such as PCOS; a common gynaecological condition that causes irregular periods) it can result in more long-term skin problems. For example, just under half of women wi

Taking a multi-pronged approach to anxiety can be powerful. Here we explore how one of those prongs, exercise, can help us manage anxiety

If you’ve ever experienced anxiety, you’ll probably know that it can trigger some intense physical reactions. There’s a certain energy about anxiety, to me it feels like I’m a shaken up can of soda, fizzing with fear.

Now, there are lots of techniques that can help anxiety. I’ve had cognitive behavioural therapy in the past, and I find both meditation and journaling helpful. When I am particularly fizzy however, there’s only one thing that really helps. Moving my body.

I’ll either put on some music and dance in my bedroom (not following any steps, just moving in a way that feels fun), go to a Pilates class or grab my towel and head to my local pool. There’s something oddly soothing about swimming; the gentle hum of fellow swimmers in the background, the comforting scent of chlorine and the way I can sync my breathing with my strokes. It makes the entire process a joy.

Intuitive movement advocate and personal trainer Tally Rye discusses the power of joyful movement on Happiful’s podcast I am. I have.

When I’m done with these activities, it’s like the anxiety, or fizz, has been released and my body can settle again. The idea that exercise is good for our mental health isn’t a new one, but its true power continues to be explored.

A new study being carried out by academics from University College London will see NHS mental health trusts using ‘social prescribing’ to encourage 600 young people on waiting lists to take part in dance, music, sport and exercise. The study will look at how this supports mental wellbeing and, if successful, could see more activities being made available for those on waiting lists.

While it’s been acknowledged that these activities are no substitute for other forms of support like talking therapies, it can help people cope with challenges, especially if waiting for treatment. So what is it about exercise, and joyful movement especially, that’s so helpful for anxiety?

It puts you in the here and now

This is what I most love about the activities I do. Whether spinning with arms outstretched at home, engaging my core in a Pilates move or gliding through the water at the pool, I am present. I am in my body, not my head. Sure, the odd anxious thought might pop into my head from time to time, but because I’m physically moving I find it easier to move my attention back to that.

Anxiety often pushes our attention to the past (ruminating about something we’ve done or said) or the future (worrying about what might happen), so anything that can bring us back to the present moment can help.  

It re

Selena Gomez shares her challenges, struggles and hopes in a new documentary exploring her experiences with anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder

Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me (Apple TV+) is a complex and beautiful documentary about a woman who has lived in the public gaze for twenty years, experiences both physical and mental ill health and who, fundamentally, wants to help others by sharing some of her most difficult experiences while still working hard to make sense of them for herself.

Spanning a period of 6 years from 2016, My Mind & Me features footage from fraught arena rehearsals, promotional tours and hard-to-watch reductive press interviews, interspersed with Selena’s own journal entries, moments of self-doubt and illness, alongside joyous meetings with friends, family and old neighbours.

My Mind & Me doesn’t sugar coat, sensationalise or shy away from the reality of Selena’s hectic life. Having been diagnosed with lupus in 2015 and subsequently undergoing a kidney transplant, she - and the people around her - have to constantly monitor her energy and pain levels to avoid further lupus flares, while simultaneously scheduling packed press trips in different continents and back to back engagements.

However, it’s her mental ill health that takes centre stage in this documentary. A crisis point for Selena, which occured in 2016, is documented through the testimony of those closest to her and afterwards by Selena herself. This episode of anxiety, depression and psychosis, they share, led to psychiatric hospitalisation and a welcome diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

The years and discoveries that follow her diagnosis, the creation of Selena’s third studio album Rare and her desire to be and do more to help others and move away from the ‘product’ she feels she could become, forms the majority of the rest of the film.

This feels like a deep dive into the nature of life with complex mental and physical health challenges as Selena questions how the past informs present day perceptions and explores the constant work it takes to live with her own mind, when it can feel like it’s working against her at times.

In sharing this, her own ever-evolving story in such a raw way, Selena will ultimately give hope, a sense of understanding and normalcy to so many people who will watch it and identify.

3 crucial mental health messages from Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me

Self-acceptance a