Hormones For Healthy Hair, Skin And Nails

Hair loss, adult acne and brittle nails can often mean your hormones aren’t happy. Find out how to rebalance your body’s chemical messengers through food, exercise, stress reduction techniques and more.

- Ema Taylor

The endocrine system consists of glands that produce and secrete hormones. Hormones function as the body’s chemical messengers, relaying vital information to cells and tissues, and are responsible for growth and development, metabolism, sexual function, reproduction and a balanced mood.

While period pain, breast tenderness and mood changes are the more obvious symptoms of a hormonal imbalance, there is an array of external symptoms such as hair loss, acne and brittle nails that may signify your hormones aren’t happy.

So, what hormones may be causing your hair, skin and nail concerns? Let’s delve into three of the most common culprits.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

One of the most common female conditions resulting from imbalanced hormones is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). A woman with PCOS may experience irregular menstrual cycles, acne, oily skin, unusual hair growth on the face, neck, chest or bottom, thinning hair on her head and weight changes.

The main hormonal imbalances associated with PCOS are insulin resistance and raised androgens, which are known as “male sex hormones”; however, females also produce these.

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use glucose (sugar) from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy, or to store glucose for future energy use. You can think of insulin as a key that unlocks the door on your muscle, fat and liver cells to allow glucose to enter and be utilised for energy. Insulin helps keep your blood sugar level from getting too high (hyperglycaemia) or too low (hypoglycaemia), and in a healthy individual, insulin’s job is a tightly regulated process.