Thyroid Function & Your Skin
Optimal thyroid function is important for beautiful skin, unfortunately thyroid disease is very common. Hypothyroidism (too little thyroid hormones) can cause very dry skin making you itchy and flakey and make your skin look more wrinkled and crepey. Hypothyroidism can also cause puffy eyes, thinning eyebrows, course brittle hair, brittle nails and the dreaded weight gain. Extremely high thyroid levels can cause a condition called myxedema, which presents as a thick, scaly, dry skin rash.
Be on top of your condition and moisturize properly. Skin creams that have a thicker feel to them are best, but make sure they aren’t clogging your pores causing more skin problems. It may be best to get a skin assessment to be sure about what products to use for you. Drinking plenty of water will help the look and feel of your skin as well as taking less-hot showers and using humidifiers. Make sure your skincare products offer exfoliating ingredients so your dry skin doesn’t build up. A regular peel with your esthetician is a great help; usually scheduled 3-6 weeks apart. According to dermatologists, an antihistamine can also help with eye puffiness as well as a caffeine eye roller (found at any drugstore) or cold compress.
Conversely, hyperthyroidism (too much thyroid hormones) can cause skin to look moist and smooth, but causes hyperpigmentation problems like melanoderma (tanning of the skin), melasma (blotchy spots, mask of pregnancy) and redness flushing of the skin due to increased metabolism. Also in the mix for hyperthyroidism is anxiety, insomnia, weight loss, rapid heart rate, sweating, all-over itchiness and thinning hair. Many of the listed symptoms will cause skin problems including acne, wrinkles, puffy eyes and hyperpigmentation.
Many things can help your skin with this condition, but it will take persistence and time. Regular peels, microderm, facials and/or LED Light Therapy will help unclog sweaty pores and clear up acne as well as fade melasma and other hyperpigmentation and keep it in check. Unfortunately, the hyperpigmentation resulting from thyroid disease never goes away and needs constant exfoliation to achieve a more uniform skin tone. Radiation (from sun and other sources) will cause your melanocytes (pigment cells) to go haywire, make sure you wear sunscreen, hats and try to stat out of direct sunlight when you can. A proper home routine will also make all the difference; schedule a skin assessment to make sure you are spending your money wisely to make the look of this disease less apparent.
