Yes, but rare is the doctor who would prescribe it just for this purpose.
In test tube and animal studies, estrogen has been shown to “make the skin better hydrated through the increase of natural hyaluronic acid,” said Yale dermatologist Dr. Lisa Donofrio. It also makes the dermis, the middle layer of skin tissue, “thicker through increased collagen and improves wound healing.”
In a paper published last year in the journal Fertility and Sterility, Dr. Zoe Draelos, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., wrote that there is “no doubt that hormone therapy is effective for improving the appearance of aging skin.”
Despite its potential, said Draelos, who conducts research for cosmetic companies, manufacturers shy away from making creams containing estrogen alone or in combination with another hormone, progesterone. In part, she said, this is because both hormones “have been shown to promote broken blood vessels in the skin.”
But there are other reasons not to take estrogen just for the skin. An estrogen pill can increase the risk of blood clots and stroke, said Dr. Alan Altman, a menopause expert in Brookline. After seven years of treatment with an estrogen-only pill, there appears to be no increased risk of breast cancer, but the risk increases within 4-5 years on estrogen plus progestin, said Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Rebecca Kazin, an assistant professor of dermatologist at Johns Hopkins University, said “I don’t prescribe estrogen orally or topically for cosmetic purposes because of the ethical issues.” It’s true, she said, that the skin of women who take hormones for medical reasons — such as to combat hot flashes and vaginal dryness — “will likely look better. But don’t go on it just for the skin benefit.”