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So what if the secret to younger looking
skin has been hiding in plain sight, but
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no one's talking about it in this video,
I'm revealing the surprising truth behind
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estrogen creams, the anti aging benefits
that you could see that would change
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everything for your skin care routine.
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And the risks you need
to know before trying it.
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Trust me, you won't
want to miss this video.
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I had a patient come in yesterday
and she said, doc, it's gone.
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Those wrinkles are gone.
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She pointed to the smile lines
right here at the side of the face.
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I said, great, you just
saved yourself 5, 000.
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But what did you do?
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You see, it took her two
months to get in and see me.
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And in the meantime, she
started something, a cream.
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I go, well, what?
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And she was a little vague.
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She goes, well, you know,
a cream for down there.
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And I used it up here.
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But it's not going to be
that simple for all of you.
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So let's dive in.
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And by the way, I'm wearing glasses today.
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I had lenses placed in my eyes
and we're still adjusting them.
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I can't be exposed to certain frequencies
of, or wavelengths, sorry, of light.
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So bear with me.
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Now let's start with a quiz, a
quiz you cannot possibly get wrong.
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Here it is.
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What percent of women get estrogen loss?
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So what percent of you who are women
will get estrogen loss in your lifetime?
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100 percent exactly.
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It's not if it's when that's
the importance of this video.
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This is a nice chart
showing estrogen levels.
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You can see.
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By age 35, it's kind of peaked.
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Uh, a little erroneous here.
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By 40 or 50, there's much less
than what they're showing.
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The estrogen is shown in the dark purple.
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But you can see clearly, 60, 70,
80, uh, the levels are very low.
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In that, um, light purple kind of color.
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I'm sure you'll also ask, well, if we're
low on thyroid, we just add more thyroid.
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Why don't we add more estrogen?
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I'll discuss.
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And before we really get into it, yes,
I'm talking hormones today, specifically.
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Topically, of course, but the loss of
estrogen on the skin in the body and
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fluctuations of hormones, I see in my
clinic starting younger and younger.
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And if it's starting around
35, that's not too uncommon.
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And don't be gaslit by the way, by
your doctor, if you're presenting
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with kind of systemic symptoms of odd
things, things you might not associate
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with like paresthesias, where you
just feel differently sensations
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throughout your body, frozen shoulder.
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Bloating, thinning of the
hair, distraction, brain fog.
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So definitely see an expert, but I want
to get that out of the way first, because
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many of you are suffering from this.
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I see it in my clinic.
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And in fact, eight of the last 10 patients
I had this week in my clinic present
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newly, they were all perimenopausally.
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So this is all related.
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It's a time of change for women.
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Check this out.
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In one study after six months.
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Of topical estrogen use, skin
elasticity and firmness had
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improved in wrinkle depth.
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Are you ready?
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And pore size had decreased
by 61 to 100 percent.
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Colossal.
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So on to the cream for down there.
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Used up here.
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Now, before you rush out and smear
your face with hormones, let's get
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into the science a little bit, the
pros and the cons and whether it's
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a good idea to swap your current
moisturizer for an estrogen boosting one.
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Okay, here is the exact
cream that she brought in.
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Estradiol Vaginal Cream 0.
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01%.
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Now, it is estradiol, and there are
other ingredients in here, but nothing
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that would make, uh, such a big change
that all the wrinkles were gone.
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But this is exactly
what you're looking for.
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And it was, uh, I think
she had about 40 U.
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S.
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dollars.
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Dollars.
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You S T spoiler alert here.
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It's more complicated than you think.
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We're talking hormones.
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So it's complex by nature, but the most
commonly used and cheapest estradiol
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cream that some women might use, what
we call off label for facial application
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is estrase, which is estradiol 0.
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01%.
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Estrase is a prescription cream primarily
intended for vaginal atrophy and menopause
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and those related symptoms, but it's
repurposed for skin application due to
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estrogen's potential anti aging benefits.
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We'll talk about compounded
versions in a minute because some
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of you are using those already.
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Uh, but if you're on hormone replacement
therapy, Do you still need the creams?
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That's the most asked question.
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And the answer is yes.
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In my practice, even those who are on
hormone replacement patches, some people
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are on pellets, some people put creams
on the arms that are absorbed into the
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skin or different parts of the body,
they still benefit from the cream.
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From the cream that's placed
directly on the skin, where you
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want to affect change for wrinkles
and to help thicken your dermis.
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However, S trace is
typically not marketed.
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You won't see it marketed officially
recommended for facial use and
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its price can vary, of course.
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And some people have it
covered by insurance.
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I know some of you comment below,
and then there are generic versions.
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Of estradiol creams, which
are also available that you
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can get typically cheaper.
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And then of course
there's compounded ones.
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Now this gets complex.
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Many of you are on these because
these are the least expensive.
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That means that a pharmacy that
does compounding makes it up.
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It's usually not exactly the
same dosing as the ones that
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are commercially available.
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And often they'll add a few other elements
or ingredients and it's much cheaper.
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Here's the hook.
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Uh, and I get compounded.
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You need to know those of us who use a
medications like this, you need to know
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which pharmacies doing it now, when you're
talking hormone replacement, we know,
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because what we'll do is put people on
hormones and then you measure levels and
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in when you're seeing tens and hundreds
of people, you then know, oh, we're This
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dosing from this pharmacy works like this.
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Um, and you'll go online.
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If you search compounding pharmacies,
you'll see a lot of nefarious
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issues that have gone on in the
past and a non sterility issues.
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So know where you get it.
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If you're getting compound aversions,
I do want to make that point.
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These are not regulated pharmacies and you
know, the state in America, the state with
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our workers, people are making mistakes.
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Rampantly.
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So know where you're getting your product.
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Now, melasma, another opt ask question.
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These are the dark spots
called the mask of pregnancy.
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And the reason is a lot of people have
melasma from the sun, from heating,
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And some people get them for hormones.
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So can you get that with this?
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Yes, you have to be mindful if you're
melasma prone in a moment, I'll give
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you a tip and a trick for those of you
suffering from dark spots from hormones.
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See if you can use it or not.
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Before you reach for your estrogen
cream, the elephant in the room remains.
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We all know that aging
isn't just about birthdays.
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It's about sun exposure, genetics,
diet, and all of those fun
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lifestyle factors that play a role.
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Air pollution is And
pollution damage to your skin.
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So the number one ager of
your skin is photo damage.
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So before you go and go directly
for the estrogen cream, you want
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to take care of your basics first.
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You want to think of estrogen as the
skincare fairy who keeps your skin firm.
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Plump and hydrated as menopause
hits, that fairy goes on vacation
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and suddenly your skin isn't
bouncing back the way it used to.
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I shouldn't say on vacation.
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I should say on retirement because
it rarely goes the other way around.
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You see, you lose collagen
up to about 30 percent in the
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first five years of menopause.
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Think of a last thing that weakens.
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Skin hydration plummets.
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The result is wrinkles and dryness.
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Yep.
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I did say dryness.
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Many of you relate to that.
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And that of course leads to sagging.
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So why did my patient get
such an amazing result?
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Why is estrogen cream the
holy grail for so many people?
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Well, it's like the
skin's personal trainer.
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It keeps everything in shape.
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It helps produce collagen.
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It helps produce elastin and it helps
those magical molecules that hold onto
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water in your skin that some of you try
and take topically like hyaluronic acid.
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Without it, the skin
becomes less firm and dry.
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These benefits are proven by science.
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This is why during menopause, skin
can become fragile and slower to heal.
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Remember, we always look at
the skin's ability to heal.
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And correlate that with its healthiness.
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And if things make it heal quicker,
we know that's great skincare.
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One thing you get is increased blood flow.
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We know how much that helps
is why we like Gua Sha.
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But remember when you get increased blood
flow, some people will see increased.
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Broken capillaries, increased
light redness of the skin.
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So be mindful for that.
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So then can you just slather on the
estrogen cream and reverse aging?
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It's not quite that simple,
however, and here's why.
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Think of your estrogen cream, kind
of like fertilizing your garden.
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Okay.
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You add nutrients to make
sure the plant grows better.
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And this would be your wrinkles
going away, but you overdo it.
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In your garden and you're going to
get weeds, but worse yet, you can
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accidentally fertilize your neighbor's
yard in the same way using estrogen
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cream can have effects beyond your skin.
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And that's what we're worried about.
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You see, you also have breasts.
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possibly a uterus, and you can
even extend that to ovaries.
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There's evidence that unopposed estrogen
can affect the ovaries, and ovarian cancer
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is something you definitely don't want.
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So there are risks and side effects.
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So this is where things get tricky while
topical estrogen is a game changer for
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some understand there is some evidence
that it gets absorbed into the body and
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potentially going to cause side effects.
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Where do we get our data
from face absorption from?
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Because there isn't much if any.
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Well, it's from vaginal application and
the fact that and there is division here.
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A lot of people think that, okay, you get.
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systemic absorption from
vaginal application.
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And I believe that's true because enough
of my patients will say if they're
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on vaginal hormone replacement, so
vaginal esters, estradiol, uh, they get
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tenderness in the breast for a while.
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And, but we look at the studies from
that application and really the risk
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of uterine cancer and breast cancer.
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Is not appreciably increased, although
some people would disagree with
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that, but by and large, the use of
vaginal estrogen cream is deemed safe.
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Thus, we extrapolate that on the face.
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It's deemed safe.
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The levels aren't high enough to cause
those problems, but I have to tell you
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in clinical practice vaginally, which
there's much more absorption than on
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the facial skin, because it's a mucous
membrane, people do get some systemic.
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Symptoms just doesn't bear out
that they get the, uh, side
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effects of increased cancer risk.
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Uh, that's appreciable.
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Now, here's from breastcancer.
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org vaginal estrogen safe
for women with breast cancer.
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These are certainly worth
reading on your own.
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If you want more information,
are you getting screened?
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Are you getting mammography?
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Low dose radiation mammography
better yet for many people.
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MRI.
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And yes, I know we have the
nurses health initiative trial.
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I did a whole video on that.
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I'll link that at the end.
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It's important for you to know.
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And I'm a believer in hormone
replacement therapy for women, but
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you have to be the right candidate.
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And I think it's worthwhile,
of course, going over with your
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provider, your risk factors, if
you're going on a cream like this.
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And yes, the nurses health initiative
study, it was a flawed study.
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Think progestins that's for another video.
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I did make that video.
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And again, I'll link it.
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it.
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So let's go through the exact risks.
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I just mentioned breast
tissue stimulation.
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If you have a history or personal
history of breast cancer or you're at
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high risk, then it can be a concern.
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Definitely talk to your doctor.
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Well, now you're going to ask,
what about blood clots and
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cardiovascular risks from the data?
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Everything looks safe.
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I feel comfortable here for most people,
but systemic absorption could still
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lead to issues like blood clotting.
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Uh, especially with long term use
again, see your provider, but for
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most people, depending on the risk
factors, it's very reasonable risk.
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If any risk here to take skin
irritation, like any cream,
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I sometimes see some redness.
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We talked about broken
capillaries already.
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I talked about melasma, which you're
going to come back to fragility
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of vessels in the face for sure.
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One thing, if you have melasma.
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And particularly maybe you're on the
birth control pill and then you got
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that mask of pregnancy or the mustache.
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You want to consider using it in
an inconspicuous area, like maybe
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the skin at the lateral face here.
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Uh, maybe where, if you're wearing
your bangs or hair down, maybe, uh, on
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top of your forehead, small amounts,
go slowly and then start slowly.
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If you're going to start the
cream and then avoid being
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exposed to heat or sun that can
be confounding variables for this.
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Remember, just like everything
I talk about, what works wonders
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for your neighbor means it
could be a disaster for you.
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And that's why you're seeing a
provider with things like these.
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Luckily too, we do have alternatives.
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So if using estrogen on your skin
sounds a little too risky for you or
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you have risk factors, don't worry.
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There are alternatives.
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Let's talk about phytoestrogens
and M E A P for a minute.
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Phytoestrogens are plant based compounds.
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You would have heard of these.
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They mimic estrogen, but
without the full hormonal punch.
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What did the study say?
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Well, they suggest that these can
improve your collagen production, improve
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wrinkles, and increase skin hydration.
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And it's not by taking estradiol.
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It's these phytoestrogens.
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They also too, they are antioxidants.
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Genistein is a naturally
occurring compound abundantly
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found in these soybeans.
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Fava beans and other lentils.
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Yes.
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The chemical structure is similar
to estradiol, but it's a plant based
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compound that mimics your estrogen.
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So you can look for products
that have that in it.
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The other one is M E A P
methyl estradiol propanoid.
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Say that a few times.
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That's a tough one.
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But it's another option.
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It binds estrogen receptors on the skin
but it does not get absorbed into the
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bloodstream, meaning fewer systemic risks.
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Systemic means throughout your body.
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So think of it, uh, as an estrogen light.
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So these products, there are some
on the market that have these.
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Often they're really expensive.
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Like, I know one, it's about
400 for to get started on this.
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So These are patented ingredients.
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So if you're going to go down that road,
you're going to have to shell out the
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safest and most proven thing you can do
for your skin, of course, is avoiding,
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um, the sun damage, the photo damage.
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So using sunscreen, retinoids,
glycolics, and using peel pads.
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If you're on those products, you're
doing 80 to 90 percent of the work.
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A great thing to add to that routine
is red light and red light therapy.
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And there's a complete
video up here on that.
00:16:35
And one down here on peel pads that
you can use at home, glycolic ones
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to help with your sunspots, keep your
skin smooth, to keep your skin and
00:16:43
body beautiful, healthy, and vibrant.
