[Ovarian hormones and cutaneous aging].

The fall-off in ovarian production of estradiol tends to accelerate skin ageing, just as it accelerates bone and vascular ageing. The absence of progesterone increases the impact of the androgens on the sebaceous glands, the body hair and hair on the head. The absence of estradiol slows the mitotic activity of the basal layer ot the epidermis, reduces the synthesis of collagen and probably that of elastic fibers. It contributes to the thickening of the general dermoepidermal junction and the degradation of the mechanical properties, notably of resistance of shocks. General hypoestrogenemia may be spontaneously attenuated by the local synthesis of estradiol in the adipose tissue. Estrogen treatment should be prescribed at a sufficiently high dose to be truly substitutive in order to produce a measureable effect.