How PCOS Can Affect Your Skin and Hair — and How We Can Help

You’re not alone if you’ve recently been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): Up to 15% of women who menstruate live with this complex condition and its wide-ranging effects on hormonal balance, insulin sensitivity, reproduction, and health. 

But if you’re like most women with PCOS, you’re most bothered by how the condition can affect your appearance — specifically your skin and hair.

This September, in recognition of PCOS Awareness Month, our expert team of board-certified dermatologists at Florida Dermatology Associates wants you to know there’s a lot you can do to address PCOS-related skin and hair changes, and we’re here to help.

Understanding PCOS mechanisms

PCOS causes reproductive hormonal imbalance during a woman’s childbearing years (ages 15-44). Experts believe it occurs when a combination of influences — genetics, environmental factors, and chronic systemic inflammation — prompt the ovaries to produce high levels of androgens, or male sex hormones. This hormonal imbalance can cause:

• Irregular periods
• Inconsistent ovulation
• Fertility problems

Besides causing ovarian dysfunction and high androgen levels, the low-grade inflammatory state associated with PCOS often gives rise to insulin resistance. About 65-70% of women with PCOS have insulin resistance, which can increase the risk of:

• Easy weight gain
• Trouble losing weight
• Metabolic syndrome
• Type 2 diabetes

Weight gain intensifies insulin resistance by increasing systemic inflammation and reducing insulin sensitivity. Similarly, insulin resistance worsens the high androgen state by prompting your ovaries to release more androgens. 

How PCOS affects your appearance 

High androgen levels and insulin resistance can affect the appearance of your skin and hair growth. For many women with PCOS, these unwanted and stubborn physical changes rank as the most bothersome day-to-day. 

Skin changes

POCS is strongly associated with specific skin changes, including:  

Oily skin and acne

Because of high androgen levels, women with PCOS are more likely to have oily skin and acne on their face, neck, chest, and upper back during adulthood. Androgen-induced acne doesn’t always respond well to standard OTC acne care products.  

Skin tag formation 

Insulin resistance can lead to skin tags — small, itchy flaps of excess skin — in your armpit or along your neck. 

Darkening of skin

Insulin resistance is associated with a form of skin hyperpigmentation called acanthosis nigricans. This condition causes dark patches of thick, velvety skin — particularly along neck creases, in the groin, and beneath the breasts. 

Hair changes 

The high androgen levels linked to PCOS can also affect your hair growth, causing:

Excess hair growth 

About 70% of women with PCOS develop hirsutism, causing them to grow dark, coarse hair in one or more of the same places that men typically grow more hair, including the cheeks, chin, chest, and abdomen. 

Thinning scalp hair 

High androgen levels can also cause noticeable hair loss through thinning scalp hair or a receding hairline. 

Controlling PCOS and its symptoms  

Luckily, there’s a lot you can do to control PCOS and reduce its symptoms, fertility effects, and health risks. Whether initially treated by your primary care provider or your gynecologist, the first step in PCOS management usually involves making lifestyle changes. 

Lifestyle changes

Three specific lifestyle habits — weight control, healthy eating, and regular exercise — can go a long way in helping you improve insulin resistance, ease systemic inflammation, and reduce PCOS-related symptoms and concerns. 

Dermatological care

While lifestyle changes work to ease PCOS symptoms by targeting the condition’s underlying mechanisms, you may also benefit from targeted dermatological care for specific skin and hair concerns. We can provide:

• Comprehensive acne management 
• Quick, in-office skin tag removal 
• Laser therapy for hyperpigmentation
• Laser hair removal treatments
• Hair restoration advice and planning 

You don’t have to live with unwanted skin and hair changes caused by PCOS — and we’re here to help. Schedule a visit at Florida Dermatology Associates in Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Cocoa, Melbourne, Titusville, or Rockledge, Florida, by calling or clicking online today.