evidence that some topically applied steroidal hormones, both active and inactive biologically, cause slight histological thickening of the epidermis of aged skin. Dermal changes are questionable and clinical effects usually negligible. In the amounts which can be safely incorporated into cosmetic preparations, topically applied estrogens have no effect on human sebaceous glands and oil secretion. Natural progesterone in physiological amounts causes no increase in oil secretion in the human. Used as directed, topically applied hormones as presently formulated in cosmetic preparations have adequate safety factors. DURING RECENT YEARS there has been an increase in the use of cosmetics which con¬ tain various hormones. The quality of the informa¬ tion available on many of these compounds varies. Therefore, tlitpurpose of this review is specifically to discuss the experimental data which relates to the use of hormones in cosmetics. Further, com¬ ment will be restricted to the effects observed in humans, for, as dermatologists know well, it is ex¬ tremely difficult to transfer data obtained in furbearing animals to the quite different skin of the human.This discussion is divided into three sections:(1) the effects of topically applied hormones on the epidermis and dermis, (2) the effect of topi¬ cally applied hormones on the cutaneous append¬ ages, and (3) safety oí the use of these compounds in cosmetics. Two further qualifications must be made: First, in discussing the use of hormones in relation to cosmetics, very little reference will be made to the effect of systemic hormone administra¬ tion; second, only the hormones which are cur¬ rently of specific interest in this field, namely, the sex steroids, will be considered. Dec 4, 1962. Effect on Epidermis and Dermis It is difficult to ascertain what specifically led to the use of hormones as topical agents. However, according to Peck and Klarmann,1 this use was the result of a chance observation: Women filling am¬ poules with oil-suspended estrogens in a large pharmaceutical house noted a change in the skin of the dorsum of their hands; this alteration con¬ sisted essentially of a decrease in wrinkling. Goldzieher ' reported the first results of experimental studies of the effect of estrogens on the skin in 1946. in the next few years a large number of reports appeared, many of them from Goldzieher's group. Close scrutiny of the early papers discloses several interesting observations. In his first report, Goldzieher ' applied topical estrogens, in the form of either estradiol or diethylstilbestrol, to the inner surfaces of the thighs and forearms of five elderly women for a period of six weeks. The end-points of response were all histological; no statement of any clinical observations was made. The pretreatment epidermis was thin and the epidermal cells were small. The rete ridges were absent, and the dermis demonstrated hyalinization and fragmentation of the collagen bundles.The elastic tissue was observed to be decreased in amount. After estrogen applicati...
