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E136
May 19, 2026
What Estrogen Does to Your Skin (And What Actually Works)
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In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Tony Youn, a board certified plastic surgeon nationally recognized as one of the top plastic surgeons in the United States, bestselling author of Younger for Life, and the most followed plastic surgeon on social media with more than five million YouTube subscribers and eight million TikTok followers. In part one of this two part conversation, they take on a question that sits at the intersection of hormones and skin health that most doctors have never connected for their patients: what estrogen is actually doing to the skin, and what women can do about it.

Dr. Youn opens with a statistic that women lose 30% of the thickness of their collagen in the first five years after menopause, and then continue losing collagen at twice the rate of men for every year that follows. He explains exactly why this happens, how estrogen interacts with the fibroblasts that produce collagen and elastin, what declining estrogen does to hyaluronic acid and skin hydration, and why women are not imagining it when their skincare suddenly stops working.

From there the conversation becomes a practical guide. Dr. Youn walks through his morning and evening skincare framework, covering vitamin C serums and why stabilization matters, retinoids and tretinoin and how to choose between them based on skin type, peptides, growth factors, exfoliation, and where women are spending money on products that do nothing. He also addresses sunscreen, the debate between mineral and chemical formulas, and why the FDA has not approved a new sunscreen filter since the 1990s.

The episode then moves into procedures, with Dr. Youn covering neurotoxins including Botox, Dysport, and Daxxify, what they do, when to start, and what baby Botox actually means. He explains hyaluronic acid fillers, how much is too much, which areas carry the most risk, and why he only recommends fillers that can be dissolved. He also covers fat transfer, what makes it appealing and what makes it unpredictable, and how to vet whoever is doing your injections.

Dr. Youn also addresses the data on hormone replacement therapy and skin, including the evidence for systemic estrogen improving collagen thickness, what the studies do and do not show, and where topical estrogen fits into the conversation.

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Chapters

00:00:00 – Why Menopause Changes Your Skin So Fast
00:02:15 – Estrogen, Collagen & Rapid Skin Aging
00:05:05 – Can Hormone Therapy Help Your Skin?
00:09:00 – The Best Skincare Ingredients for Menopause
00:13:15 – Retinol, Retin-A & What Actually Works
00:18:20 – Sunscreen Mistakes That Age You Faster
00:24:30 – Peptides, Growth Factors & “Salmon DNA”
00:27:45 – Korean Skin Treatments & Trending Procedures
00:33:50 – Skincare Products That Are a Waste of Money
00:39:10 – Exfoliation & How Skin Changes With Age
00:41:00 – Botox Basics: When to Start & What to Know
00:49:00 – “Baby Botox” & Preventative Treatments
00:57:15 – Fillers, Volume Loss & Facial Aging
01:06:10 – What Really Works for Menopause Skin

About the guest

Dr. Tony Youn

Known as America's Holistic Plastic Surgeon, Anthony Youn, M.D. is a nationally-recognized, board-certified plastic surgeon. Recognized as a leader in his field, he is the author of the best-selling books “The Age Fix," "In Stitches," “Playing God,” and "Younger For Life."  Dr. Youn also hosts the popular podcast The Doctor Youn Show.  He is the most followed plastic surgeon on social media, with over 5 million subscribers on his YouTube Channel and 8 million followers on TikTok. He is also the founder of YOUN Beauty, his boutique skin care and supplement line.