Can Using Vaginal Estrogen Cream on Your Face Make You Look Younger?
Dermatologists weigh in on the pros and cons of an emerging skincare trend
by Nicole Audrey Spector at HealthyWomen.com
No, this isn’t a Goop editorial, but we can see why you’d mistake it for one. The idea of using an estrogen cream, historically used to restore vaginal tissue, on your face isn’t quite as wild sounding as, say, using bee venom to treat scarring, which Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow described as “pretty incredible”, but it’s a bit out there. And, as more and more beauty influencers endorse vaginal estrogen cream as an anti-aging go-to, it’s gaining steam as a trend, typically targeting menopausal and postmenopausal women.
HealthyWomen talked to two dermatologists to get the lowdown on the latest glow up sensation.
The powers of estrogen cream for vaginal rejuvenation in menopause
Vaginal estrogen cream has long been prescribed to menopausal women to treat vaginal dryness, thinning vaginal skin, itching and burning, which are extremely common symptoms of menopause — and it can work wonders.
“I’m 48 and entering the perimenopausal sphere,” said Melanie Palm, M.D., board-certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon at Art of Skin MD. “And I see how vaginal estrogen cream transforms patients’ bodies.”
Vaginal estrogen cream helps rejuvenate vaginal skin and improve dryness by feeding the skin estrogen, which permanently drops in menopause.
“When we stop having monthly periods, it affects the estrogen receptors on our skin,” Palm said. “We lose collagen. Areas that are estrogen dependent, like genitals, change a lot. These creams help with that.”
Vaginal estrogen cream can also help prevent UTIs, which Palm pointed out is a leading reason for acute care needs in older women.
“UTIs can lead to sepsis, which is common in elderly patients, particularly those suffering from dementia or urinary incontinence,” Palm said.
If estrogen cream is so effective in rejuvenating vaginal skin, why wouldn’t it also do wonders for the skin on our face when it too dries with age? This is the line of thought that’s led to some skincare enthusiasts turning to estrogen cream as an anti-wrinkle agent. But it’s really not that simple because the skin on the face just isn’t the same as the skin down there.
In 2025, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology published research about the use of estrogen cream for facial rejuvenation. The study found that estrogen creams provide anti-inflammatory measures and support your blood vessels and collagen production. But it found it only did so in areas not exposed to sunlight.
“With photoexposed areas of the skin — areas that see the sun — estrogen had no effect,” Palm said.
Scientific research on using vaginal estrogen on your face is weak and mixed
Now, can we say that this one study proved once and for all that it’s a waste of time to apply estrogen cream to your face for anti-aging effects? Not quite, because this study, like every other study done on estrogen creams as facial skincare products to date, was small.
“The challenge is that these are all small studies with mixed results,” Palm said. “Some studies show mild effects. But nothing huge.”
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