When we think about skincare, most of us picture a neat little collection of serums, cleansers and creams lined up in the bathroom cabinet. We imagine that if we can just find the right combination, we’ll crack the code to clear, glowing and youthful skin forever. If only it were that simple.
The truth is that skin rarely exists in isolation from the rest of the body. In fact, it’s almost never just about skincare. Many people don’t realise just how many health conditions affect skin health and appearance. So many health conditions that have nothing to do with the skin itself can leave their fingerprints on it, from softening the texture to altering its colour or changing how easily it heals.
This topic feels especially close to my heart because I’ve lived with hypermobility myself for as long as I can remember. Long before I ever thought about skincare in a professional sense, I noticed how different my own skin felt compared to everyone else’s. It was softer, more stretchy, and it bruised easily, I began to think it had a mind of its own. Over time, I realised those subtle differences were part of a much bigger picture, about how our bodies shape our skin in ways no product alone can explain.
That experience is what inspired me to write this blog and share some of the many ways our health and our skin are forever intertwined.
Hypermobility: The Softest Skin You’ll Ever Touch
One of the more fascinating examples is hypermobility, which often gets attention for the way it makes joints bendy and flexible, but also has a surprising effect on the skin. If you have ever shaken hands with someone whose skin feels softer than anything you’ve ever touched, they might have a hypermobility spectrum disorder.
Their skin can feel velvety and stretchy, almost like it doesn’t quite belong in the same category as everyone else’s. High levels of collagen contribute to this texture, but they also bring a curious contradiction. Collagen, that golden ingredient so many of us long for in our skincare routines, can make the skin look more youthful in one sense while also leaving it more prone to looking baggy because of the extra elasticity.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: When Skin Stretches Like Elastic
Closely related to hypermobility is Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This group of connective tissue disorders takes those same qualities and often intensifies them. People with Ehlers-Danlos may have skin so stretchy it almost looks surreal when pulled.
It tends to feel very soft, almost silky, but it bruises easily and heals slowly. Even minor scrapes can leave delicate, papery scars. It’s one of those conditions that reveals how much our skin reflects what’s going on beneath the surface, quite literally.
PCOS: A Hormonal Plot Twist
Hormones have their own starring role in transforming our skin (of course they do), often when we least expect it. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, or PCOS, is a hormonal condition that is infamous for causing breakouts in places you’d rather not have them.
Oily skin, cystic acne and unwanted hair can all appear, but that’s not where it stops. Some people with PCOS develop acanthosis nigricans, patches of skin that become thicker and darker, often appearing around the neck or underarms. These patches are harmless in themselves but can feel like yet another layer of frustration in a condition that is already challenging enough.
Cushing’s Syndrome: Too Much Cortisol
Most of us know cortisol as the stress hormone, but in Cushing’s syndrome, the body produces far too much of it. This excess cortisol has a dramatic impact on the skin, thinning it to the point where bruises seem to appear out of nowhere.
People with Cushing’s often develop wide, purple stretch marks across their abdomen, hips or thighs, along with a rosy, persistently flushed complexion. Unfortunately for many, rather than looking like a fresh glow, this redness can appear almost as if you’ve been out in the cold or had a glass of wine.
It’s a reminder that while skincare routines can be wonderful, sometimes the most important factor in your skin’s health is what’s happening inside your body rather than which cleanser is sitting by the sink.
Diabetes: When Sugar Leaves Its Mark
Diabetes is another condition that illustrates this truth beautifully. It’s not a skin disease, but it might as well have a whole chapter in dermatology textbooks.
For many people with diabetes, the skin becomes excessively dry and itchy, especially on the legs. Some develop diabetic dermopathy, harmless but often unwelcome patches of scaly, brown skin that look a bit like old scars. Because circulation can be compromised, wounds take longer to heal and infections become more likely.
Thyroid Disorders: The Skin Thermostat
The thyroid, that unassuming gland tucked away in your neck, also has an outsized influence over your skin. When thyroid function slows down in hypothyroidism, the skin often becomes rough, pale and dry enough to feel almost chalky.
In contrast, hyperthyroidism speeds everything up. Skin becomes warm, moist and flushed, almost as if you’re permanently a little overheated. It’s remarkable how one small organ can swing your complexion from one extreme to the other without much warning.
Liver Disease: The Golden Hue
If you’ve ever met someone whose skin has a golden or yellow tint, you might have been seeing jaundice, a sign of liver dysfunction rather than an unusual self-tanning habit.
Liver disease can also cause spider veins across the face and body, along with relentless itching that no amount of moisturiser can soothe. These changes can be distressing, but they are also important clues that the liver needs help.
Kidney Disease: The Sallow Complexion
Kidney disease, too, can leave a visible calling card on the skin. Chronic kidney disease sometimes gives skin a sallow, greyish-yellow tone that looks almost like a film has been laid over it. Severe dryness and itching often accompany this change.
Though moisturisers can offer some relief, the real solution lies in managing the kidney condition itself.
Anaemia: Pale as Porcelain
Anaemia doesn’t usually get top billing in skincare discussions, yet it can absolutely transform how your skin looks and feels.
When iron levels drop too low, skin often becomes pale and cool to the touch, a little like porcelain that has lost its warmth. Some people with anaemia also find that their nails become brittle or spoon-shaped, another example of how seemingly distant systems affect one another in ways that feel both strange and inevitable.
Marfan Syndrome: Stretch Marks Without the Drama
Moving back into the world of connective tissue, Marfan syndrome is another condition that often leaves its mark on the skin.
People with Marfan tend to be very tall with long limbs, but their skin also tends to be unusually elastic. Stretch marks can develop without any changes in weight, simply because the tissue itself is more prone to stretching. It’s a reminder that not all stretch marks are earned through pregnancy or dramatic shifts in size. Sometimes, they are written into your DNA from the very start.
Scleroderma: Skin That Feels Taut
Scleroderma takes the idea of skin changes in a different direction. Rather than making skin softer or stretchier, this autoimmune condition does the opposite, thickening and tightening it to the point where it can feel almost hard.
This tightening often starts on the hands and face, creating a shiny, taut appearance that looks distinctive. While scleroderma affects many internal organs, it’s often the skin changes that make people first realise something deeper is going on.
Lupus: The Butterfly Rash
Systemic lupus erythematosus, better known simply as lupus, also loves to make itself known on the face.
The most classic sign is the butterfly-shaped rash that blooms across the cheeks and the bridge of the nose. For many people, this rash is one of the first hints that lupus is present. Skin can also become photosensitive, meaning even a small amount of sunlight can provoke irritation or a flare.
Albinism: The Most Delicate Complexion of All
Albinism is a genetic condition that affects how the body produces melanin, the pigment responsible for colouring the skin, hair and eyes.
Because melanin is either greatly reduced or absent, skin often appears almost pure white, and hair looks snowy or very pale blonde. Eyelashes and eyebrows can be so fair they nearly vanish against the skin. This lack of pigment also makes the skin extremely sensitive to sun damage, so daily sun protection is essential.
Melanin helps the eyes develop properly, so many people with albinism also have poor eyesight, sensitivity to light and trouble with depth perception.
Though albinism is most visible on the surface, it’s a powerful example of how a single genetic difference can touch so many aspects of health and daily life.
Life Stages: The Hormonal Rollercoaster
Even life stages can alter the skin dramatically. Pregnancy, puberty and menopause all bring waves of hormonal change that can make your complexion feel like a stranger’s.
In pregnancy, you might suddenly glow with vitality, only to develop melasma, the patches of pigmentation often called the mask of pregnancy. Puberty is famous for its oil and acne, while menopause often leaves skin feeling drier and thinner than you remember.
Your Skin is a Reflection of Your Story
When you see these examples together, it becomes obvious that skincare can only ever be part of the equation. Your skin is your body’s largest organ, a living record of everything happening inside you, from your hormones to your connective tissue to your metabolism.
If you find your skin behaving in unexpected ways, it’s not always about the products you’re using or the weather outside. Sometimes, it’s your body gently or not so gently asking you to pay attention to something deeper.
There’s something strangely comforting in this. It means that no one has completely perfect skin, no matter how flawless it looks on the screen. Everyone has a story etched into their surface, whether it’s a stretch mark that appeared without warning or a rash that told the first chapter of a diagnosis.
At Olive & Joyce, I always say that skincare is about more than appearances. It’s an act of respect for everything your body is doing to keep you well. If you ever feel disheartened because your skin doesn’t look like the airbrushed version you see online, remember that it is often a reflection of your unique biology and life experiences, not a list of flaws that need correcting.
When you care for your skin, you’re caring for all of you, not just the parts that the world can see. So the next time your complexion surprises you, take a moment to wonder whether it might be telling you something important.
If you’d like to nurture your skin gently while you investigate what’s happening beneath the surface, you’re always welcome to explore our collection of soothing moisturisers and treatments. They’re designed with respect and love for all the complexity that makes you, you.