The skin itself possesses the capacity to use food ingredients to generate several hormones and substances with hormone-like activity. These substances appear to act through paracrine, autocrine, intracrine and endocrine mechanisms to fulfill their pleiotropic effects. Moreover, the skin can metabolize hormones and produce derivatives with potential systemic activity. This novel concept of the role of the skin and its hormones as important players in general homeostasis and human disorders leads to the expectation that the detection of the pharmacological and therapeutic function of hormone mediators, their receptors and antagonists may not be far ahead. The latter idea has already been realized for corticosteroids, androgens, estrogens, topical vitamin D analogues and retinoids which today have an established place in clinical dermatology.