How is skin affected during the menopause journey?

HOW IS SKIN AFFECTED DURING THE MENOPAUSE JOURNEY?

This month is Menopause awareness month, and as information around the signs and symptoms of the menopause continues to grow, there is still less talk around the effects of the menopause on our skin and its aging process during this time.

Despite this, studies show that around 70% of women notice changes in their skin over this time, and approximately 50% of the women studied felt they were left unprepared for these changes.

This is in part due to the fact that it’s rather hard to study, as it is difficult to separate the signs of  natural aging from those that are linked to changes that occur during the menopause. However, as the use of HRT has increased and we have seen effects this has on the skin, and the good news is that this has enabled us to learn faster, as we can compare the skin health between women who have decided to take HRT against those who have not.

As you may have come to expect by now, what we have discovered is not great news.

Skin aging accelerates during the menopause journey. So, not only may we have possible symptoms of hot flushes, lack of sleep, low mood, anxiety, and brain fog, we can legitimately look in the mirror and say that we are looking older too.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?

Hormone levels have a huge impact on the skin. ( think how tired you can look if you are stressed and your cortisol levels are high), well, its is the same oestrogen levels start to drop. And when we hit menopause, it hits an all-time low. This drop causes the skin to thin, along with the important structures inside it that keeps it looking plumped, glowy and elastic (collagen and elastin).

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE SKIN?

In general (this will vary from person to person), it becomes:

Thinner

Drier

Less firm

Less springy

More wrinkled

Duller/less radiant

More susceptible to UV light

Fragile

More likely to get age spots or pigmentation

Itchy

Saggy

and (if you are really unlucky), prone to breakouts or more sensitive

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Help is at hand. Being forewarned is forearmed. However, as all skin can behave differently, its not possible to give a “one size fits all” (a bespoke consultation in clinic is best for that) but here is some general advice.

DRY/ DULL SKIN

• Move to a milk or cream cleanser. If your skin has become redder, consider avoiding fragranced cleansers.
• Look at mists (personally I don’t like them, but I know they are very helpful for many clients with dry skin)

• NEVER miss the vitamin C, but this can be a minefield. For dry skin, you can add vitamin E to it. If your skin is sensitive, it may take a while to acclimatise, but persevere. Its worth it.

• Use a serum your skin can handle. Hyaluronic acid serums are fantastic, and consider a low strength retinol /vitamin A for might time, again with sensitive skin, this need time to acclimatise.

• Moisturiser – listen to your skin. If your skin is really dry, look for a thicker moisturiser. If it feels as though it needs a little more liquid, try a lighter one. In fact, if you have a good hyaluronic acid serum that you like, you can miss this stage altogether.

SPF – ALWAYS, and try one with a moisturising component as this will help.

ONSET OF ADULT ACNE/ BREAKOUTS/ OILY SKIN

• foaming cleansers, light gels, milks and creams, are all fine here.

• Vitamin C – consider one with salicylic acid if you are experiencing issues with your usual serum, and avoid vitamin E which is for dry skin.

• serums – look for retinols /vitamin A, niacinamide, azelaic acid. These will work well with a misbehaving skin.

• Moisturisers – again listen to your skin. Go lighter, oil free. If you are prone to break outs, avoid fragrance.

• SPF – you can get specialised products for oily skin, still factor 50. Or go full mineral SPF. It may be a case of trial and error, but you must not skip this part.

OTHER THINGS YOU CAN TRY

1. HRT – there is not enough time to go into this in this blog, but the research shows the effect this has on rebuilding the collagen. If you are taking it, or considering it, this fact is worth bearing knowing.
2. SKINCARE (medical grade) – with a higher potency of ingredients, this is worth looking into. The scientists out there have shown we can change the structure and function of skin cells. Who doesn’t want to turn back time?
3. Tweakments – from injectable bio-stimulators that promote collagen stimulation, to anti-wrinkle injections that help with wrinkles that are getting deeper, these anti-aging effect can be nothing short of miraculous.
4. Supplements, but that’s for another blog.

It can be a minefield, so if you want more advice, book a consultation and we can go into this in more detail.