How the menopause affects your skin – and what you can do about it!

Your skin is an incredible sensory organ, which is why when you enter and go through those defining life stages, your skin feels it too!

The menopause is a particularly tough transition for the female body. While hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings, and irregular periods are commonly reported symptoms amongst women going through the menopause, skin complaints such as excess oil, acne, sagging, wrinkles, and thinning are not so widely talked about.

If you are currently experiencing these less well-known menopause symptoms however, you don’t have to grin and bear them.

As specialists in scientifically-based skincare products, we pride ourselves on using the best all-natural formulations to deliver solutions for people with a variety of skin concerns, including menopausal skin.

Here we take a closer look at how the menopause affects your skin and, more importantly, reveal exactly what you can do about it just in time for World Menopause Day!

Elasticity loss

Healthy, youthful skin depends very much on the collagen content in the dermis. As we age, collagen content naturally depletes resulting in a loss of elasticity that causes the skin to sag and thin.

Menopause accelerates this process due to your body producing lower levels of oestrogen. These low oestrogen levels mean that the skin’s ability to repair collagen and elastin within the dermis is also impaired. Shockingly, around one third of collagen is lost over a five-year period once menopause begins.

Your skin will need extra help stimulating collagen and enhancing elasticity, but luckily our rejuvenating range provides the help you need.

Our Rejuvenating Face Cream hydrates, nourishes and rebuilds your skin using amino acids and proteins to boost firmness, increase elasticity, and minimise thinning. Team this with our Perfect Eyes 3 in 1 Rejuvenating Eye Cream to refresh and hydrate the delicate under-eye area.

Visible wrinkles

It may come as no surprise that low oestrogen levels and elasticity loss make those fine lines and wrinkles more prominent.

Oestrogen after all is charged with stimulating the fat deposits that keep skin plump and healthy-looking.

Our all-natural firming solutions contain the collagen boosting, line erasing goodness that instantly rejuvenates lack lustre skin.

Using a special blend of active, certified organic ingredients, our Rejuvenating Face Mask firms and tones the skin to improve radiance, minimise wrinkles and fine lines, and give you the feeling of wellbeing.

Our Rasayana Rejuvenating Serum – which is in fact six serums in one bottle – has a similar effect to combat fine lines, wrinkles, sagging, and dehydration.

Extreme dryness

One of the most common skin issues for menopausal women is extreme dryness. Yet again it’s the loss of oestrogen that causes this uncomfortable symptom. Here WebMD explains more about skin dryness and itching during the menopause:

“Another thing estrogen does is stimulate the formation of skin-smoothing collagen and oils. That’s why, as menopause approaches and estrogen production diminishes, dry, itchy skin becomes very common, says Elizabeth Tanzi, MD, co-director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery.

That reduction of estrogen, and the changing ratios of hormones in your body, don’t just slow down your body’s oil production, they also reduce your body’s ability to retain moisture.”

With this in mind, hydration becomes even more vital during menopause. Investing in a good-quality moisturiser will help save your skin. Read our guide to adding moisture to menopausal skin for more top tips.

Menopausal acne

While extreme dryness and itching are issues for many women, many more find that oil production goes into overdrive.

As oestrogen levels decrease, testosterone takes on a more dominant role within the body. Testosterone actively stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce thicker oil as a result.

This excess oil not only leaves the skin looking and feeling greasy, it can cause menopausal acne to develop too.

Our Active Face Cleanse Gel, Active Face Hydrating Gel and Detox Face Mask offer great solutions for oily, spot-prone menopausal skin. They clean deeply to detoxify and purify, keeping the skin bright, clear, and blemish-free.

Discover more skincare solutions for menopausal skin right here.

Image: Kanea / Shutterstock.com