Menopause and Your Skin: What You Should Know
Menopause is the stage in life that all women transition through marking the end of her reproductive years. The age varies from woman to woman but typically the menopause stage is entered between mid-40s and early 50s. Common symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, lower libido, mood swings, irregular missed periods and weight gain.
In addition to the changes we discussed previously, the biology of your skin changes in new ways during this time due to hormonal changes. Specifically, the decline of B-Estradiol helps to speed up the aging of the skin. The lowered estrogen and progesterone production also leads to changes in the skin. Some of the changes you may see during this time are oily skin, facial hair, sagging skin, wrinkles and dry skin. While this may be concerning, these changes are normal.
Some things that you can do to help your skin adapt during and after menopause are to use sunscreen religiously. It’s the only thing that stands between you and wrinkles. Instead of your regular face wash, try using an acne wash. With the many hormonal changes during menopause you’ll more than likely have acne breakouts and an acne wash will help to minimize the severity. After washing your skin, it’s very important to
apply a daily moisturizer within 5 minutes as it will lock in the moisture. Lastly, one of the most important things that you can do to help your skin is to quit smoking. Not only does it damage your lungs but also elastin and collagen which results in sagging skin and wrinkles.
