What Happens to Your Skin During Menopause (And What You Can Do About It)
Something changes in your 40s, though you can hardly explain it. The moisturiser you have used so reliably over years, now does not seem sufficient any longer. Your complexion is a little smaller, a little paler. Your lines, when you would relax your face, begin to stay put. You may experience a more drying, more sensitive, infrequent spot blemish since your teens.
Some of the most recognizable features of the entire experience that are, however, not discussed much are changes that occur to the skin during the menopause transition. Hot flushes are anticipated by women. They hardly anticipate the fact that their skin is altering in such a great way and wondering why it is changing.
This article describes the role of oestrogen on skin, how it decreases, and what skincare strategies actually are supported by evidence and not marketing.
The majority believe that oestrogen is a reproduction hormone. It happens in fact in nearly all the tissues of the body, as well as the skin. The oestrogen receptors are located in the skin cells in the face and body and under conditions of plenty of oestrogen it has a number of functions to do, which makes the skin appear healthy.
It also increases the manufacture of collagen, which is the protein that provides skin its shape and its rigidity. Hopefully, imagine that collagen is the framework of the skin. Skin remains plump, soft, and firm when the scaffolding is robust and thick. Another oestrogen action is in stimulating the production levels of hyaluronic acid, which contains water in the skin, and the natural oils that soften the surface of the skin and protect it. To top this all, it helps the skin to repair itself and sustain their barrier towards surroundings.
Throughout this figure is truly astonishing to most women: skin loses approximately 30 per cent of its collagen content during the first five years post levophthalon. It is not a gradual drift. It is a sharp downward spiral that occurs at this point just when most women are just beginning to notice their skin appears dissimilar and ask themselves what has changed.
Following that bang on the head, collagen proceeds to decrease at an average of two per cent each year in the following fifteen or more years. This blend of losses, over time, alters the appearance of the skin and how it feels in a fundamental way: skin becomes thinner and less firm, more prone to wrinkling, and slower to recover when pressure or the expression of a wrinkle occurs.
The apparent outcomes are particular. Lines, previously seen either with a smile, or with a frown, begin permanently to sit on the face. The skin on the neck and jaw becomes soft. Pores can appear bigger as the skin which surrounds them is no longer as tight.
Two ways by which oestrogen keeps the skin hydrated are by stimulating the synthesis of hyaluronic acid that traps water in the deeper skin layers and by keeping the oils of the skin surface that forms a seal so the water cannot evaporation.
Both of these degenerate when oestrogen levels drop. The skin becomes incapable of retaining water in the same manner and its natural resistance to surfaces becomes thin. The outcome is a state of dryness that may not be similar to the normal dryness that is experienced on a cold winter day. It may be tenacious, stiff, and abrasive even in hot seasons and may make the formerly acceptable skincare products to seem unpleasant or inadequate.
During menopause, some women report itching in general parts of the body especially face, arms and the torso. This is due both to the fact that the skin becomes thinner and more frail, and because of the hormonal changes which affect nerve fibres in the skin which transmit an itch. Others report that there is a sensation of crawling ants on the skin, or experiencing a prickly, itchy, feeling, especially at night. The decreased barrier function of the skin also results in increased sensitivity of the skin to products and other environmental irritants that it never found a problem with before.
Among the more unexpected female changes in their 40s and 50s is their acne, back to their lower faces, chin, and jawlines, those previously unknown in their teens and twenties. This is because of a relative hormonal causation: a decreasing level of oestrogen results in an equal or even more dominant testosterone, which also women do produce in small quantities. Testosterone triggers the oil glands on the skin that may block the pores causing a breakout. This is especially vulnerable to the lower face since these oil glands are highly compacted in this area.
Decades of UV exposure slowly build up on the skin as pigmentation changes, age spots, and collagen damage, which is not immediately evident but rather accumulates over time. Part of this damage was counteracted during the years of oestrogen production by the skin-supporting action of the hormone. The damage that has been caused may become visible with the lowering of oestrogen and new dark spots may be formed more easily. The regeneration process of the skin in response to sun damage also becomes slow.
Changes in hormones that occur in the skin carry over to the hair and nails. Hair on the scalp may sit down and lose the previous thickness and its feel. Unwanted growth of hair on the chin or on the upper lip can appear on some women as a result of the greater emphasis of the testosterone in comparison with oestrogen. The nails can be more brittle or ridged. These changes are quite different in all of us but are frequented to be known.
On the list of changes to be practiced and preserved, on a daily basis, there can be only one change: sunscreen on the face, neck, and other parts of the body that cannot be covered by clothing. Exposure to the sun is the largest cause of visible skin ageing. It disintegrates collagen, results in pigmentation and destroys the barrier of the skin. In a country like Australia, where UV rays are high all year round, it is not an option rather a necessity.
An all-purpose SPF of 30 or more, which you apply each morning, no matter whether it is sunny or not, and whether you plan on going outside or not, will not undo some existing sun damage, but will help not to accumulate new damage. It is applied on a regular basis, over years, and makes a difference to skin aging. It is among the most supported skincare suggestions that exist.
Not every moisturiser can be effective on menopausal skin. The ingredients to be considered are those that target the mechanisms of moisture loss that occur in this stage.
Any moisturiser that features one or more of these ingredients and is used, post cleansing, on skin that is slightly damp will do significantly more of the work than a soap that is based more on smell and advertising.
Retinol is vitamin A in its form that acts by becoming faster to make the skin cells rotate and enhancing the production of collagen in the deeper skin layer. It also contains, by far, the greatest evidence base of any topical ingredient of reducing fine lines, improving skin texture, and promoting collagen.
In the case of menopausal skin, it is especially important since it directly reverses one of the most common effects of the loss of oestrogens collagen loss. Results take time. Taking over half a year of regular use is common to see significant changes to the skin thickness and texture.
The caution is that at a high amount (especially at first), retinol might dry, redden, and peel. Change of concentration should commence at low concentration that is taken at a few nights gradually increasing to nightly intake, the skin familiarises itself. It is not to be used during the day without sunscreen as it makes one tawny. Stronger retinoids, which are available as prescriptions, are more effective but enhanceuously must be introduced carefully.
There are two particular advantages a vitamin C serum in the morning offers to menopausal skin. It is an antioxidant that, as such, is used to counteract the effect of the free radicals produced by UV radiation and environmental pollution, minimizing their role in the deterioration of collagen. It is also a direct stimulator of collagen and can be used to lighten up pigmentation and age spots.
L-ascorbic acid is the most effective, the least stable, and can irritate sensitive skin. Women with reactive skin should use a reduced form, like ascorbic glucoside, which is less harsh but slower acting. When used as part of the morning routine together with sunscreen, vitamin C and sunscreen have combined to make them more effective in protection compared to individually.
The menopausal skin generally needs a gentler cleanser in comparison to younger ones. Oil-making products or those which are high in harsh surfactants drain the natural oils in the skin, aggravating dryness. It is preferable to a cream or gel which is gentle and not foaming. The aim of the cleansing at this phase is to get out the dirt, makeup and sunscreen and not to breakdown the protective barrier to the skin that is already weakened by exposure to the sun.
Since menopausal acne usually involves dry and thinner skin, the harsh gels, high levels of benzoyl peroxide, extremely strong drying agents, which are commonly used to treat acne in teenagers will hardly be effective and may even make the skin more irritated than before. A better place to start is a cleanser that contains salicylic acid that helps to unblock the pores without over- drying. It is recommended that even while skin is breaking out, it is highly advised to continue moisturising. In case the breakouts are chronic or uncomfortable, a GP or dermatologist can determine the possibility of using an alternative method.
The fundamental cause of the majority of menopause-related alterations to the skin is dealt with through menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) which replenishes part of the oestrogen no longer being passed on to the skin. Oestrogen has been clinically proved to increase the skin thickness, collagen, hydration, and the elasticity. The skin benefits are more of a bonus than an excuse to take MHT in women who experience menopause symptoms and are worried about their skin, as well.
MHT is not a cosmetic dogma, but rather it enhances the skin. It does not fill the skin or smooth the skin externally, but aides the biological processes of the skin. The choice concerning MHT is a medical one and is based on personal health history, risk profile, and symptoms of a woman and the most appropriate should be made with a GP.
An emerging evidence base on the use of hydrolysed collagen supplements (taken orally collagen peptides) in improving skin hydration and skin elasticity has been identified. The study is not that robust as in the case of topical retinoids, and the impact on skin firmness is small. They seem to be harmless and might even provide any value, especially to skin hydration. They can be most effectively regarded as a supportive measure, but not as a primary intervention.
With thinness of the skin and brittleness following menopause, and with the buildup of the effects of UV radiation becoming more evident, some susceptibility to skin cancer develops. A check on the skin by a GP or a dermatologist at least once per year is a reasonable addition to the skincare routine at least starting in middle age. It is a simple and significant preventive measure to detect harmful spots before they become hard to cure.
The menopause changes in the skin are not imaginary, they are inevitable and can be controlled in large part with an appropriate approach. It is easier to explain that they are due to the loss of the skin-maintaining effects of oestrogen, and especially fast early fall of collagen, and therefore have an opportunity to use skincare products that not only treat the surface of the skin but actually the underlying source of it.
Daily sunscreen, a good moisturiser with hyaluronic acid and ceramides, and consistent use of retinol are the foundation of evidence-based menopause skincare. They are not expensive or complicated. They just require consistency.
What the skin needs during this phase is less about finding the newest product and more about understanding what has changed and responding with ingredients and habits that genuinely support it.