How menopause affects your skin and what you can do about it
Menopause brings about many changes to our bodies, but one area that is often overlooked is how it impacts the skin. While these changes can be frustrating, understanding why it’s happening can help you take control and maintain healthy, vibrant skin during this transition.
The Hormonal Shuffle: The key player in this skin story is oestrogen. As its levels decline during menopause, it throws a spanner into various functions vital for healthy skin. Here's what happens:
• Moisture Mayhem: Oestrogen helps retain moisture in the skin. Its decline leads to dryness, itchiness, and flakiness.
• Wrinkle Woes: Oestrogen also stimulates collagen and elastin production, the proteins responsible for skin firmness and bounce. With less oestrogen, wrinkles,
fine lines, and sagging become more prominent.
• Sensitivity Surge: The protective barrier function of oestrogen weakens, making the skin more sensitive and prone to irritation.
• Pigmentation Puzzle: Hormonal fluctuations can trigger hyperpigmentation, leading to uneven skin tone or dark spots.
• Spotty Surprise: While less common, some women experience increased breakouts due to hormonal shifts.
Whether you choose to manage this decline in oestrogen naturally or with HRT, there are steps you can take to keep your skin healthy and balanced. It can be tempting to reach for strong chemical-based products to target these skin issues, but often, it’s just too much for our skin. We take the ‘less is more ‘approach and advise treating the skin kindly with effective, 100% natural products.
Here’s our top three recommendations:
• Tread gently: Avoid harsh cleansers that can strip the skin and damage your moisture barrier. If your skin feels squeaky after you cleanse, then you’ve stripped away allyour skin’s natural oils and that will trigger all sorts of skin issues! Our Gently Nourishing Cleansing Balm is formulated using natural plant oils and butters
including pumpkin seed oil and capuacu butter to deliver nutrients to the skin insteadof stripping it. It gently removes dirt, toxins, SPF, and all make-up (including
waterproof mascara).
• Exfoliate wisely: It can be tempting with any skin condition to try and scrub the
problem away, but over-exfoliating can irritate sensitive skin and damage our skin’s
barrier, exacerbating the problem. Skin can also be intolerant of chemical exfoliators, such as retinol, AHA’s or BHA’s. Our skin naturally exfoliates by itself, so we only need to do a gentle exfoliation once or twice a week to give our skin a helping hand in removing dull, dead skin cells. Our Gently Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant is blended with oat, jojoba and hibiscus powders and avocado oil to restore radiance to the most sensitive of skin and allows other skincare products to absorb better. The uplifting sweet orange essential oil will also uplift the senses!
• Hydration Hero: It’s vital to keep your skin hydrated and moisturised during
menopause. Our Hydration Boost Moisturising Balm is a game changer for dry,
lacklustre skin. Packed with babassu butter, argan oil, sea buckthorn oil and rosehip oil, this plant-based powerhouse will deliver that much needed nourishment back into your skin.
You can also target these skin changes internally by nourishing your skin from within with a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and omega-3 fatty acids. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Manage stress, get enough sleep, and consider exploring natural remedies like yoga or meditation.