MENOPAUSE AND YOUR SKIN

Featured Story

Posted By

Ginni Mansberg

21st Aug, 2020

As most menopausal women will tell you, menopause means havoc for your skin.

But seeing as menopause happens when both natural skin aging and premature skin aging (which is mainly caused by cumulative exposure to the sun) are starting to set in, it’s hard to tease out how many of the changes in your skin are due to aging and how many to menopause.



But here’s what we know;

In menopause, as oestrogen (1) levels fall, skin quickly loses collagen, weakening its structure and thinning the skin. It all happens pretty quickly.

In fact, studies show that women’s skin loses about 30% of its collagen within the first 5 years of menopause. And after that, we continue to lose a further 2% of our collagen every year for the next 20 years. (2) OMG!!!



So what does that mean for your skin?

Well, it’s not good news.

Our skin loses its firmness and starts to sag.

Permanent lines develop from the tip of the nose to the corners of the mouth.

Wrinkles become more prominent.

You may see bags under your eyes.

Your pores can look larger as a direct result of a lack of skin firmness.

Big pores make your skin look and feel rougher and less even. (3)

The pH of your skin significantly increases after menopause. (4) This is going to see the microbiome of the skin alter significantly and is also associated with drier (5) skin and an increase in the likelihood of a number of skin conditions and the skin’s sensitivity (6) to soaps and physical injury – so it gets easily bruised.



So what can you do?

Use a gentle soap free cleanser (Calming Cleanse). They should help cleansing without drying the skin or raising its pH.
Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen (Zinc Shade) everyday. The skin’s loss of elasticity through menopause will be exacerbated by sun induced skin aging. And sunscreen is your first line of defense against premature skin aging.
Use Alpha Hydroxy acids (Smooth Serum). Low strength Alpha Hydroxy Acids (Glycolic and Lactic acid) (7) have been shown to improve the Ceramide production and increase skin barrier function. They will leave your kin smoother and better hydrated.
Use a Vitamin B3 based Moisturiser (B Quenched). As your skin is drier, using a moisturiser will become more important. Vitamin B3 has been shown to improve the skin barrier function (meaning your skin retains more moisture); and
Use a Vitamin A (Retinal) cream at night (Ultimate A), which has been shown to thicken the skin and increase skin elasticity. (8)
And then there is Hormone Replacement Therapy. While skin benefits would never be one of the reasons that you choose whether or not to use it, it is something you should be talking to your doctor about anyway. And a side benefit is that it will help reverse and reduce many of the changes in your skin caused by Menopause.

Menopause will most likely have some pretty big impacts on your skin. But thanks to the work of independent researchers and the evidence that they have been able to establish, there are ingredients and procedures that can help.



https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2685269/
https://www.aad.org/public/skin-hair-nails/skin-care/skin-care-during-menopause
https://www.aad.org/public/skin-hair-nails/skin-care/skin-care-during-menopause
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23113564
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23322028/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23322028/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23322028/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10473959/

Save Your Brain By Dr Ginni Mansberg

The evidence is clear almost half of all cases of dementia and cognitive decline are preventable. But sadly none are treatable.

So what are the lifestyle changes that really make a difference to our brain health? What do the experts do to protect themselves from cognitive decline? And what can we do right now to preserve our quality of life as we age?

Save Your Brain answers all these questions and more. As we age, dementia and Alzheimer's pose a serious threat to our health and wellbeing. To give us a running start in the fight against cognitive decline, GP and acclaimed broadcaster Dr Ginni Mansberg presents the very latest evidence based research on how to protect your most valuable asset your clever, vulnerable, powerful brain. As the health of our brains increasingly takes centre stage, Ginni gives up to the minute advice and strategies you can implement now to protect your brain as you age.

A must read for anyone looking to maintain their quality of life, or that of loved ones, into old age.

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