At Ameliorate, we want to support you through all life stages, including Menopause! Our expertly formulated products help to improve symptoms that appear as the skin changes during menopause.
Before we start talking about products, let's begin by talking about what Menopause is.
What is menopause?
Menopause is when a woman’s periods stop due to lower hormone levels. This usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55, however it can sometimes happen earlier. This could be naturally, or for reasons such as surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy) or the uterus (hysterectomy), cancer treatments like chemotherapy, or a genetic reason. Sometimes the reason is unknown. What we do know, however, is that it is something every single woman will go through.
There are three stages of menopause...
Most of us will be surprised to learn that there are different stages to every woman’s menopause journey. Menopause is discussed as one overarching concept, but it is broken down into three phases:
Perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.
- Perimenopause can begin eight to 10 years before menopause when the ovaries progressively produce less oestrogen and can start as young as the 30s.
- Menopause is the year-long phase when a woman does not have her menstrual period.
Menopause and perimenopause can cause symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, and hot flushes may appear. Skin changes during menopause can include dryness, enlarged pores and fine lines or wrinkles.
- Post-menopause comes after menopause and can last for up to a decade or longer, symptoms can continue during this time.
What skin changes during menopause may you experience?
Like most things in life, skin concerns may differ from person to person, however the below skin concerns mentioned are the most common.
- Dryness – As estrogen levels decrease, you may experience increased dryness due to decreased sebum (oil) production.
- Dehydration - As we age, our hyaluronic acid levels (which keep the skin hydrated) decrease.
- Enlarged Pores - Pores will appear larger due to weaker collagen and elastic tissue.
- Blemishes - Due to hormonal changes, women may break out during perimenopause and menopause.
- Fine Lines/Wrinkles - In the first five years of menopause, a woman can lose approx. 30% of her skin’s collagen, causing a loss of firmness which contributes to the development of wrinkles.
- Sunspots or Age Spots - this is not specifically related to oestrogen withdrawal but occurs alongside menopause symptoms due to life stage and age.
How can you support your skin during menopause?
If you are experiencing very dry skin during menopause, start by swapping foaming, soap-based cleansers for something gentler and nourishing like cream (non-soap) cleansers. This is because soap-based formulas tend to pull oil from the skin.
Moisturising creams that contain ceramides, glycerine, and hyaluronic acid are recommended to replenish the hydration your skin is missing. Our Replenishing Facial Creamhas all of these ingredients. This supercharged daily face cream will boost moisture levels and help the skin to feel protected. It also delivers instant and long-lasting hydration that will nourish, soothe, and smooth the appearance of fine lines.
You may find that your skin may need a boost whilst you are sleeping, especially after a long day, and this is where a serum will come in. A serum with ingredients that can tackle dry and dull skin. Well, feast your face on our Transforming Facial Serum – a deeply nourishing treatment that will provide gentle exfoliation and intense hydration for up to 12 hours. It contains a formula of six active moisturisers, AHAs and hyaluronic acid that will help to resurface the skin, deeply moisturise, and naturally exfoliate, so you wake up in the morning with brighter, hydrated and plumper looking skin.
Now that we have covered how we can support the skin on your face, we must not forget your body. The skin on your body will go through the same changes, and it can be easy to forget about, so let us make this as easy as possible.
Let me introduce you to Ameliorates hero body care product – Transforming Body Lotion. Jam-packed with those hydrating ingredients that we love this clinically proven lightweight everyday body lotion is suitable for those who are experiencing skin changes during menopause, particularly very dry or dehydrated skin. It is designed to deeply hydrate the skin for up to 24 hours and protect its natural moisture barrier. The user trials and reviews speak for themselves.
Top Tip - apply Transforming Body Lotion whilst the skin is still damp to really lock in that moisture.
Just like your face and body, the skin on your hands will also change during menopause, and you may even find that your hands can become super dry and more sensitive. Enter: a hand cream that has ingredients like Lactic Acid and Sweet Almond Oil to help deeply hydrate, exfoliate, and protect. Our Intensive Hand Therapy has a 5-in-1 ground-breaking formulation that exfoliates, renews, softens, moisturises, protects, and works for up to 12 hours.
Top Tip – apply this dermatologist-approved hand cream liberally to your hands and pop on some cotton beauty gloves and get some well-deserved rest. Then whilst you are sleeping, the cream will work hard to leave you with hands that will feel softer, moisturised, and conditioned, ready for your day ahead.
Exfoliation during the menopause
Whilst we are on the subject of dry skin, let's discuss exfoliation. As the skin ages, its cell turnover slows down, which means that dead skin cells are more likely to accumulate on the top layer. The skin is thinner and more sensitive, meaning gentle exfoliation is super important! I am sure we all know that exfoliation can help remove dead cells quickly and easily and encourage cell renewal. The recommendation is that those with menopausal skin should exfoliate no more than twice a week, using a gentle, hydrating, and natural exfoliating scrub.
Targeting fine lines and wrinkles during the menopause
Now let us move on to how to best improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. As mentioned earlier, 30% of the skin’s collagen can be lost during the first five years of menopause. Therefore, consider looking for products with these 2 hero ingredients - Vitamin A in the form of a retinoid or retinol and Vitamin C. They are both amazing collagen boosters and skin protectors, they make a great team and can enhance each other’s properties.
Obviously, on top of that, sun protection (alongside diet and healthy lifestyle choices) is one of the best preventatives for fine lines and wrinkles. The recommended minimal sun protection should be 30 SPF, but also look out for SPFs that have broad spectrum protection, you will know if a sunscreen has this as it will have the PA+ symbol (UK). At Ameliorate we advocate using sun protection every day regardless of the time of year, especially when using any skincare products that contain AHA’s as these will make you more UV sensitive.
Targeting oily skin during the menopause
After all this dry skin talk you may be wondering, how could you possibly then get oily skin and blemishes? Well, this may not happen to every woman, but it is quite common during perimenopause. It is all to do with hormonal shifts, in a nutshell, this can increase the overproduction of sebum (oil). When looking for products to help with this it is recommended to avoid harsh blemish remedies because the skin is thinner and more sensitive during menopause. Try looking for soap-free cleansers with salicylic acid to unclog pores as well as using a retinoid 2 to 3 times per week.
No matter your journey through menopause just know that there is lots of support out there and that Ameliorate can help alleviate some of the skin symptoms to help make this road a little less bumpy for you.
Let us recap our hero products for menopausal skin.Hero Products
Transforming Body Lotion – clinically proven to significantly increase moisture levels in the skin for up to 24 hours with Alpha Hydroxy Therapy.
Replenishing Facial Cream- helps to comfort irritation, smooth the look of fine lines and dry patches, as well as revealing a brighter, more even tone.
Transforming Facial Serum- a deeply nourishing treatment that provides gentle exfoliation and intense hydration for up to 12 hours.
Intensive Hand Therapy – a deep-conditioning formula to cherish dry and sensitive hands.
While these are our hero products, we also recommend using some of our other great products as part of your routine, to support skin changes during menopause:
Resurfacing Facial Cleanser (For dry skin) - perfect for dry skin types that struggle to stay smooth and hydrated, this cleanser works to purify and gently exfoliate your skin to reveal a refreshed, comforted complexion.
Clarifying Facial Cleanser (For oily/blemish-prone skin) - allow this creamy foaming cleanser (that does not strip the skin!) to gently purify your complexion and leave it looking clearer and healthier than ever before.
Transforming Clarity Facial Serum- lightweight, high-performance anti-blemish serum supercharged with our unique blemish-fighting ingredients, it will help to reduce the appearance of pores, discoloration and help to remove excess sebum (oil).
Resurfacing Facial Mask - this dermatologist approved, radiance-reviving and intensive facial mask contains our most powerful resurfacing complex yet, supercharged with the highest level of lactic acid in our facial skincare range to quickly brighten a tired, dull complexion in up to 15 minutes.
Smoothing Body Exfoliant - Powered by bamboo granules and AHAs, this body exfoliator ticks all the boxes when it comes to exfoliating, softening, and smoothing skin by effectively sloughing away dead skin cells with ease.
Discover our full range of Menopausal skin care.
