Discover effective strategies to manage skin issues during menopause. Learn about shared concerns, skincare tips, and lifestyle changes for healthier, radiant skin.
When hormone levels drop sharply due to menopause, it can lead to some issues in the skin that can become dry, flabby and thin.
Throughout life, women often suffer from various skin problems. Nevertheless, they do not end with the arrival of menopause. During the first menstrual cycle and early adolescence, most young women have pimples and acne due to hormonal changes.
However, with the interruption of menstruation, some hormones are no longer produced, among them estrogen and progesterone.
Do you want to know what skin problems this decrease is capable of causing? Then, read this post to the end. Here, you will discover the most common types and ways to avoid their incidence. Check out!
Why menopause can cause skin problems
Menopause occurs when a woman stops menstruating and does not ovulate. The ovaries stop producing female hormones, affecting all body parts, even the skin.
In women, estrogen regulates the production of collagen and elastin, which are responsible for the elasticity and tone of the skin. For this reason, among the possible consequences of hormonal imbalances, collagen decreases, causing skin changes.
Its occurrence usually begins during the previous phase, called perimenopause, in which some changes can already be noticed, typically worsening in the next stage of life.
Some skin problems you may have during menopause
Dry skin
In perimenopause and menopause, the regeneration capacity of the skin decreases due to the callus of estrogens. Therefore, since the skin cells do not regenerate quickly, the result is dry skin with micro-cracks and wrinkles.
Thin skin
One of the causes is the decrease in estrogen and progesterone, causing the same to happen to the elastin and collagen fibres. In general, the decrease in collagen levels occurs in about 2% per year. This decrease is much more rapid during the menopausal and early postmenopausal years, reaching a 30% decline in the first five years. Still, this process can become faster, depending on the woman’s life habits.
Consequently, the skin loses elasticity and tone, it is drier and thinner, the wrinkles are more profound, and your wounds heal more slowly.
Saggy Skin
During menopause, the skin’s ability to regenerate decreases due to estrogen callus. Estrogen helps to distribute fat in the right places on the body in the same amount. The face is one of the most affected areas of the body. There is a fat reduction, which makes the face shift downward, losing the aspect of youthfulness.
Other common areas where the skin is saggy include eyelids, jaws, chin, throat, upper arms, and stomach.
Rosacea
Rosacea is a pervasive chronic inflammatory disorder that mainly involves the skin of the face, occasionally the body, and the eye area. “Women with rosacea typically experience acne-like pustules, dilated blood vessels, and itchy rims around the eyes; rosacea can also cause a condition in men called rhinophyma, in which the skin on the nose thickens and becomes swollen and distorted”.
The specific cause is not known. The first manifestations can arise after age thirty and increase the frequency during menopause.
Rosacea acne is difficult to cure; there are treatments to minimize the problem, such as administering antibiotics, laser therapies, or pulsed light.
Oily Skin
The main female hormones decrease in menopause, and androgens increase because progesterone and estrogen deficiency can no longer control them properly.
The main consequences in the face region are an increase in oiliness, a great propensity to acne episodes, and the appearance of thicker hair on the chin or sides of the face.
In addition, during menopause, 50% of women suffer from hypothyroidism, which also contributes to excessive sebum production. The skin is thick and oily, or vitiligo, acne, and colour might be grey or yellow.
What else can aggravate skin problems in menopause
- Exposure to levels of pollution.
- Consumption of alcoholic beverages or tobacco.
- Lousy eating habits.
- Excessive sun exposure.
- Incidence of infections.
- Unregulated metabolism.
- Unregulated hormone levels
- Genetic inheritance.
How to deal with the menopause skin issues
Some straightforward procedures can reduce several problems like the ones mentioned.
Keeping your skin always protected and hydrated is one of the main steps for the health of the largest organ in our body.
Remember that the sun’s radiation is one of the biggest villains of skin ageing. Then, use sunscreen with the correct sun protection factor for your skin type. But it must be reapplied throughout the day to make it more efficient. Protect your skin during the summer; don’t miss this article.
Furthermore, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential to reduce the chances of these problems occurring. Try to incorporate the following items, factors or activities into your routine:
- Practice regular and quality physical activities.
- Do not smoke.
- Assemble a menu with several lean proteins, fibres and omega-3.
- Avoid eating refined sugars.
The indications above can promote a renewed skin tone and avoid excessive loss of collagen.
As for dryness, the best advice is not to bathe in hot water and apply body moisturizer frequently.
In addition to hydration, using body creams helps create a barrier that slows down the natural loss of water in the tissues, thus improving hydration and keeping the skin supple.
To protect your face, you can also bet on creams with good nutrition and that provide anti-ageing treatment.
What about aesthetic procedures?
Several cosmetic procedures are done with great frequency that can contribute a lot to skin renewal during the menopause period.
However, the best results are those in which this alternative is combined with those mentioned in the previous topic.
Some of the most common procedures for decreasing the impact of menopause on female skin are:
- Fillings made with hyaluronic acid.
- CO2 laser.
- Treatment is based on pulsed light.
- Application of botox.
- Radiofrequency or micro-focused ultrasound.
However, even if these procedures have good results, it is necessary to look for specialists.
In addition, trained professionals will indicate the most appropriate treatments according to your needs, problems and skin type.
So, look for references, do research and only carry out the treatment when you are sure of the professional’s qualifications, materials used and results presented with quality. Remember that some procedures may take some time to lose their effect. So don’t do it if you are in doubt.
Throughout this text, you have learned the main skin issues in menopause and what steps you should take to avoid them.
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References
Harvard Medical School, “Why your face ages and what you can do”, Updated: February 12, 2021
Published: September 2010, available at https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-your-face-ages-and-what-you-can-do (accessed March 03 2021).
Harvard Medical School, “Rosacea can flare at menopause”, Published: August 2020, available at https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/rosacea-can-flare-at-menopause (accessed March 03 2021).
British Thyroid Foundation “Thyroid and menopause” available at https://www.btf-thyroid.org/thyroid-and-menopauseb(accessed (accessed April 20 2020).