The appearance and the texture of your skin will change as you age—but menopause can definitely speed up the development of fine lines and wrinkles. Aside from experiencing hot flushes and sleep disturbances, Dr. Shoshana Marmon states that changes in the skin may also occur as you lose about 30% of its collagen during the first five years of menopause. The decline of collagen is pretty crucial, since this can cause the loss of firmness in your skin and lead to the development of wrinkles and fine lines.
This may be alarming, but the good news is that you can manage these changes by learning about your skin and its needs.
Menopause is a stage that marks the end of one’s menstrual cycles. Due to this big biological shift, numerous body changes would occur to adjust to the end of your menstruation.
A SymptomFind piece on menopause explains that it changes one’s hormonal levels, triggering numerous symptoms like dry skin. The hormones estrogen and progesterone are responsible for your menstruation as well as your ovulation but their decline can also affect different parts of your body, such as your muscles, bones, and your skin. Since hormones influence various biological functions, it’s no surprise that estrogen and progesterone can impact the production of sebum, collagen, and elastin within your skin.
In fact, a study entitled ‘Menopause and the Skin’ emphasizes that low levels of estrogen can actually lead to wrinkles, poor barrier function, and the thinning of skin. Since estrogen induces the production of skin proteins collagen and elastin, this hormone plays an important role in keeping your skin strong and supple. On the other hand, hormone progesterone influences the production of oil in your skin, which is why its decline can lead to dry skin.
Many people think that sunscreen is not necessary, unless you’re fully exposed to the sun on a hot summer day. However, L’Officiel emphasizes that the sun is one of the major causes of skin aging, so you have to slather on sunscreen every morning. It’s also time to sacrifice sun-tanning for spray tans, if you want healthy and youthful skin.
The menopausal stage can cause a lot of physical and emotional changes, which is why it's crucial to understand what's happening to your body. By understanding what your body needs at this stage, you can build a skincare routine that is guaranteed to keep your skin healthy and flawless.
