Does menopause and hormone changes affect our skin?

Does menopause and hormone changes affect our skin?

In my experience, yes it can. During my peri-menopause years, in my mid-late 40’s, I developed acne rosacea, although I didn’t realise Peri-Menopause may be responsible for my skin condition at the time. Some women suffer other skin conditions during menopause and we’re all affected by dryer skin and reduced collagen production resulting in loss of elasticity and firmness. It’s important to nourish our skin with good skincare and diet. It’s worth mentioning that menopause and hormone changes also affect our histamine levels, so it’s possible to develop new allergies, which can cause skin reaction and sensitivity. If you think this relates to you, then a low histamine diet will benefit you. I suffered other unpleasant symptoms, beside skin issues, although it was never suggested by my GP that all this could be linked to peri-menopause. At the time, I thought I was falling to bits, but that’s another story!

How oestrogen affects our skin

My periods had become irregular and tended to be heavy and painful and I suffered with pre-menstrual tension. I began to link my hormone changes with my physical changes, and through research I discovered this indicated I was oestrogen dominant at the time. There’s some useful advice online and peri-menopause/menopause is now talked about more openly, with the help of celebrities that have cast a spotlight on the subject. Lots of clinics and support websites have opened up, but 9 years ago when I was affected by these changes, I felt it was down to me to help myself. I found some good information in books, such as Lara Briden’s hormone books and Dale Pinnock’s medicinal chef books which I still recommend to people or to at least check out their websites.

Implementing change

At the time I changed my diet to incorporate more brightly coloured fruit and vegetables, took supplements of Magnesium, Vitamin D and Vitamin B complex, plus a good pro-biotic. All this helped. I found that a bio-identical progesterone supplement helped to balance my hormones and see me through to Post Menopause (which is when you haven’t had a period for over 12 months). I also helped my skin by starting to make my own skincare products. After much practice and learning, I developed my range Just The Tonic which suits sensitive, mature skin, although can be used by anyone with or without skin issues. The skincare definitely helped, especially our Little Pot of Gold moisturiser, which hydrated and calmed my skin and topically gave it the nutrients it needed to fight the imbalances it suffered from. One of the key ingredients is Sea Buckthorn extract which is super healing.

Other factors affecting our skin

Our skin can be affected by any hormonal changes, not just menopause, but puberty, pregnancy, thyroid, stress and medication. All these situations affect our hormones, which in turn can affect our skin. I’m no expert, this is just my own experience and I hope writing this helps someone that can relate to the issues I had. It’s important to speak to your GP or get professional help from someone qualified. These days my skin is much better although it’s still sensitive and could flare up if I don’t take care and let my skincare regime slip.