What disappoints me about our ‘western’ culture is that women are not celebrated nearly enough. From a young age, we as women are taught that any body changes are something to be kept secret, not talked about – especially in front of boys and men. Like getting our first period, a first bra, or the first time we have sex even. We celebrate pregnancy and birth – but even then, it’s all about the baby, not the miraculous marvel at what we as women can do to bring life into this world. And then comes menopause. The later time in life when we possess so much wisdom, and become so sure of who we are.
Menopause can represent the transformation from the old self to the most powerful versions of ourselves ever.
We have so much to offer, and yet we are so often just cast aside as ‘old and irrelevant’. This is when I envy traditions like those of the First Nations people, who honour and respect the elders of their community, who play a vital role in the handing down of knowledge and traditions to the next generation. Many tribes and cultures across the world honour women after menopause and hold them up as highly respected spiritual leaders with power and status. These women are looked to as repositories of information and wisdom.
It comes as no surprise that women from some of these cultures look forward to menopause and embrace it wholeheartedly. If my ‘tribe’ were to look at me as the ‘Queen of Wisdom’ instead of the ‘Woman who brings food and clean clothes’, then perhaps I would be feeling a little better about my current menopause skin and body situation! In our Australian culture, there is something about Menopause that makes a woman feel old. Maybe not all women, but for me, it certainly does.
Perimenopausal
I am in the perimenopausal stage, and to say it has been horrible is a vast understatement. When I went to the specialist to confirm my menopause suspicions and he told me that I no longer ovulate, I felt this overwhelming sense of the word ‘old’. It was just so finite. I know I am not old, I’m only 43, but it is quite early for a woman to start menopause. Although I have heard of many that have started earlier. It is not that I care that I no longer ovulate, I have had all the children that I want. From a human species purpose though, I literally have no need to be on this earth any longer. I have added to the human race and raised my young. Lucky for me it is not the stone age, or I might be eaten by my tribe. I don’t think that is what they did, but you get my point. It is not just the fact that I have moved into this new ‘stage’ of my life, it is all the symptoms that keep on reminding me, and they all came on so bloody fast.
Symptoms of Menopause Skin & Body – it’s a whole package!!!
While I will get to the point about how menopause affects our skin, there are so many other things that I need to vent about, so thanks for listening, because my husband certainly does not get it!
Creaking joints
Creaking when I get out of bed, creaking when I get off the couch, creaking when I walk. Everything is creaking and I feel like I need a good spray of WD-40 – especially in the knees. And my spine. That creaks too. It feels as though overnight the sprightly spring in my step has disappeared and has been replaced by the same movements my dad makes (along with the ‘arghhh mi back’) yelps too. Not just creaking, but my whole body feels constantly stiff, like I’ve spent the day bent over lifting boulders. The reason for the creaks and overall body stiffness is caused by the loss of estrogen, which protects joints and reduces inflammation. No wonder so many women get osteoarthritis as they age!
Weight gain
Quite possibly one of the worst side effects I have experienced is weight gain, and in areas that I have not put weight on before, like the top of my tummy, under my boobs. And my upper arms and even the back of my neck. No matter what I do diet and exercise wise, this weight will not shift and actually, it just keeps piling on. The specialist I went to did blood work on me at different times of the month. This confirmed for me that I had thyroid issues, along with low cortisol (the stress hormone), low progesterone and low testosterone. The combination was making me insulin resistant, meaning that I could not burn any fat, along with having a very slow metabolism. Generally speaking, hormonal changes during menopause will cause weight gain, especially around the midsection and so it is a really good idea to seek advice from a specialist who can talk you through your options.
Sleep & Tiredness
These are not things that you initially think of in relation to menopause, but I have been so tired that I feel like I have not had a wink of sleep. Even after a good 8 hours, I wake up feeling tired. My tiredness is due to low cortisol, and one thing that the specialist did say to me was that vitamin C is great for helping with that. Other reasons menopause brings about tiredness is of course due to the decreases in hormone levels, which all work together to regulate cellular energy. Other friends I have spoken to have talked about restlessness and not being able to get to sleep, along with frequently waking due to night sweats.
Irritability & Mood Swings
When everyone and everything annoys you and one minute you’re happy as Larry, and the next you’re in tears.
Hot Flushes in Menopause
In America, they say ‘Hot Flashes’ and I feel that is more accurate, because it is like a flash of lightning. If you have not experienced a hot flush before, but you know someone who does, perhaps your mum or your partner, then please, when they tell you they are about to have a hot flush or they are in the midst of having one, leave them alone!!! Do not attempt to speak to them, do not attempt to help, just get out of the way and let them be.
I wish I knew the gravity of a hot flush when my mum was experiencing menopause, because I would have been more sympathetic, but in all honesty, I thought she was being dramatic. Boy was I wrong.
If you live in a hot and humid climate like I do, a hot flush can be a debilitating moment. It feels like you have been possessed by the fiery devil from hell and he is trying to climb out of you. If you have watched ‘Stranger Things’ and the scene where they flush the creature out of the boy, that is how I feel when I am having a hot flush. Good times.
What if you are at work, in the middle of giving a speech, or you’re a surgeon half way through an operation and you have a hot flush? What if you are on a date? All these things that we women have to deal with and pretend like it’s not happening, when really, we just want to strip off all our clothes and jump into an ice cold bath. Life can be unfair at the best of times, but hot flushes are just pure evil. Once again, they are caused by hormone levels changing that are not able to regulate our temperature control. They can be made worse by hot drinks (which is horrible that I have had to give up my love of tea) or spicy foods.
Night Sweats
Bad ones too. The ones where you wake up and have to change your t-shirt – several times a night, plus sleep on a towel. Once again, hormones are the culprit. I haven’t had many of these, but sporadically they come as an evil reminder that I am now old.
Menopause Skin Changes
Here is the whole reason for my article. So many things have changed in my skin since the onset of menopause, and the most noticeable is acne. I have fairly constant acne now, but only in the one spot, either side of my chin. This is a very common area to get ‘hormonal’ breakouts and I pretty much always have lumps there now. Not full pustules, but hard cystic lumps under the skin. I am not happy about this at all, but once again, the hormonal changes means that they may be there on and off for a while. The next skin issue I am suffering is loss of elasticity. Gravity has taken hold and is sending my skin south for the foreseeable future. I have noticed that my jawline is not as sharp, and I have spotted a turkey creeping into my neck area. My brows are not as arched and my eyelids are saggy.
Why? Hormones!!! Bloody hormones!!
Estrogen depletion means loss of collagen, hydration and volume in my face. The decline of estrogen compromises the skin’s collagen and elastin. These are the natural proteins that give skin its smoothness, plumpness, and tautness. I read a study that showed women can lose up to 30 percent of their skin’s healthy collagen within the first five years of menopause. 30 percent!!! Well that is just not fair! Loss of volume in my cheeks have decreased too. Once again, estrogen assists the supportive fat that sits under our skin that ‘props’ us up and gives our faces shape. When estrogen drops off, we lose a lot of this fat.
This same fat also sits on the tops of our hands. Have a look at your mums or grandma’s hands next time you see her and you’ll notice how veiny and bony they look. This is why. My hands are still looking good, but I did just see a YouTube video on someone having dermal fillers placed in the backs of their hands for this reason, and it worked very well. Something I’ll remember for the future…
You may also notice things like thinning skin, skin tags, red dots that appear out of nowhere, millia, pigmentation and excess oil. These are all signs of, you guessed it, hormonal changes, which create imbalances. For example, when our female hormones estrogen and progesterone deplete, we can become heavy in the male hormone testosterone, which can be responsible for acne and oily skin.
How to help your Menopause Skin
Prevention of Menopause Skin Issues
We cannot prevent menopause, but we can prevent some loss of collagen and elastin with collagen supplements. Osmosis Collagen Activator has been proven to stimulate the body’s natural collagen forming abilities. It is such a good idea to work from within as well as topically for optimal results and an even better idea is to start before the onset of menopause.
I have started taking these supplements consistently and also like the added benefit of a little extra and much needed energy that they give me. Osmosis Recovery Elixir is another supplement that is great for prevention as well as a remedy. This liquid is taken daily and contains nutrients that help to restore the fat cells to our face, meaning that you can keep some of that natural volume! Osmosis Hormone Relief Elixir is helpful for hot flushes and regulating hormonal balance. I have noticed a significant reduction in my hot flushes since taking this. You can check out the complete Osmosis Wellness range for more of their magic potions that could assist in helping some of your symptoms. I really like the Joint Elixir and Ageless Vitality Elixir too.
Menopause Skin Care
During menopause, you might find that products that had worked for you in the past are no longer giving you the results that you need. As our hormones change and our skin changes, we need to look at different products that work in different ways. This way menopause skin issues can be kept at bay. For example, I have never used an acne product before, but I am now using some from the Societe range. I have also swapped cleansers to combat my excess oil and added in an AHA cleanser that I use a few times a week.
I am doubling up on peptides and other collagen activating serums too (my favourite being Société Intense Firming Complex), and have added in hyaluronic acid, which is another serum you can use as a preventative measure against volume loss. If you are developing skin tags or broken capillaries, then you should try Osmosis Catalyst AC-11 which is an amazing serum that can combat these issues along with being a potent antioxidant. If you have thinning or badly damaged skin, then products containing stem cells are the way to go. There are many products that can target changing menopause skin conditions so that we don’t have to put up with disappointing skin.
Diet During Menopause
Of course our diet can help to regulate our hormones, and it is a great idea to discuss this further with a specialist. From what I know about hormonal skin changes though, the best thing we can do is to keep a low inflammatory diet. This just means cutting out, or keeping to a minimum, sugars and processed foods and carbohydrates. Having a happy and healthy gut is so important. So, adding in things like natural yogurts, kombucha and other forms of probiotics is a great idea. And of course, lots of leafy greens, plant based proteins and foods rich in vitamin C, but not too much tropical fruit as it is higher in sugars.
I have been reading so much about menopause lately. Something that interests me greatly is the effect of menopause through different cultures and geographical divides. One thing I have found is that women from certain parts of the world who eat a herb/plant based diet report little to no menopausal symptoms at all. It is believed that this can have something to do with the natural phytoestrogens some plants, such as tofu and beans, possess. Phytoestrogens are foods that naturally boost Estrogen and are found in many Asian and South American dishes.
Something to think about…
If you are currently going through the turbulence of menopause, I feel you. I hope that you have someone you can talk to about the shittiness of it all, and I hope that you have access to specialist help if you need it. But above all, I hope that you read this article and decide what I have just decided for myself. I have now decided to adopt the same beliefs on menopause as those in the cultures I spoke about; so I say, ‘I am not old. I am not irrelevant. I am entering into the most powerful and vital phase of my life.’
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