Menopause is an incredibly complicated process that not only affects the internal body but the skin as well. And since your skin is the window to your body (somehow…), it tends to show some signs of distress pretty quickly. And you will see that a lot of signs actually have the same point of origin.
You will notice a lot of hormone fluctuations during menopause
Estrogen and progesterone provides skin glow, elasticity and hydration, we love them. As the ovarian function declines, the level of these hormones falls, we hate that.
Menopause hormone imbalance causes collagen and elastic fiber degradation that takes its toll on your skin elastosis. A lack of skin moisture and prolonged wound healing can also occur. And all this thanks to UV and the fact that we may forget to protect ourselves with a sunscreen from it from time to time.
Decreased estrogens also cause redistribution of fat deposits, but not a very smart redistribution if you ask us...:
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a.loss of supportive fat below the skin of the face, neck, hands, breast and arms causing
saggy skin.
b.fat concentration over the abdomen and/or on the thighs and buttocks.
The loss of estrogens also tends to affect blood flow, keeping nutrients and oxygen from reaching your skin. With less of what it needs to be at its top, your skin will probably look a little thinner and feel a little drier.
Is that it? Sorry, not quite…
You could also notice brown age spots and hyperpigmentation here and there.
Nutrients and oxygen have a hard time reaching the skin during menopause
In addition to this, the adrenal glands and ovaries of post-menopausal women still secrete androgens. These hormones, in the absence of estrogens, cause some other menopause symptoms such as voice deepening, appearance of facial hair, oily skin and acne. Now wait a minute, we’re not saying “hello, you’ll be a man in a few seconds”. We’re saying hormones are tricky and determine a lot on women but on men too, so they may get confused and grant you a few masculine sides.
Key elements to remember about hormone fluctuations during menopause and skin
The main changes affecting your skin is the lack of estrogen and the difficulty for nutrients and oxygen to reach the skin. Your skin, being an organ, needs all kinds of things to keep working properly. So, pretty much every hormonal change will impact your skin, all of them really…
