Menopause and Dry Skin: How to Keep Your Glow During Hormonal Changes

Menopause brings many changes, but losing your radiant skin doesn’t have to be one of them.

Can menopause cause dry skin? Yes, in fact, there is a strong link between menopause and skin dryness. Menopause decreases your estrogen levels and, by extension, reduces your skin's ability to produce oil and retain water. It's estrogen that's responsible for collagen stimulation, oil production, and water retention, so any drop in estrogen levels resulting from menopause will cause a drop in all of those aspects of your skin health.

This article will help you learn how to prevent dry skin during menopause and, if you already have it, how to treat menopause dry skin. You will learn how to uncover practical solutions to maintain glowing skin despite hormonal changes.

Why Does Menopause Cause Dry Skin?

Estrogen is responsible for helping your skin cells retain water. When you enter menopause, your body will experience a decrease in estrogen, meaning your skin cells won't be able to maintain as much water as they previously did, resulting in dryness.

Additionally, a drop in estrogen means collagen, an essential protein for elasticity in your skin, decreases, leaving your skin more likely to wrinkle. At the same time, your sebum level decreases, and an oil that helps your skin remain moisturized results in drier skin.

In effect, the link between menopause and skin dryness has to do primarily with decreased estrogen levels that result in reduced elasticity, collagen, and natural oil production.

Preventing Dry Skin During Menopause

Learning how to treat menopause dry skin is essential for those who are feeling the effects of estrogen levels changing. The best options for managing menopause and dry skin include lifestyle adjustments and preemptive skincare practices.

Lifestyle adjustments

What are the best lifestyle adjustments for dry skin in menopause?

• Hydration: As you age, hydration becomes increasingly important in aiding good skin health and appearance. This might, for example, become more than just drinking enough water during the day; it could also be drinking things like green tea for the antioxidants. A diet that is high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids can go a long way toward improving your skin health, especially when you drink plenty of water throughout the day and use things like hydrating moisturizers.
• Stress: Managing stress levels is essential for those who are trying to treat dry skin in menopause, as stress increases the damage the menopause has on the skin. This is mainly due to inflammation from stress hormones and the breakdown of elastin and collagen.
• Showers: Lifestyle adjustments can extend to showers, in particular, avoiding hot showers and reducing your shower temperatures regularly. Hot showers will naturally strip away the oils in your skin. When you limit your hot showers, you can limit this impact. Similarly, you want to avoid using harsh soaps that might exacerbate the stripping of your key oils.
• Diet: Diet plays a significant role in your skin health, and during menopause, it's essential that you include foods like avocados, nuts, and salmon, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids, as well as foods that are high in antioxidants like leafy greens and berries.
• Air: The air quality of your home or your office can also impact the dryness of your skin. If you live in a particularly dry environment, you can use a humidifier to incorporate more moisture into the air, which works more effectively when combined with skincare products that contain things like glycerin, known for pulling moisture out of the air and into your skin.

Beyond lifestyle adjustments, you can make the most out of your skin health by using preemptive skin care practices having to do with the products you use.

Preemptive skin care practices

As you age, you will need to learn more about how to prevent dry skin during menopause by changing the products or skincare routine you use.

• Mild Cleansers: During menopause, you will need to switch to mild cleansers because your skin will be prone to irritation and sensitivity as a result of the estrogen changes. As your collagen production goes down, your skin will be more delicate, which will make it more sensitive.
• Avoid Harsh Exfoliants: You will also need to adjust your routine to avoid harsh exfoliants. Aggressive exfoliation can interfere with the skin barrier during menopause, causing additional irritation and dryness.
• Fragrance Free: Menopause can make skin more sensitive to harsh chemicals and fragrances so look for cleansers and other products that are calmer.
• Special Ingredients: With menopause and dry skin on the face, you need to start incorporating special ingredients like hyaluronic acid. This is an active ingredient in many calming cleansers and serums, which help attract moisture to the skin and keep it hydrated. Ceramides are lipids that can boost the skin barrier when it is diminished due to low estrogen levels, and glycerin can reduce dryness by also drawing moisture from the inner layers of skin or the air around you. This reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while also boosting skin texture.

When you use mild cleansers and avoid harsh exfoliants, and opt for products with hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and glycerin, you can help combat the key issues your skin faces during menopause.

How to Treat Dry Skin During Menopause

As you switch to gentler, more supportive skin care products, you will need to slightly modify your skincare routine to ensure your dry skin is protected during menopause.

1. Cleanse: Use gentle, hydrating cleansers. This should be a twice-daily part of your routine during menopause.
2. Moisturize: When you need to moisturize, look for products with occlusive ingredients (e.g., shea butter) to lock in moisture, as well as those listed above, like hyaluronic acid.
3. Treat: Incorporate anti-aging serums with peptides or niacinamide to combat collagen loss as a way to more deeply treat dry skin during menopause.
4. Protect: Don't forget to take proactive protective measures. This includes things like wearing sunscreen daily to prevent further damage.

With these steps, you can not only switch to more supportive products but also ensure you have a viable routine to support your skin health during menopause.

Menopause and Dry Skin

With many over-the-counter products, you can learn how to prevent dry skin during menopause. However, if you are struggling with severe dryness or symptoms that your over-the-counter treatment can't address, don't hesitate to seek professional advice regarding other changes you might make during menopause.

Remember that though there is a strong correlation between menopause and skin dryness, glowing skin is achievable with the right strategies. Start small. Make consistent changes, and be sure to prioritize your self-care.

Dermoi is a cutting-edge skincare store specializing in scientifically-verified products. Our in-house scientific experts meticulously evaluate each product to ensure it meets our stringent standards of efficacy. At Dermoi, every product you purchase is thoroughly researched and hand-selected for its ability to deliver remarkable results for your skin.

If you have questions about your skin or need advice on skincare products, our team of scientists is available to assist. Contact us via email at [email protected] or call (0)20 3963 9930 between 11am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.