Skincare Ingredients Your Skin Will Love During Menopause
Menopause brings with it many physical changes, affecting hormonal balance, metabolism, and disease risk. It also influences skin health and accelerates aging skin. But, instead of thinking of menopause as a setback, consider it an opportunity to adjust your habits so they align with the new needs of your body and skin.
Menopause marks the one-year anniversary of a woman’s last period, but it’s just the beginning of a new way to care for skin health. In today’s article, you’ll discover why menopause skin behaves differently and what skincare ingredients will be the most nourishing during this life phase. We’ll cover:
- Menopause skincare
- Hydration and anti-aging skincare
- Best skincare aging ingredients for collagen
- Aging skincare and antioxidants
-
The Best anti-aging skincare for menopause from NassifMD® facial plastic surgeon skincare
Why Menopausal Skin Needs Different Ingredients
To understand menopause skin changes, you need to understand estrogen. Estrogen isn’t just a reproductive hormone; it affects tissue throughout the body. The skin contains many estrogen receptors, and estrogen binding to these receptors helps to keep the skin healthy, elastic, and plump.
When estrogen declines in menopause, women experience skin changes that may appear like accelerated aging. Low estrogen correlates with:
- Decreased skin moisture and dry skin
- Collagen loss
- Decreased skin firmness and elasticity
- More fine lines and wrinkles
- Impaired skin healing
- Sensitivity and irritation
Skin changes in menopause mean your skin may require different ingredients and formulations in your skincare products than what worked in your 20s or 30s. Menopausal skin has different needs. You can no longer get away with generic skincare; you need active, nourishing ingredients to support hydration, collagen production, and skin barrier integrity. Let’s explore the ingredients to look for and what you’ll find in NassifMD® Skincare.
Best Hydrating Ingredients for Menopause Dryness
If you experience prickly, itchy skin in menopause, it may be due to moisture loss, a damaged skin barrier, and increased dryness. Hyaluronic acid is the ingredient to look for in the best skincare for menopausal skin.
The skin naturally produces hyaluronic acid, but levels decline with age and estrogen decline. It’s a water-binding molecule, so less hyaluronic acid means drier skin. However, topical hyaluronic acid helps pull water into the skin and retain it, improving skin hydration. Hyaluronic acid plumps the skin, smoothing fine lines and wrinkles.
Another related reason for dry, itchy skin during menopause is changes to the skin barrier, the outermost fatty layer of the skin that prevents water loss and provides protection. Ceramides are a primary component of the skin barrier. These waxy molecules decline along with estrogen, weakening the skin barrier.
Topical ceramides help restore the skin’s natural barrier, prevent moisture loss, and reduce skin sensitivity. You’ll find them in the best moisturizers for menopausal skin, as well as serums and other skincare products.
Ingredients that Boost Collagen During Menopause
Collagen is the main structural protein in the skin. It declines with age, accelerated by the hormonal changes of menopause. Less collagen leads to more wrinkles and laxity, so restoring collagen and preventing its loss are primary focuses of anti-aging and menopause skincare. Several ingredients support healthy collagen levels, including retinol, signal peptides, and vitamin C.
Retinol, a form of vitamin A, is a powerful skincare ingredient that reduces fine lines and wrinkles and promotes tissue regeneration. Under the surface, these benefits are possible because retinol stimulates collagen production and protects it from breakdown, even as estrogen declines. When adding retinol to your routine, it’s crucial to moisturize properly and find the best moisturizer for aging skin as your skin adjusts to maintain skin hydration and support the skin barrier.
Top Antioxidants to Protect Aging Skin
Antioxidants are molecules that neutralize unstable molecules (free radicals), so they don’t cause damage to cells. The skin requires antioxidants to protect from sun damage and pollution, which contribute to skin aging. Menopausal skin requires more antioxidants, which is why you’ll find them throughout NassifMD® Skincare formulas. Examples of antioxidants include retinol, vitamin C, and plant extracts.
Not only does vitamin C play a critical role in collagen production, but it also acts as a powerful antioxidant, one that’s concentrated in the skin. Vitamin C and menopause go hand in hand; using it as an active ingredient in your routine helps brighten, firm, and protect the skin.
How to Build a Menopause-Friendly Skincare Routine
A menopause skincare routine follows many of the same guidelines as any other skincare routine: begin with cleansing, toning, and serums, and end with a moisturizer to lock everything in. Serums are an excellent way to deliver concentrated amounts of active ingredients, like vitamin C and retinol. You’ll also find benefits from exfoliating detox pads, weekly targeted treatments, and skin barrier protection.
Let’s walk through our top menopause product recommendations.
NassifMD® Hydro-Screen Serum is a concentrated anti-aging serum and one of our best-selling products. It contains several active ingredients, including hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and retinol, to hydrate, nourish, and firm the skin.
If you love Hydro-Screen, you’ll love the entire Hydro-Screen collection, which includes NassifMD® Hydro-Screen Souffle and NassifMD® Hydro-Screen Lip Plumper.
NassifMD® Skin Barrier Protection Cream is the best moisturizer for menopausal skin. This formula contains unique botanical ingredients in a dense, cushiony cream to hydrate, strengthen, and soothe the skin. Use it as the last step in your skincare routine to lock in all active ingredients and aid absorption.
NassifMD® Detox Facial Pads offer gentle and effective exfoliation to help clear dead skin cells and support cellular turnover. With hydroxy acids, bakuchiol (a retinol-like molecule), and vitamin C, this multi-purpose formula exfoliates, tones, and prepares the skin. Use it after cleansing and before serums. For sensitive skin or new sensitivity with menopause, try NassifMD® Detox Facial Pads – Gentle. See the entire NassifMD® detox pad collection here.
NassifMD® Glycolic Microdermabrasion Skin Perfecting Polish can serve as a substitute for your typical cleanser during menopause. With two exfoliating ingredients, glycolic acid and Ecuadorian ivory palm seeds, and Luremin, a retinol-like molecule, this formula uncovers clear, glowing skin without compromising hydration or stripping the skin barrier. It’s a must for menopausal skin.
When thinking about the best face moisturizer for aging skin and other menopausal skin needs, focus on the active ingredients in each formula to build an effective skincare routine. NassifMD® facial plastic surgeon skincare makes menopausal skincare easy by including active ingredients in award-winning products.
References
- Zouboulis, C. C., Blume-Peytavi, U., Kosmadaki, M., Roó, E., Vexiau-Robert, D., Kerob, D., & Goldstein, S. R. (2022). Skin, hair and beyond: the impact of menopause. Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society, 25(5), 434–442.
- Hall, G., & Phillips, T. J. (2005). Estrogen and skin: the effects of estrogen, menopause, and hormone replacement therapy on the skin. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 53(4), 555–572.
- Juncan, A. M., Moisă, D. G., Santini, A., Morgovan, C., Rus, L. L., Vonica-Țincu, A. L., & Loghin, F. (2021). Advantages of Hyaluronic Acid and Its Combination with Other Bioactive Ingredients in Cosmeceuticals. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 26(15), 4429.
- Coderch, L., López, O., de la Maza, A., & Parra, J. L. (2003). Ceramides and skin function. American journal of clinical dermatology, 4(2), 107–129.
- Zasada, M., & Budzisz, E. (2019). Retinoids: active molecules influencing skin structure formation in cosmetic and dermatological treatments. Postepy dermatologii i alergologii, 36(4), 392–397.
- Pullar, J. M., Carr, A. C., & Vissers, M. C. M. (2017). The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients, 9(8), 866.
