Skincare Ingredients Every Menopausal Woman Needs

The menopause journey can be described as reverse puberty. Along with insomnia and hot flashes comes a dramatic change in skin for almost all women.

External Aging

The beauty universe offers hundreds of products and dozens of regimens, but the vast majority of anti-aging products are designed to address what is known as external aging. This is the aging that starts the day you’re born and encompasses UV radiation, exposure to pollution and oxidative stress (the cellular process of aging).

Internal Aging

A decline in estrogen (and progesterone), beginning at age 30 for all genders, is an entirely separate cause of skin aging. Some doctors refer to hormone decline as internal aging. Women’s hormone production slows in their late 30s and early 40s at a rate double to that of men of the same age.

The production of hair and skin cells—including collagen, elastin, keratin or hyaluronic acid and their various supporting cells—is driven by estrogen. Less estrogen means slower production of skin and hair cells. As a result, dry patches, larger pores, undereye circles, crow’s feet and other lines begin to appear. Still, when we laugh and make faces, skin is mostly able to ‘bounce’ back into place.

The immediate three-year period right after the menopause milestone (an average of age 51) is a time of much more dramatic change. With the loss of estrogen, women lose about 30% of their cell production. This results in loss of skin volume, firmness, hydration, and elasticity. Fewer cells and less turnover mean those expression lines that used to bounce right back become ‘etched’ and wrinkles are born.

Best Skincare Ingredients For Menopausal Skin

Women frequently ask us at Caire Beauty what ingredients to look for in skincare. For internal aging, we encourage specialized approaches that focus on the health and hydration of the skin’s dermis (deep skin layer).

Your skincare should replace and reactivate skin to generate more collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. Directly infusing or stimulating the skin’s production of hyaluronic acid (like Caire’s 15 minute Triple Lift Molecule Mask) hydrates and builds stronger, more supple skin from within to yield smoother, more supple skin on the outside.

Addressing internal aging goes hand in hand with defending skin from external aggressors. A huge amount of DNA damage is caused over time from harmful UV rays, which makes suncare a must. Choose a quality mineral suncare, wear hats and stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm.

As your skin changes on your menopause journey, look for the following ingredients in your skincare choices:

Peptides

Peptides are powerful amino acid chains. A signaling peptide is designed to replace the action of estrogen and trigger your skin to create more collagen or hyaluronic acid. More new cells equals smoother, more supple skin. Because peptides are difficult to move past the skin barrier, choose a formulation that is designed to be bioavailable (able to be used effectively by the body).

Great product choices include:

• Caire’s Theorem Serum
• Tata Harper’s Crème Riche Peptide Night Cream
• SkinMedica’s TNS Advanced Serum

Fruit Enzymes

As you age, reduced cell production leads to thinner skin layers. While exfoliation to increase cellular turnover is good, it’s important to do it gently. Fruit enzymes, like those found in papaya or pineapple, are wonderful in cleansers, toners, masks as a way to gently remove old skin cells, encourage cellular turnover and reveal fresh radiance.

Great product choices include:

• Humanrace Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator, which includes 2% fruit AHAs and papaya, pineapple, and pomegranate fruit enzymes

Low Weight Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is not actually an acid—it’s an anti-inflammatory miracle ‘goo’ molecule that holds 1000x its weight in water. Imagine HA as the mortar between the collagen and elastin bricks of skin.

However, not all HA is equal. HA in skincare is typically made of long-chain (also known as ‘high weight’) molecules. Higher-weight HA stays on the surface of your face where it provides excellent hydration. In your 30s, this is sufficient.

After your 40s, look for low-weight molecules that are tiny enough to move down into the dermis where they can hydrate skin from within. As it does this, it is also provides critical support to collagen and elastin fibrils.

Great product choices include:

• Caire’s ECM – extracellular matrix. Caire Skincare all feature a full spectrum of HA weights including the tiniest HA on the market
• Dr. Sturm’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Vitamin A, C, E Antioxidants + Anti Free Radical Technology

Oxidation is what makes an apple slice turn brown. In skin, oxidation breaks down collagen and disrupts normal cellular repair. It’s caused by free radicals—unstable molecules with “uncoupled” electrons.

Free radicals are produced internally, but they’re also caused by smoking, pollution and stress. Electrons need to live in “couples,” so free radicals steal another molecule’s electrons and in turn destabilize them, causing a domino effect of damage. Antioxidants help by offering up extra electrons to the free radicals to stop the domino effect.

When shopping for skincare, choose relatively high concentrations (for example, at least 15% for Vitamin C). Continue boosting your antioxidants through a diet rich in berries and citrus.

Great product choices include:

• Revive Repairing Night Cream which uses Vitamin E, Niacinamide (a form of B3), and Green Tea antioxidants
• Age-Disrupting Skin Cream from i-On Skincare which aims to stop free radical formation in the first place by removing the excess iron in the skin

Algae

Algaes are stable antioxidants rich in vitamins, minerals, lipids and proteins. They are particularly good for mature skin because they provide anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and hydration properties in one. There are thousands of marine algae, kelp and seaweed species, but the key is to choose formulations that use a sufficient amount of algae active in conjunction with other active ingredients.

Great product choices include:

• Grown Alchemist’s Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser
• Osea Undaria Algae Oil
• Ren Microalgae Anti-Fatigue Body Oils

Ultimately, most women need a shift in skincare as they move through midlife and past menopause. Start with these key ingredients to effectively help aging skin look its best. Don’t forget that a healthy lifestyle and sun protection is as critical as the products you purchase. The best skincare in the world won’t help much if you’re not paying attention to your nutrition, sleep, stress and the other lifestyle elements that help us age well.

We curate products to keep you abreast of new technologies, emerging science, and things we think are interesting or cool. Lisa Health is a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Program, a program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com. If you purchase a product from Amazon or another affiliate program we participate in, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases that help us provide information and services to our users. We have not always tested these products and can’t validate their claims. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.