Menopause may be a normal stage of life, but nobody said it was fun. There are sudden and steep drops in hormones, notably estrogen and progesterone. These sex hormones play several critical roles in our bodies, including a pretty big one in our skin. See, when people hit menopause, they experience a 30% drop in collagen1. That’s in comparison to the steady 1% per-year decline in collagen we see typically. 

“Estrogen2 is key for the normal functioning of the skin as well as the blood vessels, hair follicles, oil glands, and our pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. It is associated with collagen production, increased skin thickness, increased hyaluronic acid production, improved skin barrier function, maintaining skin hydration, reduced sebaceous (oil) gland activity, and improved healing. It also plays a role in modulating inflammation3,” board-certified dermatologist Keira Barr, M.D., previously told us about menopause’s effect on the skin. “The bottom line is that there are changes in skin tone, texture, and pigmentation showing up as a dull complexion, skin sagging, wrinkles, thinning hair, and more prominent ‘age spots.'”