Going through menopause means dealing with a whole slew of bodily changes (thanks, hormones!) and symptoms that can affect just about every aspect of your life — even your beauty routine. From hot flashes and increased dryness to skin sensitivity, menopause can bring about plenty of side effects that your normal beauty arsenal isn’t equipped to handle. But take heed! Help does exist, and the beauty products for menopause below are proof.
Physical Changes During Menopause
One of the biggest changes you’re likely to experience during menopause is to the texture of your skin. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, there are multiple issues that can arise with our epidermis as our estrogen levels begin to plummet due to “the change.”
For starters, skin can lose its ability to retain moisture, so you might notice severe dryness or dullness. This is due to a loss of collagen — the protein that gives your skin that plump, glowy look we all strive for. Your skin might also appear less firm, meaning wrinkles and fine lines can begin to really show themselves.
Any signs of prior sun damage will also creep in, so you’ll still want to be extra vigilant with your daily sunscreen use.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, your skin can also become thinner and more sensitive with menopause, which means signs of rosacea, bruising, rashes, and even pimples might suddenly appear on your once-clear complexion. Ay yi yi!
The Best Beauty Products for Menopause
With so much to worry about with regard to menopause inwardly, the last thing you want to do is stress about what’s going on externally. Take take of all of your skin care woes — plus thinning eyebrow hair, hot flashes, and more — with our top picks for products that are practically made for those of us undergoing of one life’s most major changes. Keep reading for Woman’s World’s picks for the best beauty products for menopause so you can continue to look — and feel! — your best.
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Hot flashes are among the most common — and most uncomfortable — parts of menopause. Pause Well-Aging’s hot flash cooling mist is a refreshing spray that will instantly cool you down while also reducing redness, supporting collagen production to make skin firmer and more lifted, and minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Excuse us while we add this to our carts...
After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, E! host Giuliana Rancic couldn’t find a line of beauty and skincare products without a ton of icky chemicals — so she created one. Her Fountain of Truth Honey Glow Mask is everything you'll need to take back the youthful appearance your menopausal body has stripped of, as it improves brightness and hydrates skin for a covet-worthy glow. Its secret weapon lies it its intensely moisturizing trio of nutrient-rich certified organic honey, restorative propolis extract, and amino acid-rich royal jelly extract — two beehive byproducts that keep skin buzzing and beautiful. This mask warms on contact and leaves skin feeling supple and soft, making it the perfect pick for a self-care Sunday.
Plenty of lip colors can feel drying, which is the very last thing you want for the parched pucker you've likely been saddled with due to menopause. Physicians Formula's Healthy Lip Velvet lipsticks are enriched with avocado oil and vitamins A and E, so they’re ultra-hydrating, leaving lips satiny smooth and soft. They also last for hours, so any of the 13 gorgeous shades you choose will stay put right where you want them.
Take care of those menopause-induced fine lines and wrinkles while you doze off to dreamland thanks to Olay Regenerist’s Retinol 24 night facial serum. This salve features a blend of Vitamin B3 and retinol complex that work all night long to promote smoothness, brightness, firming, dark spot correction, and pore minimization. As an added bonus, its fragrance and dye-free formula leaves little room for irritation.
When you’re ready to rest your weary head, you need a makeup remover to cleanse your skin of product buildup and environmental pollutants. What you don't need is anything that will irritate or aggravate your newly problematic skin. Eminence’s Rice Milk 3-in-1 cleansing water is a gentle cleanser that hydrates, moisturizes, tones, and softens while effectively removing all traces of makeup. It's also jam-packed with antioxidants and vitamins derived from fresh pomelo juice to leave your tired visage looking as fresh as ever.
Vanicream’s SPF 30 Lip Protectant is dermatologist-recommended for a reason: It’s free of dyes, flavoring, fragrance, lanolin (that's wax from wool-bearing animals), parabens, formaldehyde, gluten, and other preservatives, plus it will keep you lips safe from the sun’s harmful rays. Though its formula was designed to help prevent moisture loss due to extreme weather conditions such as wind, cold, and low humidity, it works just as well on dry lips due to medications or menopause.
There’s no shortage of mascaras for women over 50 out there that are quick-drying to avoid smudges on aging and sometimes-droopy eyelids, but our favorite has to be Surratt Beauty’s Relevée Mascara. Its humidity-proof Japanese tubing formula extends lashes and coats them with microfibers that wrap tightly around each one to keep mascara from running.
Finding an eyeliner that doesn't irritate the extra-sensitive skin around your peepers that can come with menopause can be a challenge, but we think we've hit the jackpot with La Roche-Posay’s Respectissime liquid liner. The cult-favorite French brand is best-known for its skincare products, but this eyeliner, which was designed with sensitive eyes in mind, is nothing to sniff at.
A recent Amazon reviewer raved about this liquid formula, writing, “I have never used liquid eyeliner before and now I won't use anything else! I'm almost 60 and my eyelids are a bit crepey, so the pencils don't fill in very well. La Roche's eyeliner is surprisingly easy to use and gives me a nice dense line along my lashes. I had to practice a bit, but the pen makes it pretty easy. I love the look!”
Sensitive, drooping lids often seen in women of a certain age don't mix well with hard, flaky shadows. Instead, select a cream shadow, which will feel silky soft on your lids. Charlotte Tilbury's cream shadows come in six stunning shades, including rose gold, chocolate bronze, and antique-gold, so you'll not only be comfortable during wear, your peepers will be extra-pretty. These also have a cooling effect as they glide on, preserving your delicate eye area and offering up a brief reprieve from any sudden spikes in temperature. Better yet, they're infused with vitamin E to hydrate and protect lids, while soft-focus illuminating pigments smooth over lines and imperfections for a flawless finish.
Many notice thinning hair during menopause, and it’s not just limited to the strands on our heads. If your eyebrows are looking a little sparse, we've got good news: There's help available, thanks to reviewer-beloved Milk Kush Fiber brow gel, which comes in nine shades. It’s cruelty, paraben-free, gluten, fragrance-sulfate, phthalate- (a plasticizer), and silicone-free, making for a vegan formula that's packed with nourishing hemp-derived cannabis seed oil over beeswax, which is commonly used in brow products.
Sephora reviewer aleo21, who is over the age of 54, wrote, “Having strawberry blonde hair it is hard to find a color that matches. I used it as a filler and the match was perfect. It gave my brows more definition. ... I will definitely purchase this when it's all gone."
Getting a lit-from-within glow becomes extra important as changing hormone levels leave skin looking sallow and dull. We love L’Oréal Paris’ Age Perfect Radiant Satin blush, which comes in six shades that are super flattering to a wide range of skin tones. Each one is also made with camellia oil for a rich, creamy finish.
When you need a little help hiding lines, dark spots, dark circles, and puffiness, look no further than Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind Eraser concealer. The beloved drugstore brand boasts a 18-shade range of its powerhouse formula, which features haloxyl (a blend of potent ingredients) and antioxidant-filled goji berry to neutralize dark spots and blemishes without feeling cakey, drying skin out, or settling into lines and wrinkles. And, ringing it at just over the the price of your daily java, it really can't be beat.
As your skin’s texture adapts to changing hormone levels, your old foundation may no longer cut it. Foundations for mature skin need not only conceal, but smooth lines, wrinkles, under-eye bags, and age spots, so you’ll need to choose accordingly. IT Cosmetics’ Bye Bye Lines foundation acts as a hydrating serum and a foundation all-in-one, giving your complexion a natural, radiant glow. Its sheer-to-medium-weight formula also contains plenty of goodness in the form of anti-aging peptides, caviar extract, hydrolyzed collagen, hyaluronic acid, argan oil, and babassu oil, as well as vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B3, B5, B7, B9, and CoQ10 — phew!
Of all the primers for mature skin out there, we’re most partial to Bellezza Secreto's premium foundation. Waterproof and chock-full of vitamins and antioxidants, it nourishes skin while simultaneously smoothing its appearance — a big bonus for those of us who need the extra help right about now. It also works to combat redness, flakiness, and excess oil production.
Hyaluronic acid is the beauty buzz word of the moment, and for good reason: It helps retain moisture! Mario Badescu's Hyaluronic eye cream works overtime to keep your under-eye area hydrated thanks to its lightweight formula, which is comprised of the trending ingredient, safflower seed oil, and eyebright extract. While reviewers of all ages are raving about its softening and plumping properties, it's extra great for menopausal ladies dealing with the opposite.
There are tons of excellent face moisturizers for women over 50, but many contain ingredients that could be disrupting your hormones, such as formaldehyde (a known carcinogen and irritant), parabens (estrogen-like preservatives), sodium lauryl (ether), and sulfate (an industrial-strength degreaser which makes soaps foamy), among others. SkinCeuticals’ Daily Moisture is phthalate-free, sulfate-free, and fragrance-free, using nourishing vitamin E, algae extracts, and a blend of botanical extracts to protect your skin from the elements without adding any more hormonal changes to the mix.
Dark spots, discoloration, and sun damage really begin to show up during this time in a woman’s life, so applying sunscreen every day (yes, even when it’s cloudy, raining, or you’re spending the day indoors!) is an absolutely crucial part of your daily routine — no matter what. Aveeno’s sunscreens are plenty affordable, and the brand’s Protect + Hydrate sunscreen lotion with broad spectrum SPF 50 provides the superior protection you'll need to make sure you're covered no matter what the day brings. Reviewers praise it for being lightweight, so it won’t leave skin feeling greasy or with a chalky residue, nor will it mess with your makeup application.
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