Sara Mnafuso – wife of the deputy Pd Andrea Romano
Menopause, how the skin changes and why
We met Anna Trink, dermatologist and specialist in trichology and scientific consultant of Giuliani’s Hmap Lab who explained the changes in the skin and why in an important period for women such as menopause. What does menopause mean for the skin? Menopause can represent a change for the body and skin, which loses tone, elasticity and fullness. When the body relaxes its case also does: the skin is less elastic because estrogen, produced to a much lesser extent by the body, is scarce or not present at all in the dermis. From the age of 30 onwards, the production of estrogen begins to decrease, until it stops completely at the time of menopause. The consequences on the skin are, in general, that the skin it thins, dries up, wrinkles, becomes pigmented unevenly (and spots form as we age), and the wound healing process slows down.
Menopause, estrogen production ceases
What are the effects of estrogen on female skin? The production of estrogen, the female hormone par excellence, peaks in women around the age of 30. The effects of estrogen on the skin are manifold: improve hydration (favoring the synthesis of hyaluronic acid and mucopolysaccharides and the production of sebum), e stimulate the production of keratinocytes and fibroblasts, the fundamental cellular components of the skin, and consequently of elastic fibers and collagen, with an increase in skin turgor and thickness of the dermis. They confer greater cell viability and improve the tropism of the extracellular matrix, a fundamental structural component of the skin. They promote vascularization cutaneous. They contrast the radical species of oxygen and oxidative stress thanks to the antioxidant properties. They stimulate hair growth.
Menopause, sagging skin and thin skin
In particular, the sagging skin and thin skin they are due to the reduction of the underlying collagen and elastin fibers in the dermis, which provide young skin (associated with normal premenopausal estrogen levels) tone and elasticity, with the formation of wrinkles around the eyes and mouth and along the forehead. Skin atrophy is particularly visible in photo-exposed areas (due to the sum of damage from UV rays to the skin) and subject to greater force of gravity, such as the face, neck, forearms, hands.
Menopause, self-test possible
It is possible to do a “Self-test” to check if there is loss of skin tone, by gently grasping a skin fold on the back of the hand and evaluating the time in which the skin returns to the starting position: in post-menopause this time can also be 3 times higher than the previous period. The postmenopausal skin is also more fragile and more subject to possible external aggressions, for the reduction of the hydrolipidic film that covers it and for the lower compactness of the skin barrier, factors that make the skin more sensitive and more reactive, both to environmental factors, such as weathering and pollution, and cosmetic treatments. Also hair they can suffer the negative effects of estrogen deficiency, progressively thinning on the upper part of the scalp and losing shine and volume. All this can also be conditioned, in a sense ameliorative or pejorative, from genetics and lifestyle habits.
Menopause, the measures to improve the situation
What are the remedies to keep in mind? First of all one gentle cleansing, which respects the skin’s pH, weakly acidic, and its microbiota, which contribute to the integrity of the skin barrier; a day serum based on vitamin E, with a soothing effect on skin that has become sensitive, and one day cream with hyaluronic acid, to restore hydration, and with a very high sun protection filter, to always be used, even in the winter months, to protect the skin, which has become more delicate, from UV aggressions; a very rich night cream with a regenerating effect, with biomimetic polypeptides that can stimulate the synthesis of the fundamental cellular components of the skin, such as collagen and elastic fibers, to restore tone and brightness to the skin. For the hair, it is possible to use supplements of amino acids and topical gels based on synthetic growth factors, which stimulate the growth phase of the hair, which can thus regain thickness and shine.