Skin Care in Menopause

Skin becomes rough, thin and wrinkled with age. This process accelerates after menopause. Using skin care practices that help to soften, smooth and hydrate skin will counter a lot of these changes. Even better is to also build collagen with your skin care regimen.

I am a 50 year old post menopausal dermatologist with a large medical practice. I have watched many of my female patients, and myself move through menopause. I see our skin change and it is a priority of mine to find effective skin care products to counter this. I’ve created skin care regimens that keep skin looking healthy and feeling smooth - with a youthful dewy luster. I give specific information on my new web site, http://www.otbskincare.com/. I explain what I recommend and why.

For skin from the neck down, I like a strong glycolic acid moisturizer and physical exfoliation to polish and hydrate skin, and to get rid of those rough age spots that I call barnacles. Picking effective glycolic acid products is tricky. They need to be strong and they need to be used correctly. They are also irritating and so you need to understand how to get the most out of the products without pushing harder than your skin can tolerate. I explain this in detail, and help trouble shoot problems.

Facial skin has many more options because it is so much better able to absorb wonderful ingredients that actually change the deeper skin layers. I love the effect of Retin-A. Retin-A builds collagen, smoothes skin and evens pigment. Retin-A is a prescription, however, and it also makes skin more sensitive to sun, wind and anything that is even slightly irritating. You can get some of the Retin-A benefits with glycolic acid. As with glycolic acid for the body, you have to pick an effective product and you have to know how to use it.

Glycolic acid products can irritate facial skin and so there are tricks to success. Antioxidants are the new big thing and some of them really do improve the look and health of the skin. Unfortunately, it is hard for a consumer to know if an antioxidant ingredient in a product is present in sufficient amount, and in a stable form, to create a change in their skin. Right now there are two great products with powerful and very active antioxidants. I have many patients using these products and I can see the results over time. One of these products contains high concentrations of green tea polyphenols and the other contains a high concentration of stable vitamin C in an airtight container.

Lastly, sunscreen is a critical step in any serious skin rejuvenation regimen. Not all sunscreens are really effective, in my opinion. I like 5% or more of micro sized zinc oxide in a sunscreen to block the sun rays that cause wrinkles and age spots.
Lastly, there are other skin problems that can worsen with age and menopause. These include acne, rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis. I discuss my recommendations for these as well on my web site.

I always like to ask someone who is giving me advice, what they do themselves. My personal skin care regimen is, and has been for years: 1) on my face, neck and chest I use my Antioxidant Facial Rejuvenation Kit during the day and Retin-A at night. I wash with Toleraine Cleanser and Noble Zinc Bar 2) to keep my body skin soft and dewy, I use my Body Rejuvenation kit every other day 3) I am very careful about sun protection, wearing hats, clothing and sunscreen whenever I am out in the sun.

Cynthia Bailey, MD Dermatologist http://www.otbskincare.com/