Skin doesn’t age at a constant, steady pace. For many women, there’s a noticeable shift during perimenopause and menopause, when hormonal changes accelerate visible signs of aging in a fairly short space of time. Understanding why this happens can make it easier to know how to respond.

What Changes During Perimenopause and Menopause

As oestrogen levels decline during perimenopause and menopause, skin often changes more rapidly than it did in the years before. This is a hormonal shift, not a lifestyle failure, and it affects most women to some degree.

Common changes during this time include:

• A noticeable loss of firmness and elasticity
• Increased dryness
• Thinning of the skin
• More pronounced fine lines and volume loss
• Slower healing and recovery

For many women, this is the period when skin changes feel the most sudden, even if the underlying process has been building for years.

Why This Happens

Oestrogen plays a significant role in supporting skin’s structure and its ability to retain moisture. As oestrogen declines, skin’s natural support system weakens, and its capacity to repair and renew itself slows down. This is why skin can feel and look different within a relatively short window of time during this life stage.

It’s also why generic anti-aging advice doesn’t always apply in the same way during perimenopause and menopause. Skin at this stage often needs more targeted support than it did in earlier decades.

Supporting Skin Through This Transition

While hormonal changes themselves can’t be reversed, skin can be supported through this transition with the right approach. Treatments that encourage skin’s own repair and renewal processes are particularly relevant during this stage, since skin’s natural ability to do this on its own has slowed.

Consistency also becomes more important during perimenopause and menopause. Skin that’s supported regularly through this period tends to hold onto firmness and resilience better than skin that isn’t.

The Takeaway

Perimenopause and menopause bring a real, hormonally driven shift in how skin ages, and that shift is entirely normal. It’s not something to feel discouraged by. With the right support and a consistent approach, skin can be helped through this transition rather than left to navigate it alone.

Appointments are available at Skin by Natalie H, Beverley, Fourways.