Skin, Hair, and Beyond: The Impact of Menopause
April 2022
in “
Climacteric
”
menopause skin dryness thinning wrinkles poor wound healing reduced vascularity hair changes reduced growth density on the scalp altered hair quality increased unwanted facial hair growth hormonal fluctuations decline in estrogen increase in androgens hormone replacement therapy HRT skin texture hydration collagen content viscoelasticity dermo-cosmetics photoprotection sebum production
TLDR Menopause causes dry skin, wrinkles, and hair changes, with hormone therapy helping but not recommended just for these issues.
Menopause significantly impacts skin and hair, causing symptoms like skin dryness, thinning, wrinkles, poor wound healing, reduced vascularity, and hair changes such as reduced growth and density on the scalp, altered hair quality, and increased unwanted facial hair growth. These changes are primarily due to hormonal fluctuations, especially the decline in estrogen and relative increase in androgens. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can manage these symptoms, improving skin texture, hydration, collagen content, and viscoelasticity, but it's not recommended solely for skin and hair benefits due to the risk-benefit balance. Other treatments like dermo-cosmetics and photoprotection can also help manage these symptoms. However, data on HRT's effect on hair quality and sebum production during menopause is lacking, highlighting the need for more education for physicians on HRT's potential benefits on skin, hair, and mucosa.
