If you’ve visited our Clinic recently, you’ll have undoubtedly been greeted by Clare and her lovely smile! Believing that ‘everybody should feel like a somebody’, Clare has been a well-loved member of our team since 2018. We’ll hand over to Clare to share her story and menopausal skin tips with you below.
Clare’s story
When menopause hits it can hit like a truck! This is the time in our lives when we can potentially be feeling our worst, but it doesn’t mean we can’t still look our best. I feel like I’m on a personal crusade, along with my beautiful colleagues at Face The Future Clinic, to help ladies realise and see their full potential.
As you may know, as we get in to our 40’s (sometimes earlier for some ladies), our skin starts to change. This is due to the declining levels of oestrogen and collagen that our body produces, as well as other factors including our diet and free radicals.
Scarily, we lose 1% of collagen per year pre-menopause. During the first five years of menopause, we lose 30%, and a further 2% per year post-menopause.
With this loss of collagen, our skin starts to sag around our neck, jawline, and cheeks. We also start to notice the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as our skin becomes drier.
The hormonal changes in our body can lead to break outs, dark spots, and more pigmentation (also referred to as ‘melasma’).
It’s not all doom and gloom though, ladies! There are products and treatments that are available to help us to look and feel our best selves as we go through perimenopause, and menopause.
Noticing menopause symptoms
My personal Menopause journey started at 41. I started getting migraines (something I’d not suffered with since my teens. I felt exhausted all the time, anxiety crept in along with the hot flashes and uncontrollable emotions, amongst other things: the list is endless.
It wasn’t until after my hysterectomy in August 2018 that I started to notice the change in my skin. To me, I felt like I looked old – and I hated it.
I was very fortunate to start working at Face The Future Clinic in November 2018, so I was able to access some amazing products and treatments to help improve my skin. I have been very lucky that I haven’t really struggled with skin problems throughout my life – it’s only now I have hit menopause that I have noticed a drastic change.