The content of this podcast is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as,

nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.

This is Karen Nichol, family nurse practitioner,

and you are listening to Ichi and Bicci, a podcast that provides answers to your many health questions.

And today we're going to talk about skin and hair changes in menopause.

This is a common complaint I get from patients, and so I thought maybe the listeners out there would like to hear about this as well.

So, you know, we often hear menopause called the change, and I would say that is a very good descriptor.

So many changes throughout the entire body are triggered during this time of life,

which begins 12 months after a woman's last period, or if someone undergoes surgical menopause by having the ovaries removed.

Some changes may be welcomed like no more PMS, no more periods, and no more swinging hormones, but other changes may not be as enjoyable.

For example, the way skin and hair may change after menopause.

Most people don't really appreciate those changes, and their common complaints I get from my menopausal and perimenopausal patients.

As my regular listeners will know, if you're seeing changes in your hair and skin postmenopause,

you can usually blame rapidly declining levels of the hormone estrogen.

When estrogen drops, our skin becomes dry because estrogen promotes plumpness and retention of water in the skin.

Also, when estrogen drops, our hair becomes thinner because the hormone contributes to hair growth and fullness.

If when you hit menopause, you don't go on estrogen therapy, your skin will get quite dry.

Skin also becomes thinner and menopause since there's a relationship between collagen production, skin thickness, and lack of estrogen.

The other contributors to the exacerbation of skin dryness are the decrease in molecules called humectants in the skin and slow down in skin turnover.

And when can women start seeing changes in their skin and hair once they're in menopause?

Well, some people will notice it overnight.

Others may see a more gradual change, but it happens.

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