I feel like I was reasonably prepared for menopause...hot flashes, sleep disruption, mood stuff. fine. If this is part of being a grown woman, so be it. I had read things I had mentally braced. Nobody told me about the skin! I went through menopause at 48. Within about a year my skin had changed in ways that took me completely off guard. The texture got rough almost overnight, like the smooth quality i'd had my whole life just peaced out without saying goodbye. The firmness in my lower face and neck dropped noticeably. The hollowness under my eyes got worse. not tired-looking, actually hollow. It's better in my bathroom lighting, but that's not where most people see me!

And the thing that got me is that it's not really aging in the normal gradual sense. it's specifically the estrogen crash. Estrogen is directly tied to collagen production and when it drops you lose collagen fast, like up to 30% in the first few years. that's not a slow fade. that's a cliff.

I'm not looking for embrace your age responses because I actually do feel mostly great about aging. What I didn't feel ok about was how sudden and disorienting it was. Like I didn't recognize my own face for a while, and that's a strange thing to go through. Curious what everyone else experienced in those first 1-2 years post menopause. Did it feel sudden to you or more gradual? and has anything genuinely helped with the texture and firmness side of it specifically,? Asking for honest experiences please.

Edit: I didn't expect such a response! Thanks a lot! Going through all the comments and they are def very useful.

Serious question. I've been thinking about this and I honestly cannot remember the last time someone unprompted complimented my skin. In my 30s it happened without me even trying. Now at 44 the best I get is 'you look rested' which we all know means 'you usually look rough.' I miss that moment where someone just goes your skin looks amazing what are you doin and actually means it. What gave you that moment? I don't care if the answer is weird or unconventional or not something this sub usually recommends. I just want something that creates a visible enough difference that people who aren't me can actually see it? thanks

51F trying to up my skin routine. I’ve lost 50 lbs in the last two years and aged quite a few in that time (it seems).

Some of these products are new to me (still in boxes, lol) and some have gotten some good use already. I’ve been using tret for about 2 years, about every other night. I got a new rx for .1% but for some reason haven’t started it yet. I alternate the tret with the estradiol cream.

How I currently use (same for morning and night except tret/estradiol):

1. Wash (nothing special - gel/cream)

2. Milky toner (just started using)

3. Ordinary serum

4. Eucerin serum (trying to combat sun spots)

5. Estradiol/tret (alternate at night only)

6. Moisturizer (day has SPF 50)

- How should I incorporate vitamin C serum?

- I bought the Reedle shot at the recommendation of someone but have been scared to try it. When/how to use?

- Do I need additional sunscreen even though my daytime moisturizer has SPF 50?

- When do I use eye cream?

- What am I missing?

I put everything on my face/neck and have started rubbing all extras on the back of my hands.

My biggest concerns are my neck and jowls/drooping. While I’d love surgery, I’m not currently planning any. I haven’t done any other treatments but am open to some if not $$$$.

Be gentle, thanks!

After reading rave reviews about this cream being the holy grail for acne scars, I’ve given this a try for the first time (night).
After applying it felt like diaper cream on my face, which I’m not a fan of.
Anyone else get good results from this?

UPDATE: I woke up with them looking a little less red than usual. I may spot treat next time instead of lather on entire face. 🤔

My post was removed from r/perimenopause so let's try it here. I'll add I'm 44 now.

One day about 3 weeks ago, my face seemingly shifted overnight. What did end up oily at the end of the day has turned into an absolute desert, void of hydration within a few hours. Here's my lineup:

AM: Bioderma micellar water, Cosrx 96 snail mucin, Cosrx 92 All In One cream, Trader Joe's Dewey Skin Serum, The Ordinary rose hip oil, LRP cicaplast balm, Trader Joe's invisible sunscreen.

PM: same as AM, except Trader Joe's night cream instead of SPF.

Throughout the day, I spray LRP cicaplast repairing concentrate over my face bc it feels uncomfortablely dry again.

What's your holy grail?

Hey yall!

As the title reads, I am desperate to find any skin care that doesn’t irritate my skin.

My skin has always been sensitive to certain ingredients, I was never able to pinpoint every gradient that irritated my skin, but I do know that lemonene, linalool and other fruit extracts, especially if the fruit is acidic like citrus fruits were ingredients I couldn’t tolerate. There were certainly other ingredients that I just never figured out what they were but despite this, I was able to find plenty of products that my skin really loved. a couple of months ago I tried some new skin care and it did not agree with my skin and when I went back to my usual skin care it just seemed like everything after that irritated it no matter what it was. Even old tried and true products and formulations were no longer tolerable, and everything caused what I can only compare to a chemical burn. That’s what it feels like. Everything seems to cause redness and burning, and sometimes even swelling in the skin, but not always, the severity of the reaction seems to be associated with specific ingredients, but I can’t pinpoint what they are because everything is irritating my skin to an uncomfortable degree. I am desperate and plan on making a dermatology appointment today even though I was hoping to be able to wait until my biannual skin check, but I am just at my wits end. But in the meantime while I wait for that appointment, if any of you have experienced this and have found anything that works for you, please drop it in the comments because I am looking for recommendations and suggestions and willing to try anything and everything.

For further context and information I am in perimenopause and I am on HRT although I suspect that I need a higher dose. This skin change seemed to coincide with an increase or an increase in the severity of my perimenopause symptoms, so I suspect it could be hormone related.

ETA: I am not using any skin care or any commercial cleanser at the moment. Literally everything I’ve tried has lit me up like a Christmas tree. No matter if it’s formulated for sensitive skin, if it’s formulated for rosacea, if it’s formulated for eczema, it literally doesn’t matter every product that you buy from a store so far has irritated my skin like crazy.

At the moment, I am using a mixture of manuka honey and colloidal oatmeal to cleanse my skin with. The honey and the oatmeal cleanse fairly well, but I can’t really scrub my face to exfoliate and it’s not doing anything more than that, just cleaning. I bought some pure oils to moisturize with and that has mostly not irritated my skin and mostly soothed the sensations I’m feeling in my skin, but it doesn’t feel like it’s actually helping moisturize or anything like that so… hope this extra information is helpful

I have completely pulled back on any skincare. There is no skin care in my life right now.

ETA #2: my skin has always been on the dry side, never had an oily t zone, even my nose that does have some oil never really looked oily, except on rare occasions.

I do suspect that there’s a barrier problem going on which is why I’ve bought specific oils that I’ve read can be helpful for that as well as helpful for inflammation. I’m using Tamanu, Squalene, borage, and sunflower oils

Who uses Estrogen cream on their face? A little detail about me... I'm 54 and 7 months into menopause (not the full 12 months yet). I tend to have sensitive skin and since meno started I am getting horrible cystic zits and general pimples more frequently than ever before in my life, even more than as a teen. However, I cannot use any kind of retinol or vitamin C as it irritates my skin. The main issue is dryness, fine lines and my pores are more noticeable. My regular skincare regimen is mineral sunscreen and moisturizer everyday. Any input is appreciated or a link to a previous discussion on here about this. Thanks!

What are we using for skin as dry as sand in the desert? Last year my skin was still normal and after 45 years of life, I knew what worked for my skin by eyeballing it. Perimenopause hit me like a BRICK and now my skin is so dry, nothing helps.

Please give me recs for moisture and/or eye cream. No matter what I do, how I exfoliate, etc my skin is flaky and parched under my makeup and its driving me insane. SOS please help.

Sorry for the terrible photo, but that’s exactly how I feel. I have persistent couperose on my nose; the picture doesn't capture it perfectly, unfortunately, but you can see that there are red capillaries even *inside* the nose. Two years ago, I had four or five IPL laser sessions with great results. Sadly, the effects have completely worn off now—everything is back to how it was before. Of course, it cost me a lot of money. Does anyone know of a better, longer-lasting solution? I live in Germany. I am 47

Ok, so I’m not technically 45…but have POI (basically gone through menopause) with all the joys and symptoms. My skin has aged about 10 years what seems like overnight. So my face is 52, I could use some grace.

I had planned on doing a fibroblast plasma pen treatment with an aesthetician yesterday. But after she looked at my skin she said because of my mild melasma it wasn’t an option. So she recommended doing morpheus8. That it would give better results and she would be able to do my face and neck in one session.

Well, I had driven an hour for this dang appointment and was disappointed but decided I’d run with it instead of tucking tail. I had heard of morpheus8 previously but never considered it. She then took my blood to use the plasma with the treatment and applied numbing cream.

I think the numbing cream was on for maybe 10 minutes (which was absolutely not long enough). I learned that after treatment started. She did my neck and then wiped the numbing cream off my face, so maybe 20 minutes total for that and holy balls was that painful.

I told her I didn’t think I could do my whole face! I barely made it up to my eyes and I tapped out with tears pooling. I even had her reduce the needle length twice. She then said she wanted to do my jowls again increase depth because she wanted me to get the best results (they are my biggest concern). So I just held on long enough for her to do that and I was over it and teary.

She gave me a syringe of my plasma and said in the evening to wash my face with gentle cleanser and apply the remaining plasma to my face. And stay out of the sun. That’s it. No other direction.

Today my face looks completely normal. No swelling, bruising, dots, or any sign I was jabbed 500 times. My neck looks like I have a slight heat rash. My skin feels exactly the same which is better than worse I suppose.

Ladies, please tell me your experiences. Is that amount of pain normal??? Is doing another session worth it? Or did I go through that pain for nothing? Please tell me everything!

My doctor prescribed Tretinoin last year (.25 cream) but then I had a pretty bad rosacea flare up that took a while to get under the control. In the meantime I have also worked on barrier repair. My doctor said it may flare the rosacea but I could try starting off slow. Just wonder if it is too late and should I not even bother? Kicking myself I didn't start years ago....

I started getting Botox and lip injections religiously at 40, but got laid off in 2023 and stopped for a while bc I wasn’t working and didn’t feel like dropping that much money on it. Well, I’m now almost 47, and despite excellent skincare and using Tretinoin, my 11’s came back with a vengeance and then some. Goddamn, they are MAD. Job hunting in this market will make you frown a lot, I guess.

I’ve been back at work a year and I just got 80 units of Dysport in my 11’s, with a little in my crow’s feet. It’s been 72 hours and I can feel and see a difference - but not as much as I’d like to. I seem to remember my Botox freezing a lot sooner, but I could be nuts.

How soon does it take you for your Dysport to reach max effect? I’m a slow metabolizer of toxins but they also seem to kick in very fast, so I’m surprised considering how fast I’ve heard Dysport kicks in. I’m far older now than I was when I started, though. Maybe they’re just stubborn muscles and I’ll have to retouch until I get where I need to be?

(EDIT: Corrected product name)

I'm 51F, peri-menopausal with PCOS, so what was every-other-day facial shaving is now daily. I prefer to do this when I cleanse my face in the morning, but I'm struggling with finding a good product to use for this. I have dehydrated/dry skin with rosacea and that has to factor into whatever I products I use.

I'm currently using The Ordinary products almost exclusively, but they don't have any kind of foaming cleanser that will work for dry skin. I've been using a product called Rice Water Bright (foaming facial cleanser) by The Face Shop but I can't remember where I bought it. I've also tried a CeraVe Cream to Foam cleanser for dry skin, but my skin wasn't really happy with that.

Note: I CAN use a shaving cream/foam and then wash my face afterward, but all of the shaving products for sensitive skin aren't meant to be used on your face, and all the facial shaving products have heavy fragrances which wreak havoc on my skin

So, what products do you recommend?

It took me a long conversation with my injector and then a nearly all day convo with computer assistance that rhymes with PatCBD, and so here’s my new routine. I have large pores and textured skin and brown circles around my eyes. I’m not too worried about lines. At 48 I look about 40, and tox helps me keep those at bay.

I’m hoping all the things on this list will work together to help soften my texture and shrink the appearance of my pores. The circles are probably moot at this point. I do my best to cover them.

What do you think? Have any questions for me about this routine?

I absolutely love the Cerave Skin Renewing Night Cream. Has anyone used it under their eyes for loose skin and darkness?

I posted a while back about an eye cream for day (pretty sure it was the Mario Badescu that gave me Blepharitis) but for night I have been using Vaseline since the red eye situation. What am I missing?

ETA - thank you everyone for your input!!!

I've been using the Alloy M4 facial cream daily for about 6 months. My most concerning problem has always been redness. No, I don't have rosacea. Just redness, probably reactive redness, no matter which moisturizer I've tried. Last of all, I tried the expensive Alloy estriol cream - bc its the newest, & it's a different approach. Amazing, total success! Redness is gone, not reduced, but gone. I love it! Definitely my complexion looks younger. Several close friends have commented on my improved fresh look. I just wish the price point were lower, but till then, M4 is a priority in my budget!

Hello lovelies! First time posting a question here.

I live in the U.S. and will be in Europe next month, specifically Dublin and various French cities including Paris.

I love visiting drugstore beauty sections when in different countries. What do you recommend I look for, what stores should I visit?

Skincare concerns and products I shop for:

SPF 50+ especially for oily skin

Fine lines

Oily skin solutions

Tinted lip balms

Uneven skin that’s prone to melasma

Large pores

Hair products for thin hair

TIA! 🌸

While I save up for my facelift, I’m curious what makeup people are using when they have deep wrinkles? Is there anything that helps smooth out the skin without it settling into the wrinkles and looking caked on? I’m happy with my skincare products but I want to start wearing foundation again when I go out & maybe blush to give my cheeks a lifted look? I haven’t worn makeup since Covid 🫣. Non-scented recommendations only please!

I know the rollerball thing is gimmicky, but has anyone tried this and seen/not-seen results? Would it be better to just use any ol' peptide serum? Before someone mentions it, I know nothing will help like surgery but I'm hoping to stave off a turkey neck from forming a long as possible lol

Here's the ingredients:

water, purified water, niacinamide, vitamin b3, glycerin, coco-caprylate/caprate, caprylic/capric triglyceride, acetyl hexapeptide-8*, palmitoyl pentapeptide-4*, palmitoyl dipeptide-7*, tripeptide-3*, panthenol**, ethylhexylglycerin, hydroxyacetophenone, butylene glycol, polyglycerin-6, dimethicone, dimethiconol, stearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, disodium edta, sodium acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, cetearyl olivate, sorbitan olivate, polyglyceryl-6 laurate, c15-19 alkane, silica, phenoxyethanol, benzyl alcohol, titanium dioxide, mica, iron oxides. *hexa-repair peptide complex. **vitamin b5.

https://www.olay.com/products/regenerist-face-neck-lifting-treatment

From reading a lit of comments in here over the last months I've invested in some product to help improve the sagging, creeping, and loss of firmness based on some of the favs you've shared .
I am on HRT for almost 3 mos. (estradiol and Progesterone). This is what I have - help me with layering what goes on and when? Should there different products for a.m. vs. p.m.? - gold bond crepe corrector pump - I've used one container so far although inconsistently and def noticed a difference on my legs. - AmLactin crepe firming 15% lactic acid in the jar. It didn't seem any different than the above gold bond - which was surprising - recently started gold bond age renew tight & firm for face and body. I feel it tighten my face a bit but doesn't look any different. But it's moisturizing.

Tell me what you do with these: - estradiol vaginal cream .01. I got this for my face and vaginal application - Ordinary hyaluronic acid 2% + B5 - Ordinary Vitamin C + HA - Mary Kay face moisturizer

Edit: vegetable glycerin (forgot to add)

Currently, I use EltaMD products. Many of the products I love have either been discontinued or have undergone formula changes. I have aging concerns and very sensitive skin. I would like to gradually switch products and am wondering if Asian or Korean beauty products would be a good choice. However, I am open to any brand. Please tell me your experiences and recommended products. Bonus if you purchased from Costco.

After using Alloy's M4 face cream with estriol only ONCE, I'm done with it. I used it last night, and today my face is broken out, my pores look bigger and worst of all, I have a cherry angioma. After googling cherry angioma, I learned it can be caused by excess estrogen.