Best Products to Help You Manage Menopause

October has become widely known for Breast Cancer Awareness, but the month of October is also known as World Menopause Awareness Month.

Although reproductive cessation is the predominant indicator of menopause, most women begin experiencing menopausal symptoms years before their menstruation comes to a halt. And that means finding creative options that address the bodily changes which often disrupt a woman’s life during this transition.

Common Menopause Symptoms

Many women begin experiencing the onset of menopause over an elongated period of months or even years. The early perimenopause phase occurs during a woman’s 40s or 50s when menstrual periods take a hiatus from their regular schedule and either decrease or increase in frequency and/or duration. Other symptoms also come and go without warning and can impact your internal temperature, weight, skin, hair, mood, and libido. According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, the most common symptoms include:

• Irregular menstrual periods
• Reduced metabolism
• Weight gain
• Mood changes
• Reduced breast fullness
• Trouble sleeping
• Hot flashes, chills, and night sweats
• Inadequate vaginal lubrication
• Drier skin
• Thinning hair

Quite the list! Add in brain fog, which causes “problems with memory, concentration and focus,” and you’ll quickly realize that the hormonal changes a woman experiences due to a drop in estrogen and progesterone during menopause can trigger a myriad of conditions that make daily life more difficult.

Managing Your Menopause

If you suspect you’re in menopause, you may be tempted to try all sorts of things to manage your symptoms. That’s normal and healthy, but before you start taking OTC supplements based on subreddit threads, visit your primary care physician, obstetrician–gynecologist, or a menopause specialist.

Protect Your Brain

Remember I mentioned brain fog? Sometimes, it seems like cognitive changes start advancing at an alarming rate during menopause. Actually, the human brain shrinks as we age, so if you’re looking for a brain health supplement, Elysium Health conducted a two-year study at the University of Oxford to determine how to slow brain atrophy and shrinking gray matter to support long-term brain health. The result? Matter from Elysium Health – an omega-3 and B-vitamin formula – slows down cognitive decline to keep your brain healthy as you age. Matter’s advocates recommend it to fight brain aging, support cognitive function and brain health, and to support memory.

Get a Handle on Hot Flashes

Hot flashes are like ants at a picnic. They come out of nowhere without warning, and suddenly you’re overwhelmed by them. If you’re looking for a discreet way to manage the dragon fire, check out The Good Patch Hot Flash Patch. The little patches adhere to your abdomen and last 8–12 hours, and no one will even know you’re wearing one. And with black cohosh – long touted for minimizing menstrual pain – and 15mg of hemp extract, you may find you no longer need to whip out your facial mist and pocket fan.

Make Your Silver Shine

Graying hair isn’t necessarily synonymous with menopause but keeping it looking bright instead of brassy can definitely improve your mood. Better Not Younger’s Silver Lining™ Purple Brightening Shampoo does a wonderful job of eliminating yellow and brassy tones without stripping the hair of essential moisture. It didn’t turn my hair purple, and when used once or twice a week, it enhanced my silver strands and kept my blonde highlights looking fresh. It’s also enriched with nourishing ingredients, like biotin, to help strands feel supple and stay strong.

Balance Hormones Even Before Menopause

Women of all ages and all stages of perimenopause and menopause can benefit from ingredients that offer hormonal support. Some of the lesser known but widespread symptoms of menopause include intestinal distress, GI discomfort, gas, and bloating. Happy Mammoth’s Hormone Harmony supplement tackles all of these issues in addition to reducing mood swings and hot flashes as well as premenstrual tension and menstrual pain. With nearly 13,000 4+-star reviews, this complex supplement may help you feel more like yourself again. Bonus: It supports the body’s natural hormones and even supports healthy levels of cortisol (the stress hormone that causes weight gain).

Improve Estrogen Deficient Skin

Does it feel like your moisturizer isn’t really doing its job lately? Has your taut, youthful complexion become lax and dull? Dr. Tess Mauricio, a Stanford-educated, board-certified dermatologist explains why. “Collagen loss is more closely related to declining estrogen levels than chronological age,” she tells Beautytap. Estrogen deficiency especially impacts your skin. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, “Studies show that women’s skin loses about 30% of its collagen during the first five years of menopause.” And even though that decline slows down, it continues to drop by 2% annually “for the next 20 years.”

Emepelle’s Serum and Night Cream contain patented MEP technology that improves “dryness, dullness, laxity, atrophy, and the appearance of fine lines.” Their silky serum contains niacinamide to improve skin tone, hyaluronic acid for plumping, and peptides to improve laxity and fine lines. The Emepelle Night Cream feels rich and supple, not sticky, and contains peptides, niacinamide, and retinol for added anti-aging benefits. P.S. Dr. Tess also recommended Emepelle in my 2021 article about menopause, and it’s still a leader in the category.

At-Home Skin Rejuvenation for Aging Skin

As hormones drop, areas of the face and jaw lose elasticity and begin to droop. In-office laser treatments may not be ideal or even financially feasible, whereas the LYMA Laser can improve the look of various skin conditions as well as sagging in just 12 weeks with consistent use. The tool will set you back about $2700, but it can be used to treat various areas of the body, depending on your goals, and the before and after photos on the brand’s website are far more impressive than seen for other at-home devices.

Intimate Areas Need Love, Too

One of the least sexy aspects of menopause is the way it strips moisture from every part of your body, including your vagina. Doctors have long prescribed vaginal creams, marketed specifically to improve intimacy after menopause, but the personal lubricants and vagina-specific pre- and probiotics from Stripes are leaps and bounds ahead of their predecessors. Founded by Naomi Watts, the Stripes Vaginal Wellness line offers a trifecta of products designed to improve elasticity and hydration. They even address the vagina’s microbiome with The Support System, a Vaginal pH Balancing Probiotic Supplement. Note: The brand also offers skincare and hair care options because menopause is a full-body experience.

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If you have any recommendations for making menopause an easier process, let me know in the comments below.