Navigating Perimenopause Skin Changes

Speaker 1 0:06

Welcome to the Uncomplicated Perimenopause Podcast . I'm Kate Grosvenor , your friendly perimenopause expert and life coach , and I'm Gabriella , kate's daughter , representing all the women who are nowhere near perimenopause but want to understand it better . Whether you're just starting your perimenopause journey deep into it . Whether you're just starting your perimenopause journey deep into it or you're a loved one trying to support someone who is , we've got you covered . We'll be answering all of your burning questions , exploring the ups and downs and sharing expert advice and personal insights . So grab a cup of tea , get comfy and let's dive into the wonderful . Get comfy and let's dive into the wonderful , sometimes wild , world of perimenopause together . And remember , no matter where you are on your journey , you are not alone . Welcome to the Uncomplicated Perimenopause . Hello , my darlings , and welcome to episode 16 , imagine . Uncomplicated perimenopause podcast . Gosh , brain fog's hitting hard this week . Sweet 16 , they're so cute , I know . I feel like we're doing really well . I feel like , oh , look at us going up speaking of babies growing up .

Speaker 1 1:22

Rowan's back to uni this week . So anybody else , has anybody else got kids going back to uni Because it's year two ? It's year two for Rowan , and then that's it . One more year and Joan's gone as well . And then it's like oh , my babies are grown up , you're going to have an empty nest . Well , I'm not going anywhere . Yeah , I was going to say empty nest , my left foot , the oldest one , is going to stay . But the thing is it's like , you know , people say empty nest but they don't really go because Rowan's already like .

Speaker 1 1:49

I took Rowan to the physio today and she was already saying well , I'm back in about three weeks and then I'll be back . Why is she back in three weeks ? Because that's what Rowan does , and then I'm back again in reading week , so that will be week beginning the fourth , and so she's booked her next physio in on the week beginning the 4th of . She's also booked to go , yes , on holiday with me , apparently , okay , so , so I don't know what this empty nest is all about , because I don't feel , maybe , when you've all actually I don't know wait till we're all married , maybe , and then you're bringing the children back to look after , 100% , what are grandma's for ? Um , I might move to antamongolia . I'll follow you . Anywho , I digress . I hope you've all had a fabulous week .

Speaker 1 2:28

And what is the question this week ? My love , I really , really like this question . You say that every week . No , but this is just . I really like it for it , and it's prepare yourself , though . Oh gosh , have I got to girdle my loins ? If that's your preference , yeah , whatever . So it's from marianne . Hello , marianne .

Speaker 1 2:47

She lives between holland and the uk , oh nice . So she travels a lot . She's a , she's a traveler . She travels for work as well .

Speaker 1 2:54

Okay , and it's already tough in perimenopause , yeah , and because she travels a lot , it's very difficult to get into a skincare routine , food routine . She stays in hotels . It's a bit difficult to look after herself . Yeah , yeah , and she's now in the perimenopause too . Yeah , and she says she looks and feels horrible . Every time she looks in the mirror she sees an old woman with wrinkles , blotchy skin and doesn't know where to start and doesn't know how to look after herself . So it's good , don't you just want to give her a big hug ? Yeah , yeah , oh , I just want to give you a big hug . It's so , listen right , spades , a spade on this one . Okay , we're not all in the same boat , but we're all in the same sea when it comes to this one . No woman in perimenopause has not felt like this . Now , genetically , some , some women are more blessed than others when it comes to skin . Yeah . So if you had all your skin when you were younger , you're gonna fare better in perimenopause than if you had dry skin . Okay , so that's the thing . But we're all in the same boat . So , no matter what your skin was like before perimenopause , at some point you're going to look in the mirror and go , oh , for goodness sake , ew .

Speaker 1 4:07

So I remember I have always looked after my skin . I was going to say you're very blessed actually , but you've looked after yourself . I've always looked after my skin , because I had cystic acne when I was younger . So I had horrific skin . Up until I was pregnant with you actually , you're welcome . No , no , not you skin . Up until I was pregnant with you actually , you're welcome . No , no , not you .

Speaker 1 4:29

Up until I might , kind of late 20s , I had really horrific cysts and painful , painful , painful cysts , bumps , lumps all underneath my skin . So I had to look after my skin a lot . So I didn't , I was forced to , if you like . Then what happened was because I took really good care of my skin , I presumed that I would sail through perimenopause with nigh a worry , with never an issue . Yeah , I was shocked when I started getting red kind of bumps , yeah , and almost like a rosacea type reaction on my skin . I was like , excuse you me , when did that start ? Mid perimenopause ? It's only a few years ago . A few years ago , and I didn't get any lines or any wrinkles or any kind of typical signs of aging . I got perimenopause skin .

Speaker 1 5:16

Okay , perimenopause skin is kind of redness around the nose around . Yeah , it's why . So this is the thing about perimenopause . So as oestrogen leaves your system , you get these , as you know , hot flashes . So where your capillaries are in your skin , typically around your cheeks , could be around your nose . You get these when your veins dilate and then they contract again . You get these this flushing on the skin because it flashes and then constricts , it leaves behind its mark and so when it does it a lot all the time and you get sweaty in those areas , you sweat underneath your makeup or it just flashes whether you wear makeup or not you end up with this kind of redness to your cheeks , redness around the nose , and that's one of the symptoms .

Speaker 1 6:08

The other symptom of perimenopause skin obviously is , as oestrogen leaves your skin , you end up with a kind of hollowness to your skin . So oestrogen is the thing that you need in your skin to make collagen . You know I'm doing this one . So collagen is the thing in your skin that makes it bouncy , gives it that pillow-like . So if you think of a pillow , it's shaped outwards . And so if you think of a little kid jumping up and down on a pillow , doink , doink , doink , doink . So when you have oestrogen in your body and it produces collagen , you have that pillow-ness of your skin . It gives it that bounciness , that life , that fullness to the cheeks . When oestrogen leaves your system and don't forget , oestrogen is declining all the time , but the speed of which it leaves your body increases .

Speaker 1 6:53

In perimenopause you'll see that women have a hollowness to their cheeks . Instead of their cheeks going outwards , they then sink inwards , so you go a bit like Gone . So you see women , women , like suddenly their cheeks look sunken rather than billow out . Yeah , they go inwards . I thought stuff like that was a weight loss thing , or well , it can be . I mean , obviously , if you are way less , if you're more underweight than overweight , it can look more exaggerated . But just in general , you don't have that plumpness , that rosiness , that kind of glow to your skin . Do you physically feel it ? You don't physically feel it , but when you look in the mirror you don't see a youthful plumpness , you see a kind of gauntness . That's number two . Number three because why not ?

Speaker 1 7:42

Obviously sleep deprivation in perimenopause is huge . So what comes to sleep deprivation ? Bags , dark circles , yeah , just general kind of drawn skin . Then , obviously , as we get older as well , we're going to have fine lines , we're going to have wrinkles , we're going to have droopiness that's another oestrogen thing . We're going to have droopiness , which then can lead to jowliness , jowls being these just explained like growing older to us actually . Yes , isn't that lovely , aren't you happy ? So the problem is , when you mix all these things , when you add these things together , they can kind of creep up on you .

Speaker 1 8:19

But in perimenopause , because of oestrogen decline and because of all these factors like lack of sleep and other things that are going on as well , you suddenly can take . It can just seem like one day you look in the mirror and , snap , you don't recognize yourself and it's really distressing . Yeah , so that's what marion . So that's what marion's going through . Right , what do we

Skin Transformation

Speaker 1 8:43

do ?

Speaker 1 8:43

Hmm , first and foremost , what I need to explain is you start from the inside out , when you look in the mirror and you feel like my skin has aged or my skin doesn't feel like me anymore . I wouldn't start with the skincare . I would start from the nutrition side of things . I go inside out rather than outside in , because you're going to get much better results If you go to a skincare counter . They're going to sell you the world and you're going to get much better results . If you go to a skincare counter , they're going to sell you the world , yeah Right , and you're going to fall not fall prey . That sounds mean . But they're going to sell you all these lovely jars of potions and lotions and mention big words and numbers and numbers and retin . You know all these fancy kind of compounds and stuff .

Speaker 1 9:28

The reality is that your skin in perimenopause can also be quite thin . It can also be quite fragile . So what we want to do is the first and foremost we want to strengthen your skin and give it some oomph back in it . So we want to start with nutrition . So we're going to start with collagen . Collagen is the thing that's been missing . So we want to start with collagen . We want to start with hydration and we want to start with fat .

Speaker 1 9:50

When I say fat , I don't mean lard , I don't mean like butter , I mean omegas . I actually thought that's what you meant like eating fatty food . I was like , yes , please , yeah , a bit odd , but okay , collagen is is thing that is kind of like script . But I mean , you've heard me talk about it before whether you're with your knees and your joints and stuff , and it's the kind of glue that holds your joints together . It also does the same for your skin . It kind of holds the infrastructure together . So if you take collagen , it's going to give you that bounciness , that kind of like pushiness , that pillowness back into your cheeks . When will you start feeling that with taking collagen ? So I'm going to be biased and say collagen that we have .

Speaker 1 10:27

Um , when I started , obviously I I trialed the collagen first , um , before we launched our own collagen , and it was around three , three to four weeks . I saw other people started noticing it on me . I'm going to say about six weeks . Yeah , they were like what are you doing ? Because you can , yeah , and you can feel the effects rather than see yeah , makes sense . So I would say around six weeks . Other people start saying to me what are you using on your skin ? You look really glowy , what are you doing ?

Speaker 1 10:54

And that's based on bovine collagen , not marine collagen , because there's two different types of collagen that well , there's more than two different types . Mainly , people use marine collagen or bovine collagen . In perimenopause , I would always encourage people to take bovine collagen , which is the type of collagen that we use . But we use a specific type of collagen because you want to use a very , very high quality collagen that your body can use . So I would say to start with collagen , and it's not an expensive fix as well . It seems like the key to everything . Yeah , yeah , it really seems like such the solution and you'd pay anything , wouldn't you , to feel and look just that little bit better . Well , it's going to make a massive difference to you .

Speaker 1 11:34

And for Marianne , you said she goes between the UK and Holland . So if she ordered it in the UK , it's going to cost like , is it 21 quid a month ? 21.60 , yeah , yeah , 21.60 . I was like 21.60 . And that's including postage , so it's not going to cost you very much . It's going to it's less than a pound a day . It's like 8.62 , I don't know . Yeah , yeah , when you think of it like that , yeah , so it's not going to cost her a lot . So that would be my first solution . Okay , obviously it's a little bit more . I can't remember . It's like eight , nine pounds or something like that , if she delivers it to holland , but if she's in the uk , yeah , it's obviously free postage .

Speaker 1 12:07

So , so that's a really , really good solution . And it's so easy to take . It doesn't taste of anything . It doesn't smell of anything . Couple of teaspoons in your coffee and you're done . Even put it into water because it's so tasteless and she'd be able to travel with it , wouldn't she ? And you can travel with it . Yeah , exactly , so it's not a big deal .

Speaker 1 12:23

That's a really , really easy solution , as as is hydration . So your skin needs to be hydrated to look , you know , you can tell when your skin is dry . If you press your skin and it bounces back anywhere on your skin , you know that it's hydrated . If you pushed it and it literally doesn't bounce back , you know that you're dehydrated . Am I hydrated ? Yes , really . But if you pushed your skin and the mark still stayed and it took a long time , it , if you , if you pushed your skin and the mark still stayed and it took a long time . It's like if you pinch your skin and it doesn't snap back into place . You're very , very dehydrated . So you need to make sure that you're okay . I didn't know that . No , it is a school day , darling . I thought I was , just , bless me , a bit bit pale at times . But if you put literally , if you pinch your skin and it doesn't snap back into place , then you're really dehydrated . So you need to make sure you're really dehydrated .

Speaker 1 13:18

And then , with a VAT , you want to be taking omega-3s . Now , omega-3s I think I've probably mentioned it before but you don't want to be taking omega-6s . Omega-6 before perimenopause is fine . After perimenopause , you want to be taking omega-3s because that again , it's that great for your skin . So that's the inside bit . Now the outside bit you have to learn to love your skin again .

Speaker 1 13:42

Women will come up to me and they say I don't love the way I look anymore . I just don't love the way I look . I look ugly . I hate the way I look . It absolutely , absolutely breaks my heart . They'll go . I'm just an ugly woman . I'm an ugly woman , I'm an old woman and it . I find it really hard . Yeah , this is not me , this is . It's not who I am anymore . I don't like me , I don't recognize me . I'm an old woman .

Speaker 1 14:03

So I'm going to say it's okay , start with one thing that you love . So look in the mirror and find one feature that you love , that's a good start . So , do you love your eyes ? Do you love your lips ? And focus on loving that one thing . So what can you love about your face ?

Speaker 1 14:20

And look in , look in the mirror , and the woman will say I love my eyebrows , okay , it's your eyebrows , it's your eyebrows . How can you take care of your eyebrows ? And they'll say , I say , okay , maybe you could use an eyebrow serum , yeah , okay , that's a start . Yeah , keeping them groomed . Keeping them groomed go for an eyebrow trim , put some eyebrow serum on them , cut trees them . Learn how to use an eyebrow pencil , fill them in love on them , take care of them . Start there , that's a good one .

Speaker 1 14:47

Okay , what else can you love ? Well , I love my lips , okay . So how can you love your lips more ? Well , lips also need hydration . So can you use a hydrating lip balm , right ?

Speaker 1 15:00

Well , let's stay away from the petroleum balms , because the petroleum things , like a Nivea balm or what , are the ones that everybody uses . The ones in the sticks ? Yeah , I the the ones in the sticks . Yeah , no , you know the ones , I mean lip salves in the bar . Yeah , they're actually got petroleum oil in petroleum oil is in petrol . Yes , petroleum oil , and they dry your lips , but don't even go there . But they're really , yeah , and you've been using them for years probably . So they're really really bad for you . They're really unhealthy for you and as you keep applying them , it makes your lips dry and drier . So you keep applying it more and more . So switch it out . Use a really healthy one again

Self-Care Skincare Routine Tips

Speaker 1 15:36

.

Speaker 1 15:36

That's why we only use natural products in in the lifestyle brand , but use a really natural one and apply it before you go to bed . So when I go to bed at night time , I apply almost like a mask of hydrating products . You've got a good night time routine , but it's part of your night time ritual . So when you've done your skincare at bedtime , I keep it next to my bed . It's a little pot , and before I go to sleep at night , I hydrate my lips , because then the next day when you want to apply your lipstick , you don't have crusty , dusty lips .

Speaker 1 16:09

Okay , because when we again , when we go through perimenopause , our lips dry out and our lips shrink , feel like they're getting smaller because the line , the line around our lips , gets dotted , yeah , the line , as in the natural lip line , starts to erode and starts to get smaller , yeah , and doesn't , it's not as much of a definite line and our lips get dehydrated . So they start like the game . I've seen some women like it chipping off and yeah . So if you hydrate your lips at night time , the next day when you apply your lipstick it feels more plump , it feels more supple , the lipstick goes on better . So you can love your lips by applying a really lovely hydrating , maybe one with vitamin e , maybe one with calendula I think that's how you pronounce it .

Speaker 1 16:56

What do you look out for ? Not to have ? No paraffin oil , no petroleum jellies no , I mean just always look out . No sulfates , no para , you know , parabens ? No nasty , something that's based on natural ingredients . Okay , that's why I started . The lifestyle brand was just so that , because I was just fed up of spending all my time reading labels . Yeah , yeah .

Speaker 1 17:16

So again , when you're in perimenopause , I understand how she feels , because everything that you've learned to do for your skin before perimenopause may no longer work . I used to go to one of the big skincare companies and I would buy my retinoids , or I would buy my vitamin C products , or I would buy some of these products with lots of active ingredients in and they would be absolutely fine with for me before perimenopause and then in perimenopause , because my skin was more reactive , because I had all these little pimples , you know these little red dots all over my skin . Suddenly , if I put those products , those active products , so things with vitamin c and things with retinols in , if I put them onto my skin , my skin would just go whoosh and react to them . If you're really out of love with your skin , you might have to start again at the beginning . Start with things with no active ingredients in at all and start off at really natural , really caring , really beautiful , loving , kind , soft ingredients and and if you want to work back up to the more active ingredients , maybe start really really slowly , strip everything back and start with a massively simple cleanse even avoid toner , maybe double cleanse , use something like a cleansing melt oh yeah , what's that ? Do you know when ? If you see me take my makeup off in the evenings and I use like a beautifully smelly kind of melty thing , I've seen you use it , yeah , yeah , first and then I use . So I double cleanse , so I cleanse twice . So you don't use makeup remover , you just use that . I use a cleansing melt and then I use a cleanser , so I use a cleansing melt , then I use a creamy cleanser and it just feels really luxurious and spa-like , and I take it off with a warm face cloth every night , so I feel like I can get that little spa treatment type thing . Nice , I'm not using and I use muslin cloths , um and again , because muslin cloths are very , very soft on the skin . Yeah , that's what you used with us when we were babies , wasn't it ? Yeah , yeah , so I use a muslin cloth on my hair , so I have muslin towels for the hair . I use muslin cloths on my face . All of these tiny little things are things that are very gentle . They're very loving , they're very caring .

Speaker 1 19:46

It's just approaching things in a different way , but it's saying to yourself , instead of saying I hate where I look , I hate my skin and I get it . I'm not having . Honestly , I'm not sitting here saying , oh well , that's a ridiculous way to think . I have so been there . Yeah , you know me . I , in 2016 , I unrecognized . I was just gonna say you probably wouldn't recognize yourself then to now , and that was . You were eight years younger and that was eight years ago . Yeah , I looked older then than yeah , 100% , no offense , I came out rude . Yeah , I've got a question .

Speaker 1 20:18

Do you know because people say it's all about mind , body and soul and feeling good do you think when you look after yourself and do this whole ritual for yourself , do you think because you feel good on the inside while doing it , it shows on the outside ? Absolutely okay . The whole point about self-care is not just what it does for you on the outside . It's about saying I'm loving me , I'm taking care of me , I'm taking care of myself . It's about self-worth , self-care , self-love . It all blends together at the end of the day . And taking care of yourself is really really important because you're sending a message to your own brain saying I'm looking after me , I'm taking care of me , I'm worth something , I'm worth looking after , I'm worth loving , yeah .

Speaker 1 21:01

And it's really really important , as we go through paramount pause , to be sending that message to ourselves and saying looking in the mirror and saying it's really hard for the soul . Yeah , it's really , really hard for the soul . And we do it too often because we don't look like we used to , we don't feel like we used to . But if we carry on saying which is all too easy to do because , you know , none of us are going to look like we did when we were 20 ever again . But it's getting worse as well in our generation , even because social media gives you like an impression of what you're supposed to look like and how you're supposed to look and feel and everything . So a lot of young girls have started looking in the mirror and going , oh , I wish I had bigger this , I wish I had less this . Yeah , what scares me about your generation is that people are saying , well , I have to start my Botox now so that I don't end up aging like , yeah , whoever .

Speaker 1 21:54

And then women who are my age . I see some of the comments on posts of Jennifer Anderson saying what has she done to her face , you know ? Oh , my god , what is that ? And I'm thinking she's 60 , she's not , she's my age . No , courtney cox has just turned 60 , yeah , but jennifer anderson's younger , yeah , she's like like 50 , yes , something 56 , 57 , something like that . I'm not sure . But do you know what I mean ? It's like we were quick to pass judgment on each other . So if we judge ourselves less , yeah , we can then afford to judge , judge other women less . But when we judge ourselves harshly , we then judge other people , other women , harshly as well . So it's a bit of a problem . But someone with mariette like someone like her who travels a lot and does a lot for work and stuff , how can she fit in all these little things for herself while on the go ? This is the thing . So it's it's having a routine that is not too complicated . So this is what I'm saying . Pair it right back .

Speaker 1 22:51

If I was starting out again on my skincare , if I had got to the point where I'm out of love with my skin , I would start again with a really beautiful cleansing routine , the muslin class like . Again , I sound like a broken record , but we sell them on the lifestyle brand and the reason that we do is because I highly recommend them , because they are the best thing in perimenopause . But they're tiny little spots you can . They weigh nothing , okay . So I would get a brand and elemis do a great one , temple spa do a great one these cleansing melts , and you can get small pots of them as well . So I would start off with a simple double cleanse routine , so one cleansing melt and one creamy cleanser , and then I really wouldn't almost bother with the toner , I would just double cleanse and then I would use some kind of serum , a strengthening serum or or some kind of serum that's not too aggressive , something that's really going to sit well on the skin , and then a night moisturizer and an eye cream doesn't sound complicated when you put it like no , you know you don't need 29 million products and when you're buying these products , buy products where you can . You can have small .

Speaker 1 24:00

Go somewhere like that you can actually get sample sizes , travel sizes . Find a brand that you can actually get sample sizes , travel sizes . Find a brand that you can actually get . You know a brand like Elemis , for example . You can buy their big sizes , but they often do travel packs and they do these giveaways and you can always get their little pots . Do you know what I'm saying ? Like Estee Lauder , for example , they're always doing offers . Where you buy this one , you get these ones for free . So do that . Collect them , find out , invest in a travel kit , invest in travel sizes , and it's what brand works for you , isn't it ? And it's what brand works for you .

Speaker 1 24:37

But go and let them do your facial at the counter . There's a lot of these places that offer a free 15-minute facial offer . A free 15 minute facial offer , a free 30 minute facial . Don't be afraid to take them up on this . Don't be afraid to like , say yes , I'd like to have a free facial , yes , I'd like to have the consultation . And don't be shy to try some of their products and say I'll . Can you write me down the prescription ? I'll come back in a few days , if it feels nice on my skin , and say to them I'm trying it out because I I'm in perimenopause . I want to see how my skin reacts . If my skin reacts well , I will come back and I will purchase these products . Please give me your name and I'll make sure I purchase them from you . Nice , are you with me ? Like , be honest , be upfront with them .

Speaker 1 25:20

People don't mind that we're so worried about putting people's noses out of joints . We're so worried about thinking am I going to offend people or not ? Yeah , and it's the same with your makeup . You know , if you go to places like Dior , if you go to places like Charlotte Tilbury , if you go to places like Givenchy or Chanel , yeah , you can have a makeup lesson and they'll say minimum spend is 50 or minimum spend is 100 . Yeah , and you can have a makeup lesson and you can tell them I have mature skin .

Speaker 1 25:47

I want a very quick , no makeup makeup look or I want an evening makeup look . Please can you set me on with like five products that I can do quickly for mature skin ? Yeah , so I look like I've got a glamorous makeup and you , you'll need to change the makeup that you feel like . You know you don't want to be wearing heavy foundation , so I wear a makeup called NARS light reflecting foundation . I've heard it's amazing . It's very light , it's very dewy , it's very thin . I used to wear like thick foundation back in the day , but that's who you were like at the time . This is what I'm saying . So when you get into perimenopause , you start changing , yeah , and start thinking about different types of products that are going to give you a different type of glow . And I only do that by going and saying can you test this product on me ? Can you show me what this looks like ? That's really good .

Speaker 1 26:45

And if you , if you haven't got the courage to go with one of your friends , yeah , or one of your daughters , yeah , yeah , we've gone to it . Yeah , we've gone to a couple together . Oh , I do love my it's a treat yourself day . It is so , so necessary . I've got my next treat yourself day on the 5th of October , spending the afternoon with Dior . Well , I mean , it has . Dior has to be Dior . Sponsor me please . I really like your products I buy every month . Please just sponsor me now . Shameless plea , no shame , yeah , completely no shame . Come on , dior . Oh , bless you . So I hope that helps . Yeah , I think that was very , very good advice and I think it's good encouragement for women .

Speaker 1 27:24

Yeah , start from the inside out . Start looking outside the nutrition side . Get all that structure back into your skin , that hydration , that goodness , that collagen , the omegas and the hydration . Then try and start loving your features , even if it's just one by one . Fall back in love with them and start looking after them and then start your skincare again . Start simple , start natural and do a routine that you can keep up , no matter where you are and how much you travel . All right , take care , my darlings . As always , if you have any questions for us , we're always here to help , sending you buckets full of love , and we will speak to you again next week . Take care , my darlings , bye , bye .

Speaker 1 28:10

Thanks for joining us today on the Unplicated perimenopause podcast . We hope you found this episode helpful and inspiring . Don't forget if you have any questions or topics you'd like us to cover . You can reach out through our perimenopause group or on whatsapp for more information on my coaching per perimenopause , supplements , books or upcoming events . Please visit wwwkategrovernercom and if you've enjoyed today's episode , please subscribe , rate and review our podcast . It really helps us reach more listeners , just like you . Until next time , remember perimenopause doesn't have to be complicated . We're here to help you every step of the way . Stay uncomplicated .