Perimenopause and Skin Problems

Less is More with Your Skin

During perimenopause, your skin begins to change. Oily areas may become dry. Lines begin to form.

The number one rule for transition skin is to stay out of the sun without a good sunscreen. While you may not be able to erase damage done by past decades of sunning, you will surely prevent further damage.

Less is more when deciding what to put on your skin. Often skin problems are actually created or aggravated by the chemicals found in skin care products. Those luxurious creams that smell so good may actually be causing problems for your skin and creating subtle allergic reactions. Worse, some are known carcinogens! Use products that contain as few ingredients as possible to achieve the desired result. You can find a great selection of skin care products that contain no harmful ingredients at Dying to Look Good.

For me, I've found that plain old petroleum jelly is the only product to which I don't react. And it's worked amazingly well to heal my elbows and cracked cuticles.

Smoking, alcohol, and drugs wreak havoc with your skin

Alcohol causes reddening of your nose and cheeks, as well as harm to the elastic fibers of the skin. Smoking directly affects the blood flow to the skin cells, which is why even relatively young smokers often have a leather-like appearance to their face, and more wrinkles than necessary around the mouth.

Dry Skin and Itching

Anything that further dries your skin — such as overuse of soaps, antiperspirants, perfumes, or hot baths — will make the problem worse. Dehydration, sun exposure, smoking, and stress also may cause dry skin.

Dry skin itches because it is irritated easily. If your skin is very dry and itchy, see a doctor. Dry skin and itching can affect your sleep, cause irritability, or be a symptom of a disease. For example, diabetes and kidney disease can cause itching. Some medicines make the itchiness worse.

Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. UV radiation from the sun is the main cause of skin cancer. In addition, artificial sources of UV radiation — such as sunlamps and tanning booths — can cause skin cancer.

Age Spots

Age spots, or “liver spots” as they’re often called, have nothing to do with the liver. Rather, these flat, brown spots are caused by years of sun exposure. They are bigger than freckles and appear in fair-skinned people on sun-exposed areas such as the face, hands, arms, back, and feet. The medical name for them is solar lentigo. They may be accompanied by wrinkling, dryness, thinning of the skin, and rough spots.

A number of treatments are available, including skin-lightening, or “fade” creams; cryotherapy (freezing); and laser therapy. Tretinoin cream is approved for reducing the appearance of darkened spots. A sunscreen or sun block should be used to prevent further damage.

Tips for Keeping Skin Healthy

Other Resources