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Menopause is an unavoidable phase in a woman's life, and one would expect there to be numerous resources, solutions, and support available to navigate each stage of menopause. Surprisingly, 50% of women undergo menopause without seeking advice from a medical professional, despite experiencing symptoms, and 29% of these women have reported a loss of self-confidence (nearly 67 million women facing this challenge alone!)
Interestingly, most skincare products and supplements cater to a younger audience who typically enjoy naturally vibrant skin, thick hair, and high energy levels. In an effort to shift the focus to older generations, let's delve into beauty during menopause and explore ways to alleviate symptoms, boost self-esteem, and make the menopausal journey more pleasant.
The Three Phases of Menopause
Menopause is a three-stage process, even though it may feel like an enduring period. The stages are perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Perimenopause can commence in your mid-thirties and is characterized by initial experiences of hot flashes, increased fine lines, skin sagging, and brittle hair and nails. Menopause follows after 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle, intensifying the symptoms observed during perimenopause (accompanied by additional challenges like weight gain, mood swings, and fatigue). As these symptoms wane, postmenopause sets in, which can span over a decade.
The root cause of these symptoms is the gradual decrease in estrogen production by the ovaries, which significantly impacts collagen production in the skin.
How your skin changes during Menopause
Collagen, the most prevalent protein in the human body it makes up 75% of your skin and nearly 5% of your entre body. While you naturally lose about 1% of collagen annually starting in your mid-twenties, menopause accelerates this loss to a staggering 30% within the first five years of perimenopause.
Can Collagen Supplements Help during Menopause?
Collagen supplements and menopause are interconnected because estrogen receptors in your skin partly regulate collagen production, with this dependency increasing as you age. When your ovaries generate estrogen, this hormone binds to receptors in your skin, prompting collagen synthesis. However, as estrogen levels decline with age, the signaling for collagen production diminishes, leading to dull, dehydrated skin that is more prone to wrinkles and fine lines.
Fortunately, there is a silver lining. While estrogen decline is inevitable as you age, you can maintain youthful skin by supplementing with collagen to support your body's collagen levels.
Is collagen good for menopause?
Seeing how closely related collagen is to estrogen, you’re bound to ask: does collagen help with menopause symptoms? Fortunately, the answer here is yes! Supplements for menopausal skin work by providing your skin with an excess of collagen protein, which you can use to build your own human collagen to help keep your skin plump and youthful. This is usually the mode of action for animal collagen supplements like bovine or marine collagen.
Benefits of Collagen for Menopause
Strengthens skin elasticity
One of the biggest changes during menopause occurs on your skin, as it becomes dry, dull and begins to sag from the lack of collagen production occurring as estrogen levels decline. Collagen can help keep your skin plump and hydrated reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Improves hair growth
Your hair is an extension of your skin, so as your skin gets weaker from a lack of collagen, your hair follicles will also weaken, potentially increasing hair fall and causing your hair to break easily. Including a collagen supplement can strengthen the skin on your scalp, to strengthen your hair follicles, and will not only reduce hair loss but also strengthen your hair shaft, providing you with a thicker, shinier head of hair.
Supports bone density
Collagen exists all over the body and estrogen is also involved in regulating bone density and collagen production in your joints. The drop in collagen levels can reduce bone density and lead to osteoporosis. Including a collagen supplement can help lubricate your joints and prevent bone abrasion as the increase in collagen production functions as a cushion between them to maintain healthy joints with age.
The Best Collagen for Menopause
A major issue with most collagen supplements on the market is that they contain a wide variety of peptide sequences that don’t support collagen synthesis in the body. These supplements use cheap collagen in every peptide sequence combination in hopes that one will happen to work for you.
What is a peptide sequence?
A peptide sequence is a chain of amino acids linked together. Peptide sequences can work as transporters and receptors. Imagine a key unlocking a door. In the human body, chondrocyte cells synthesize new collagen in the joints and fibroblasts synthesize new collagen in the skin. In other words, the right peptide sequence is the key that unlocks the body for collagen synthesis.
When should you take collagen supplements for menopause?
Collagen supplements can be taken at any age, but if you are trying to keep your skin youthful, you should start taking collagen for perimenopause. Prevention is always the preferred treatment to save collagen and keep your skin youthful, so starting can help your skin get a head start on it. If you’re looking for a rough estimate on when to start taking collagen, perimenopause usually starts in your late 30s or early 40s but this can vary between women.
While it may seem odd to treat your symptoms with collagen, menopause affects the whole body, and having a holistic approach with a collagen supplement that works from the inside it is most likely to get you the best results!
With the support of collagen supplements, menopause can remain an enjoyable phase of your life that you can live out instead of just trying to get through it and tolerate the symptoms. Let's support each other in making menopause enjoyable.
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