How to Shop for Skincare in Peri/Menopause

It might be time to divorce your current regimen

Tap the ❤️❤️❤️ if all of the 90s fall fashion in stores now is giving you flashbacks. (And does anyone know how I get my hands on one of those throwback J.Crew catalogs?)

Glad to be done with the babydoll dress phase.

If you loved grunge-y garage bands and wore babydoll dresses with platform Mary Janes (the first time around), it might be time to update your current skincare regimen.

Whether it’s dryness, dullness, changes in texture, or even itchiness or breakouts, many women in peri/menopause tell me they woke up one morning and felt like their skin completely changed. Much of the beauty industry is focused on “anti-aging” products for women 40+, but I’ve come to learn that’s not exactly what many women want. And let’s step back for a moment and realize that “anti-aging” is not a thing. None of us can actually stop aging, which is a natural, biological process.

I created Phosis for women who want clean, luxurious, and skin-nurturing products that deliver a glowier and refreshed version of themselves – all by supporting skin health and strength through all stages of menopause. Whether you incorporate Phosis products or not, here are a few shopping tips I’ve learned as a menopause educator, skincare formulator, and a woman experiencing perimenopause:

1. Marry Your Moisturizer, Date Your Treatments & Serums

The most critical and consistent part of your routine in peri/menopause should be your moisturizer. Declining estrogen levels that come with perimenopause affect your skin’s barrier – the permeable layer of outermost skin cells that keeps irritants out and moisture in. A compromised barrier can make skin look dry, dull, flaky, textured, or red. Consistently using a repairing moisturizer will improve hydration, making skin look more rested and radiant and improve texture overall.

When formulating Phosis’s hero product, Calm Deep Hydration Restorative Cream, I wanted to create a cream that supports and improves the skin’s moisture barrier, infuses the skin with nourishing ingredients, and feels luxurious and elegant. And it had to work under makeup. And without added fragrances or essential oils that I have become more sensitive to. Until I went through skincare formulation school, I didn’t realize that so many products contain fragrances and essential oils because the actual smell of the product without those added scents is often unpleasant.

A note on texture: Barrier-repair creams/moisturizers like Calm may have a thicker consistency than you’re used to. This is intentional and necessary. In the formulation process, I insisted on the impossible – a lush, ceramide-rich cream that melts into skin after a minute or two and works nicely under makeup. It wasn’t easy to achieve these seemingly opposing characteristics - a thick cream that wasn’t heavy - but eventually I succeeded.

Meeting your match in a great moisturizer gives you incredible flexibility to treat your skin for whatever it needs with whatever treatments you like underneath. Love your prescription retinoid? Fantastic. Put Calm on afterward. Have a favorite Vitamin C or hyperpigmentation treatment? Glorious. Slather it on and then put your barrier repair cream on top.

Tip: When you notice your skin needs even more TLC or if you live in an especially dry or harsh climate, try layering a lightweight facial oil over a barrier repair cream. It will act as an additional layer to seal in moisture. I formulated our Luminous Ultrafine Revitalizing Oil with antioxidant-rich botanical oils to do just that, so it’s a great companion to Calm.

2. Ingredients: Red Flags vs. Green Flags

What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in your body, and ingredients matter. I wholeheartedly believe that what’s NOT in a formula is just as important as what is. Some things to look out for: 

Red flags: 

• Irritants like artificial fragrances, essential oils, or propylene glycol. (I personally have an allergic reaction to this ingredient).

• Petroleum-based ingredients. I’ve stayed away from these not because they’ve been proven to be harmful to the skin, but because their production isn’t great for the environment. 

• Phthalates and other endocrine-disrupting ingredients such as parabens.

• Sulfates. Typically found in cleansing products these ingredients can strip already dry skin and further harm your skin’s moisture barrier.

• Actives that don’t agree with you. The right regimen for your peri/menopausal skin is personal, and I wanted to create an effective moisturizer that could be used by nearly all women in peri/menopause. I intentionally left out some traditional “anti-aging” (ugh that word again) ingredients so you can personalize your regimen and adjust it day-to-day.

For example, my skin can’t handle retinol so I love serums with bakuchiol, a gentler alternative. Sometimes I apply a bakuchiol serum underneath Calm. Using a moisturizer without harsh actives allows me skip my serum if needed and give my skin a rest from actives a couple of nights a week. 

Green flags:

• Fatty acids & ceramides 

• Glycerin, a powerful humectant that attracts moisture to skin

• Red Algae Extract

• Lupine Protein

• Peptides

• Botanical oils like Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Sea Buckthorn Oil, Prickly Pear Seed Oil

• Pomegranate Seed Oil

• Papaya Seed Oil

3. Compatibility: Do your values match?

In my 40s, I’ve experienced the gift of getting to know myself. I care lots less about what people think and lots more about being a good example for my kids and leaving a positive legacy. One way I can ensure I do that is to shop according to my values. 

One quick and easy way you can ensure your beauty products are making a positive impact is to look for seals, certifications, and partnerships – typically located on a brand’s website or sometimes right on the packaging. 

As a beauty founder, I’m painfully aware that this industry contributes to an enormous amount of environmental waste each year. I choose to lead by example by partnering with 1% for the Planet and Pact Collective. 

Brands with the 1% for the Planet seal give back 1% of their annual sales each year to vetted environmental causes. This year, we’ve chosen organizations that fuel my passion for protecting bees and supporting beekeepers. 

(Read more about my backyard hive hobby here!)

Working with Pact Collective ensures that even our smallest packaging components such as lids, sprayers, and droppers can successfully be recycled. (Phosis customers, stay tuned for easy instructions to ensure your purchase is recycled responsibly and won’t end up in a landfill like many other beauty purchases.)

4. Timing: Give products a chance to work.

Few products offer instant results, and I recommend taking a critical look at any marketing claims that suggest otherwise. The reality is that high-quality products with efficacious ingredients typically take some time to work. It’s easy to use a new product for only a couple of weeks before dismissing it, but I urge you to stay with that product for 8-12 weeks before deciding that it’s not having the desired effect.

Brands that care about you, and your investment in your skincare, conduct clinical trials to prove that their products make a difference. They’ll share the findings, and tell you how long it will take to see typical results. As a female founder, it was essential to me that we conduct clinical trials and transparently communicate what you can expect our products to accomplish. While it wasn’t easy or inexpensive to run third-party clinical trials, I felt strongly about understanding the effect the products have on skin.

Once we officially launch, check out our website for photos and a more detailed explanation, but here are our clinical results: 

• 97% reported that their skin felt smoother

• 93% had an improvement in radiance

• 84% had an improvement in texture

• 82% had an improvement in suppleness

We’re proud to say that all testers in our study were in perimenopause or beyond with ages ranging from 48 to 70 — something that’s not remotely industry standard.

5. Reset the Right Way

Wisdom is being able to admit that you’re wrong! One mistake I made early in my peri/meno skincare journey was thinking that cleansing alone could solve my skincare issues like clogged pores, breakouts, and uneven texture. I bought all kinds of cleansers thinking that they’d somehow rinse blackheads, clear the zits, and smooth the uneven texture away along with melting away the day’s makeup. In reality, the more I cleansed, the worse my skin looked as I unknowingly disrupted my skin’s barrier function, which led to an increase in dryness, redness, and breakouts as my skin was trying to compensate for the natural oils that I kept stripping away.

If this sounds familiar, it’s helpful to reconsider your cleanser. To avoid further damaging a skin barrier that’s vulnerable to dryness caused by peri/menopause symptoms, try a milk or oil-based cleanser that’s free of sulfates (detergents that can strip skin and make dryness and irritation worse). These types of cleansers often contain less aggressive surfactants that gently wash away irritants and makeup. In my experience, they work much better when used with a washcloth as opposed to just swirling your fingers over your face.

In truth, daily cleansing won’t “reset” or refresh skin the way a chemical or physical exfoliant can. If you’re experiencing dullness, dryness, or uneven texture, I recommend a serum or mask that gently exfoliates with an acid or enzymes followed by a barrier repair moisturizer like Calm. Curious about exfoliation? I’ve written an whole article about it here.

This Week’s Movement Snack

Declining levels of estrogen can contribute to physical changes in our musculoskeletal system; frozen shoulder being one of them. This week, I’m demonstrating how I incorporate a little extra shoulder love into my routine to keep my shoulders healthy and functional.

Cheers to looking and feeling your best!
Susan

Susan Campbell
Founder & CEO, Phosis