Your skin and hair after menopause: do not give up

By Hannah Sivak, PhDSenior Scientist,Skin Actives Scientific LLCWomen who have decided not to do homone replacement therapy (HRT) expect slow changes in their bodies, including, for example, increase risk of ostheoporosis. Many women, however, are taken by surprise by the changes they see in their skin and hair. Our skin has receptors for estrogen, and when the estrogen decreases with menopause, skin and hair will age more or less suddenly.If you are not going to do HRT and you are not ready to see you skin and hair age, there are options.You can make your own, "do it yourself" skin care and hair products that will slow down, and even reverse, aging of skin and hair.Go for soy isoflavones, nutrients (collagen peptides, hyaluronic acid, vitamins) and a base cream you can mix easily and adjust to your specific needs and wants. Skin Actives Scientific (skinactives on okay) sells the actives you need, and I will help you tailor your own products. To start, go for the keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) hair kit, it will stop hair loss and give you back some volume. You can use it also to recover eye lashes and eye brows. Be careful with the shampoo you use: you don't need the bubbles, and if the bubbles are there because of sodium lauryl sulfate, the price you will pay will be hair loss. For hair conditioner, look for nutrition, sea kelp bioferment will give you that and soft hair too.For your skin, get Canvas base cream, antioxidant booster and lots of soy isoflavones. See whether your skin can tolerate the sting of alpha lipoic acid and niacinamide, and adjust the oiliness with some rosehip oil, a gret supplier of essential fatty acids.For tighter skin, try the DMAE serum. For instant gratification, use the Celestite spritz but don't abuse it, because it will not give you the nutrition your skin needs. Use the Celestite only when you want to impress your friends at a party, and for long-term effects try GABA in Canvas base cream.Have fun with DIY while you take real care of your skin and hair. Not the "feel good" care of spending lots of money at the department store, but the real taking care of doing what is right for your body and yourself.