How to Look and Feel Great After Menopause

2. Get serious about daily sun protection

You say you wear sunscreen. What’s the SPF? Do you apply it every day? Even in winter? How about when it’s cloudy, rainy or stormy?

Menopause, due to falling estrogen and reduced cell turnover, brings sun damage, discolorations and textural skin changes front and center and not just on the face. Still, many menopausal women admit they shrug off SPF as a “summer thing” and limit protection to an only-applied-in-the-morning effort, or say “the damage is already done.” That’s a worst-case scenario I hear a lot. 

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The best solution now: Make one of these products your new ride-or-die companion: a nongreasy sunscreen stick that has an emolient formula with moisturizing squalane and soothing aloe like Bubble Sun Rise Mineral Sunscreen Stick Broad Spectrum SPF 40 ($13, target.com); Neutrogena Ultra Sheer SPF 50 Zinc Mineral Sunscreen Stick ($21, cvs.com), fragrance-free and enriched with vitamin E; or Blue Lizard Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen Stick, SPF 50+ Unscented ($10, cvs.com), pocket-sized for TSA checks. Apply and reapply it to all exposed skin — even the backs of your hands when driving and your neck and chest when wearing bare necklines — all year long. These new mineral formulas leave no white cast, won’t disrupt your makeup or other skin care products, and will be invisible, no matter how many times you reapply during the day.

Madison Reed The Great Cover Up Root Touch Up + Brow Filler

Ulta

3. Fill and fatten thinning hair with a touch-up

Hardly anyone escapes hair woes after menopause. Your part may be wider, your ponytail skinnier; there may be recession at the temples or all along the hairline; and your hair may grow more slowly. You can pop hair gummies and supplements, try FDA-approved over-the-counter minoxidil for regrowth or get salon-applied extensions, but let’s be realistic. The first two take months to show results, and the last is expensive and adds traction at the roots and hairline, which can exacerbate thinning. The best way to manage  thinning hair is to change up your usual hairstyle. A chop to a bob or lob (a long bob) instantly deletes straggly ends. If you want a real change, try adding long, feathery bangs (a full fringe or sideswept) or face-brightening low-contrast highlights. The latter coats strands to make thin hair feel thicker, and adds a multitoned look that makes hair appear fuller.

Good news: There are also products that visually camouflage sparse areas of your hair and brows in a couple of minutes by clinging to the scalp and hair fibers. Check out rain-, sweat- and pillow-proof brush-on powders in compact form, like Madison Reed The Great Cover Up Root Touch Up + Brow Filler ($36, ulta.com), in six shades; Color Wow Root Cover Up ($35, sephora.com), in eight shades; and the Laura Geller Root Touch-Up Brow Duo ($40, laurageller.com), a hair and brow filler in five shades with a dual cream and powder applicator wand and a bonus variety of brow stencils. Hey, hair brands: Take a hint and expand our color choices!  

(From left) Tarte Face Tape Foundation; Dermablend Continuous Correction CC SPF 50; Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation.

AARP (Kohl’s; Macy’s, 2)

4. Get realistic full-coverage makeup

You’ve probably noticed that face makeup is trending sheer, serum-like and nearly undetectable. However, many postmenopausal women say they want more effective camouflage of discolorations and redness without the dry, cakey, thicker look that makes full-coverage foundations seem outdated.

Updated foundations and CC creams (a.k.a color-correcting creams) now look and behave like top-tier tinted moisturizers. Despite their higher pigment content, the formulas have a skin-like texture and feel satiny (even when the label says “matte”) thanks to familiar skin care ingredients like hyaluronic acid. Take a look at three hyaluronic acid–packed formulas: Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation ($53, macys.com), in 50 shades; IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream With SPF 50+ ($39, ulta.com), a dewy 30-shade formula that even covers rosacea and serious hyperpigmentation; and Tarte Face Tape Foundation ($42, kohls.com), a natural-looking matte in 50 shades. All are sweatproof, transfer-proof and buildable without giving away your secrets, even in broad daylight.

(From left) La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5 Soothing Repair Spray; Thayers Alcohol-Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel Facial Mist; Mario Badescu Skincare Facial Spray with Aloe Chamomile Lavender Facial Treatment: Hydrating Mist for Normal to Very Dry Skin.

AARP (CVS, 2; Target)

5. Anticipate hot flashes like a pro

Many women continue to get hot flashes long past what they thought was the end of menopause. But day or night in any season, our body temperature can soar to tropical heat-wave levels, leaving us with a damp scalp and face.

Some women swear by cooling bracelets or necklaces that they chill in the freezer. Others carry around mini fans, meditate or try medical intervention like HRT. A few beauty and fashion fixes will help you anticipate the worst and get it over with quickly. Dress in loose layers on top; wear natural, breathable fibers like cotton or linen as a base layer; sleep on moisture-wicking sheets and pillowcases; and switch to waterproof eyeliner and mascara.

For a fast fix that’s also pleasant, try a face mist, like Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Ice-Facial Cooling Mist ($30, ulta.com); Mario Badescu Skincare Facial Spray With Aloe Chamomile Lavender Facial Treatment: Hydrating Mist for Normal to Very Dry Skin ($6, target.com); or Thayers Alcohol-Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel Facial Mist Toner ($4, cvs.com). All cool, soothe, hydrate and refresh skin and makeup and help to calm redness and reduce puffiness. . Keep one in your bag, your car and, of course, at home for an instant reboot, even in January.

(From left) Japonesque Slant Tweezer Midnight; Revlon Expert Tweezer Slant Tip.

AARP (Target, 2)

6. Handle those facial hairs

While the hair on your head and brows is decreasing, the hair on your chin or upper lip may be increasing. A few random hairs can be easily plucked with a slant-tipped tweezer, like the Cleverman Precision Slant Tweezer, Expert Brow & Facial Hair Removal ($16, ulta.com); the Japonesque Slant Tweezer Midnight ($13, target.com); or the Revlon Expert Tweezer, Slant Tip ($7, target.com). Caution: Don’t use a pointy one. A wider edge makes it easier to safely and securely grip a single hair at a time without damaging your skin.

Downy cheeks, another postmenopause issue, can be solved by gently buffing away any excess foundation, blush or bronzer clinging to hairs with a damp makeup sponge.

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Women with a more visible “mustache” or chin whiskers ask about removal methods such as waxing, threading, shaving, dermaplaning, IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) devices and facial depilatories. This is where things get tricky. If you now have thinner, more fragile or sensitive skin, all the above methods may have potential downsides. You might experience irritation, redness, breakouts, stinging, rashes or even burning, or find that your choice triggers flares of rosacea or eczema, even if you had no problems in the past.

My advice: Skip the shaving and dermaplaning. I don’t care how trendy they are; no one needs dark, coarse stubble regrowth and ingrown hairs. Next, talk to your dermatologist about electrolysis or laser hair removal. Here’s the difference: Lasers have FDA clearance for hair removal and use concentrated beams of light to target melanin pigment in the hair follicles. They work best when there’s a contrast between lighter skin and darker hair, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Electrolysis also has FDA approval for permanent hair removal. It uses an electric current to zap individual hair follicles at the root. Both require patience: Multiple sessions over several months to a year are needed for results.

(From left) Moroccan Dry Body Oil; Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Oil Mist With Oat Oil; Naturium The Glow Getter Multi-Oil Body Butter.

AARP (Kohl’s, CVS, Target)

7. Celebrate your body with balms, butters and oils

Menopause is actually a head-to-toe deal. It’s not just about your face and hair or a belly bulge. Your arms, torso and legs will be drier, itchier and more sensitive, and collagen loss can make your décolletage crepey. This is when it’s time to start a new body-positive routine that celebrates how far you’ve come.

Treat yourself to richer creams and body oils formulated with emollient ingredients like shea, cocoa butter and plant oils to replenish moisture and seal the skin’s barrier layer. Quick-absorbing oils, like Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Oil Mist With Oat Oil ($13, cvs.com); Neutrogena Moisturizing Body Oil, Light Sesame Formula ($16, walgreens.com); Moroccan Dry Body Oil ($30, kohls.com) and Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil ($52, nordstrom.com), give dry or discolored skin a healthy, sexy sheen without being greasy and staining your clothes.

You could also switch from lotions to rich body butters. Try Burt’s Bees Boosted Body Whipped Butter ($13, walgreens.com), with ceramides, peptides and a tropical fruity scent; Naturium Glow Getter Multi-Oil Body Butter ($22, target.com), with glycerin and shea butter; or Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Butta Drop Refillable Whipped Oil Body Cream With Tropical Oils + Shea Butter in Vanilla Dream ($46, sephora.com), a delicious way to start or end the day.