The 4 (yes 4!) phases of perimenopause explained.

As women, it’s important to understand what’s happening to our hormones and our body during the menopause transition (which is also called perimenopause).

By understanding what’s happening to us, we become empowered to take action when symptoms show up instead of panicking and blindly reaching around in the dark!

If you’re not on hormonal birth control and have natural cycles, you’ll experience high estrogen paired with low or no progesterone during the first few phases of perimenopause.

Then, when you finally do reach menopause, you’ll have no progesterone and low estrogen.

Symptoms typically include fatigue, sweet and carb cravings, mood swings or irritability, feeling a bit depressed or overwhelmed, restless sleep or insomnia, hot flashes, and anxiety.

I know. Sounds like a real party, doesn’t it?!

In Lara Briden’s amazing book, the “Hormone Repair Manual”, Professor Prior categorizes these changes over four phases plus menopause, or “post menopause”, as it’s more commonly known.

Here are a little bit more detail about what each of the phases entails:

1. Very early perimenopause; when cycles are still regular
2. Early menopause transition; from the onset of irregular periods
3. Late menopause transition, from the first cycle of more than 60 days
4. Late perimenopause (more commonly known as post-menopause) , which is 12 months from your final period

We then move into the final life phase of menopause (post-menopause), which is one year after your last period.

Each phase has its own unique challenges but when you know what’s coming and understand why, you’re better prepared to tackle whatever challenges they are, head on. Blog post #1

How Perimenopause Affects The Skin

Hormones don’t just cause skin problems for women because of the menstrual cycle. In fact, changes in hormone levels during our perimenopausal years can also trigger certain skin issues.
Estrogen’s most often the scapegoat. Here’s why:

The drop in estrogen is usually the main culprit for these changes in our skin because estrogen stimulates the production of collagen and skin oils, but without the negative effects of testosterone.
Now, when our skin loses this stimulus due to these hormonal imbalances, it can result in skin drying, itching and losing elasticity.
Since dry, itchy, and saggy skin is never a good situation to find oneself in, here’s a few things you can do to help ease and minimize symptoms.

Change up your skincare routine. This gives our skin a new stimulus to work with.
Prioritise eating whole foods. Foods like oily fish, lots of colourful fruits and vegetables, and heart healthy fats like avocado, nuts and seeds, olives and olive oil.
Limit sugar/processed food intake. You don’t have to completely eliminate crisps, cakes and biscuits, salty foods like sausages or ham or overly processed breakfast cereals forever more, but the MORE you minimize and limit your intake, the more glowing, full and hydrated your skin will be.
See a skincare specialist like me :). This can change everything for you and the beauty is, you’ll see the benefits almost immediately.
Get regular exercise. This can also help improve the condition of your skin by supplying it with nutrients and boosting your circulation.

Skincare is an outside-in but also inside-out affair.

While each of these factors in isolation will improve the condition of your skin, the biggest benefit comes from combining and implementing them altogether.