September is National Menopause Awareness month. Now, let’s be real. We all know menopause happens – men, women, children, doctors, even our dogs. Everybody knows the word, and that women go through menopause. What we don’t know for sure are the particulars of going through menopause! Some women sneeze and it’s over. No hot flashes. Not a pound gained. No joint pain and stiffness. No headaches. Nada. Just “hey, I haven’t gotten my period in a year, so I guess it’s official, no more monthly flow” and they keep it moving.

Bringing Menopause Awareness Into the Light

Others? We endure perimenopause, then menopause, and all the horrors attributed to it, thanks to our estrogen levels dipping low! We’re out here with dull, thinning and sagging skin. We’re not sleeping. Weight is just piling up around our bellies. Our joints ache, and we’re not as limber as we once were. Before you continue reading, let me PERFECTLY CLEAR – I am not a doctor, I’m just sharing my thoughts and shining some light on products to look into. YOU have to discuss things with your own doctor, and Google some sh!t to figure out what’s best for YOU and your health. I’m just hoping to bring about menopause awareness.

Turn Back the Clock (and the Scale)

In all honesty, we can’t turn back the clock. Time’s just walking across our faces, and bodies, changing them in a variety of ways. Instead of turning it back, we can try to slow down the aging process with tweaks to our diets, and the ways we keep our bodies moving. Maybe cut down on cardio, and increase weight training or resistance training with bands. Perhaps fold in some traditional pilates, wall pilates and yoga (they even have CHAIR YOGA)!

I noticed my chronic pain increase once my hormones went haywire, so wall pilates, chair yoga, and simple resistance band workouts help me far more than attempting full-on workouts at the local gym.

Losing weight is a battle. I still haven’t figured out how to shed the insane amount of weight I gained in a short period of time. I lost 15, but gained in all back. It could b the Candida I thought I killed off in my gut didn’t die. OR, my lack of hormones kicked into overdrive. I’m attempting to move more, and eating more protein, because apparently those things help. I guess I’ll find out!

Sleep Like a Baby

With, or without hot flashes, sleep is almost nonexistent. Recently, I learned that hormones affect cortisol production. Cortisol helps keep your anxiety and depression at bay. Honest to goodness, I started to believe (after years of battling depression and anxiety) that I was going to need to be booked into in-person therapy. Once I researched a bit, I found magnesium is a huge factor in overall health. If you don’t have enough magnesium in your body, it just doesn’t work at its best.

Instead of ingesting more magnesium in pill form, which I also found wasn’t working, the next way to increase your magnesium is with topical sprays and lotions. Spray a bit all over your body, or get a night lotion to rub on your legs and feet! Or, get both from Magnum Solace.

Up Your Skincare Game

When we’re younger we assume our skin will always “bounce back”. Yes, we all saw ladies with sagging skin and wrinkles, but in the back of our minds we always thought “if I take care of my skin throughout my life, I’ll be fine”. Hahhaaaaaaaa. That still makes me laugh. Why? Because I honestly believed these things I was telling myself. It’s RUBBISH.

I have taken care of my skin, even when I was in the depths of depression! I would cleanse twice a day with all my special cleansers. It was always a priority to use my lotions and potions to maintain my youthful look. Unfortunately, my hormones had a different plan. With the dip in estrogen, my collagen tanked so it didn’t bounce back like it should.

But it didn’t stop there! I also deal with:

• crazy changes in the pigmentation
• sunspots/age spots popping up everywhere and DARKER
• dry AF skin
• so much facial hair (and I’m Sicilian, so it was already a war I’d been waging for my entire life)
• acne

And I’m absolutely certain I am not alone dealing with this treasured life transition. In order to retain my “young glow”, a dramatic overhaul of my skincare had to be done. I couldn’t use the same stuff I was using through my 30s and early-to-mid 40s. Once perimenopause began, I had to go hard on amped up moisturizers that helped hydrate my skin, but also stimulate collagen production.

Personally, I enjoy  serums, and powerhouse moisturizers for overnight healing. And, you know what, even when the products say they’re for post menopause, or just for perimenopause – I use them. And guess what? They help!

Overnight lotions and potions aren’t enough for your face and neck’s healthy glow. Switching up face cleansers is also important to help combat acne, dry skin, and scarring. I lean more towards gel cleansers and follow them up with a daily moisturizer that includes SPF protection.

Skin Care Beyond Your Face

Our first fear when we start to feel the affects of menopause is that our faces will look old and tired. But, we’ve got more skin to think about! Arms, legs, and everything else. Using more natural body cleansers free from fragrances, and chemicals, help keep our bodies nourished and hydrated. Salt & Stone spent a lot of time creating their entire line of products, and their gel body cleanser definitely helps keep skin soft and silky.

Embrace Your True Self

Age comes for those who are lucky enough to celebrate birthday after birthday. Adjusting how you think about aging dramatically helps you embrace your true self and all the body changes. Look, we’re older and wiser, and our bodies are going to show the signs of aging. We can do our best to slow down the process, but short of having surgeries to fix what you think needs fixing – we have to accept that sometimes our bodies change and it’s okay!

We’re all doing our best not to let wrinkles, extra weight, and hot flashes get us down. Our messed up hormones also mess with our body’s ability to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression. It’s a crazy transition from being a fertile menstruating woman into whatever the heck we all turn into! No one really talks about perimenopause and menopause with one another, and THAT has to change. Women need to shine the light on everything happening to our bodies, minds, and souls during this odd life transition, because not sharing these things causes unnecessary suffering!

Help spread menopause awareness for the sake of all women, and men (because they need to understand how to support us ladies). We have lots of life to live even after our menstruation stops. This isn’t the end, it’s a new beginning. Let’s live our best lives ladies. We deserve it.

Let’s learn to be grown-ups together.