A key ‘milestone’ in every woman’s life is menopause, with the perimenopausal transition beginning in their 40s (although this can be earlier in some women). During this transition, women experience a number of changes, varying from hot flushes and irregular periods to weight gain, fatigue, mood swings and a drop in sex drive. Although women experience a range of these at different levels, some of the more significant physical changes often have a negative impact, affecting her family life, career and how she feels about herself.
For many years there has been little to no coverage about this journey. However, times are changing. There’s been a considerable amount of coverage in the press about perimenopause and menopause, with many celebrities talking openly about their experiences. This means women are becoming more informed about treatments that can help make the transition through perimenopause more comfortable, which provides an opportunity to create packages to meet these needs.
The depletion of oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone during perimenopause triggers changes to the hair, skin and body, which can leave a woman feeling less confident about herself. If you speak to patients in their 40s and 50s, you may find they talk about how they no longer recognise who’s looking back at them in the mirror or that their ageing just ‘happened overnight’.
They may report hair loss, a noticeable increase in lines and wrinkles, and sagging around the eyes and jawline. Their skin may feel thinner and more sensitised with textural issues, breakouts or facial hair growth. The body is also affected as a drop in hormones triggers a redistribution of weight around the midsection and, in many cases, bloating and weight gain of around 5lbs or more. The skin on the body may look crepey, having lost elasticity and starts to sag. Some women see an increase in urge incontinence or leakage and find sex is more uncomfortable or painful due to dryness or tissue atrophy.
As an aesthetic practitioner, you can make a positive difference to women experiencing the effects of perimenopause with tailored treatment packages. Creating skin, body, and intimate health packages that ease the transition and bring about positive changes to appearance and self-confidence will not only improve the lives of your patients, it will also enhance clinical results, increase revenue and encourage patient retention.
Creating skin, body, and intimate health packages that ease the transition and bring about positive changes to appearance and self-confidence will not only improve the lives of your patients, it will also enhance clinical results, increase revenue and encourage patient retention.
So, where do you start? Putting together packages may seem daunting, so the first step is to identify the key areas of concern your perimenopausal patients have. Once you know what the ‘problems’ are, you can put together a comprehensive solution that delivers lasting, noticeable and often life-changing results. The next step is to look at the treatments you have in clinic that can work together to produce the desired clinical outcomes. These could be injectable products, medical-grade skincare, peels or energy-based devices. Now it’s time to get creative.
Skin
Hormone fluctuations significantly affect the skin. Collagen and elastin levels drop, skin loses firmness, and patients often report dry, sensitised skin with open pores, textural issues, acne, facial hair, wrinkles and sagging. Addressing all of these concerns at once may seem overwhelming for the patient so break things down into targeted packages that work on specific concerns. The first step, whatever their key area of concern, is addressing skin health by creating a healthy canvas to work on. This should be done with appropriate skincare and supplementation.
For visible signs of ageing, such as skin laxity, loss of volume, and wrinkles, combine treatments that address all these concerns rather than relying on one treatment. Provide skin analysis as part of their package so you can set the benchmark and tailor the plan to suit their specific needs. Once you have the results, prescribe a comprehensive skincare regime using products tailored to their skin type to support in-clinic treatments. Include this as standard in your package as the foundations of the programme rather than an ‘added optional extra’.
Also, consider adding a drinkable supplement to work on collagen from the inside out. Energy-based treatments such as radio frequency, IPL, LED or laser that stimulates collagen and elastin work well to plump and tighten, reducing the appearance of lines and firming up the skin. Micro-needling with radio frequency could also be an option for more severe lines and laxity. Once the skin has been treated, fine-tune the results with carefully placed dermal filler to address lost volume and add lift. Neuromodulators will soften any deeper wrinkles, and skin boosters will increase moisture levels and give a youthful glow.
Option: Consider creating a similar package for more visible areas of the body such as the neck, décolletage, upper arms, hands, elbows and knees. Energy-based treatments, injectables, plus a nourishing body cream will deliver results in these areas.
For pigmentation and textural issues, put together a package that includes skin analysis and medical-grade skincare as standard. Energy-based treatments or peels that resurface and break down dark spots will tackle visible pores and darker pigmented areas. Some of these treatments may have more visible downtime, especially if you’re using CO2 or laser, so don’t forget to add LED and/or topical growth factors to speed healing and recovery.
Targeted treatments can be added to an existing package to address specific patient concerns. IPL or laser can reduce facial hair, eliminate redness and, target acne. By creating a treatment journey, your patient will begin to understand this is an ongoing plan that will deliver the results they want over a period of time.
Hair
Hair loss and thinning can increase significantly during perimenopause. Put together a treatment package for scalp health to stimulate new hair growth, such as Hydrafacial Keravive, then use LED to boost results. PRP and microneedling is also an effective treatment which can be packaged with in-clinic and home-use growth factor hair kits by companies like AnteAGE MD or SkinGenuity. Don’t forget, serums for eyebrows and eyelashes can also be added to any hair package.
Body
Perimenopausal women often see unwanted changes in their bodies. A drop in hormones can redistribute weight to the midsection. Sleep disruption affects hormones that stimulate the appetite, which leads to unwanted weight gain no matter how hard a woman diets or exercises. There’s a reason they call it middle-age spread.
Combining body contouring treatments that take care of problem areas can work on this unwanted side effect of perimenopause. Look at targeting all three planes if you have the technology in clinic, namely muscle, skin and fat, to produce the best results. Be aware that as you reduce unwanted body fat, your patient may find the drop in collagen and elastin means their skin doesn’t snap back, so they may see loose skin in the treatment area. Pre-empt this secondary issue by packaging together treatments that reduce body fat and tighten the skin. Reduce fat using cryolipolysis, radio frequency, ultrasound or laser technologies. Then tighten the skin with radio frequency and HIFU, adding injectable skin boosters where needed.
Option: Once the fat has been reduced, introduce muscle-stimulating technology to strengthen and tone the underlying muscles. Not only will this help enhance the overall result it will also increase metabolically active muscle, which burns more calories at rest.
Intimate health
Collagen loss happens everywhere, including in intimate areas, which leads to dryness, tissue atrophy, and discomfort during sex. Provide a comprehensive solution using collagen-stimulating technologies such as CO2 or radio frequency to treat the vulva and vagina and to stimulate new collagen and elastin. The thickening of tissue, especially with internal treatments, can also bring improvements to women suffering from incontinence. PRP and injectable treatments in this area increase collagen and lubrication, enhancing pleasure and can be added to an energy-based treatment or used as a stand-alone solution. Don’t forget to include at-home topical products as standard so patients can use them to enhance clinical results.
Option: Invest in muscle stimulation for the pelvic floor. This non-invasive treatment can be performed fully clothed and will strengthen the pelvic floor area, reducing symptoms of incontinence as well as enhancing sexual pleasure.
Whatever technologies or products you have at your disposal, always look at combination therapy to provide effective treatments for perimenopausal women.
Incorporate medical-grade skincare as part of all packages you offer and design a treatment journey so the patient understands the plan. This significant period of a woman’s life doesn’t have to be a negative experience. It can be a chance to prepare for the next exciting stage of womanhood.
