Menopause: 3 valuable tips for staying well in your skin
We can never repeat it enough, menopause is not inevitable, it is a new stage in a woman’s life. To be able to live it to the fullest, you still need to be well informed.
It also seems important to be able to adopt certain lifestyle habits that are both simple and impactful to improve your overall well-being. While taking into account the specificities of each person. Food, Japanese massage, essential oils or even facial gymnastics. Here is an overview of new habits that you could implement in your daily life.
The impact of our plate
If diet plays a key role, it is not the only one. Certain factors can also help alleviate certain problems linked to this period. People with higher intakes of vitamin C (cabbage, broccoli, turnips, peppers, citrus fruits, blackcurrants, etc.), alpha-linolenic acid (linseeds, walnuts, rapeseed oil, etc.) and who consume less fat and carbohydrates would, in the long term, lead to less wrinkled and less dry skin. More generally, to maintain plump skin for as long as possible, we should turn as soon as possible to the Mediterranean diet, rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish rich in omega-3 (sardines , anchovies, mackerel…). And limit your consumption of alcohol, salt, red meat, cold meats, omega-6 (sunflower oil in particular), white bread and, of course, sugar. The latter destroys collagen and elastin by increasing cell glycation: the skin stiffens under the effect of glucose, like caramel.
Jean-Christophe Charrié, general practitioner and skin specialist, also recommends adopting a diet rich in collagen, which is found for example in traditional stew or chicken broth. Also remember to stock up on silica with nettle and horsetail (powdered supplements) and “good” oils (olive, walnut, hazelnut, camelina,
rapeseed), or even evening primrose oil capsules as a supplement (two per day). Finally, in some women, estrogens are less effective after menopause and accelerate aging. So, we remain cautious about the aggravating factors such as alcohol, tobacco and UV rays! Unless there are medical contraindications, estrogenic plants, such as sage, angelica or simply soy, can compensate for these imbalances.
“Kobido”, the anti-grey complexion massage
A true regenerating massage for the face, kobido (“ancient way of beauty”) was developed more than five hundred years ago in Japan by two masters of the anma (first form of Japanese massage). Today, it is Dr Shogo Mochizuki, a twenty-sixth generation master, who teaches it and has passed it on to less than ten practitioners in France, including Marine Clermont (on son site : 30 minutes, €100), masseuse-physiotherapist. A true choreography, this invigorating and gentle massage brings together hundreds of techniques alternately integrating smoothing, targeted and controlled kneading, percussion, vibrations, acupressure and stretching.
“It acts on the skin, muscular, bone, vascular and nervous systems by boosting cellular metabolism, which gives it its lifting and anti-aging power,” explains the specialist. It reduces tension, releases toxins, drains, revives and balances qi, bringing general physical, emotional and psychological harmony. » In fact, after a kobido session, you sleep like a baby! An occasional massage gives a boost of radiance and relaxes, while a regular practice (at the rate of a weekly then monthly session) would slow down skin aging by firming the tissues, reducing muscular tension at the origin of expression lines and promoting the production of collagen.
Facial gymnastics
Effective, provided you choose carefully and are regular. After twenty weeks of daily exercises, facial skin is firmer, plumper, with plumper cheeks, and you appear three years younger. This is what was found in an American study carried out with sixteen participants aged 40 to 65 practicing happy face yoga (a form of facial yoga offered in the United States). The exercises of
Facial gymnastics would therefore be effective, provided that you adopt gentle and “no grimaces” approaches, otherwise there is a risk of accentuating wrinkles! “Nothing should be done by force.
Expression lines result from hypertonicity of the face, which can no longer relax. It is therefore important to learn to relax these areas before starting toning exercises, otherwise we risk reinforcing our tensions,” assures Sylvie Lefranc (1), specialist
facial yoga. For this, the expert offers an individual course to learn the exercises adapted to your body type. Very complete and
gentle, facial yoga includes exercises to tone sagging muscles (eyelids, cheeks, etc.) and stretch contracted muscles (forehead,
jaws…) and self-massage and acupressure. If the result is instantaneous, for a lasting result, you need to practice five to ten
minutes per day for several weeks.
1. Facial yoga, sylvielefranc.fr (individual lessons on site in Paris or online, 1 hour, €150).
Essential oils: a concentrate of nature
They are of interest to cosmetic manufacturers for their promising cell regeneration action. Their instructions for use and their association are very precise. If you have very sensitive skin, switch to more traditional creams or serums. After choosing the scent that suits you, place five drops in 25 ml of vegetable oil (jojoba, rosehip oil, argan, etc.). Apply them every evening to cleansed skin. Here are the main anti-wrinkle essential oils recommended by Dr Françoise Couic Marinier, co-author of Treat Everything with 16 Essential Oils (Terre vivant, 2019).
The precious ones: EO of rose, bigarade neroli, jasmine or magnolia. Regenerating, antioxidant and healing,
these luxurious fragrances each have their own specificities: anti-wrinkle, nourishing and plumping for the rose; firming for
jasmine; relaxing for neroli; moisturizing and anti-wrinkle for magnolia. But above all, each one offers a true olfactory journey, bringing joy and immediate relaxation to the face. Choc trio: HE of wild carrot seed + HE of rockrose + HE of Italian helichrysum (immortelle). Carrot seed oil deeply repairs the skin, firms it and regenerates it; that of cistus strengthens the dermis by stimulating the production of new cells; finally, that of helichrysum nourishes, heals, drains the skin (deflates puffiness), activates circulation (dark circles) and is antioxidant. In terms of efficiency, we don’t do better than this trio. However, to compensate for their powerful smell, combine them with geranium EO, very pleasant, inexpensive, antioxidant and skin protective (slows down the destruction of elastin).
ADVANCED FORMULAS FOR RADIANT SKIN
Le Lift Cream-Oil, Chanel, 50 ml, €138.
Plumping effect. This new half-cream, half-oil texture ensures comfort and luminosity of the complexion for a 93% natural formula. Alfalfa stimulates cell renewal, increases the thickness of the epidermis and visibly smoothes it. Enriched with mother-of-pearl, it provides
a beautiful, instant healthy glow effect.
Age Perfect corrective serum, L’Oréal Paris, 30 ml, €17.99.
Unifying serum. To prevent and reduce pigmentation on the face, neckline and hands, a serum based on native peony cells and niacinamide. Applied morning and evening, it announces -39% brown spots in twelve weeks.
Vital Perfection enriched firmness lift cream, Shiseido, 50 ml, €128, €109 per refill.
Revitalizing. A rich and light cream that intensely hydrates, firms and evens the complexion with ReNeura technology aimed at strengthening the skin’s internal sensory signals.
Triple Renergy HCF Eye Serum, Lancôme, 20 ml, €87
Tired look. In the same formula, hyaluronic acid, peptides, vitamin C and F and niacinamide which act synergistically on wrinkles, bags and eyelids.
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Facial yoga, by Sylvie Lefranc (Leduc, 2019)