The bad news—menopause dryness is an inevitable change for women as they age. The main reason for this is due to a drop in hormone levels, primarily estrogen, which leads to some noticeable changes to your skin and hair. The good news? Menopause dryness in all your body’s places is manageable and we’ve got you covered. Read on for all the ways to help turn your skin around.
More Than Lip Service is a vaginal and vulvar moisturizer that alleviates the symptoms of dryness down there that occurs in more than 50% of women.
Does Menopause Dryness Go Away?
Sadly, the hormonal changes that occur at menopause are permanent. During the lead-up to menopause—perimenopause—and at menopause, your body makes less estrogen, the hormone responsible for maintaining the elasticity, thickness, and suppleness of your skin. And while you may notice drier skin and hair, less obvious places on your whole body, including your neck, back, and chest, to elbows, legs, genitals — even nails, may be affected too.
The inside of your mouth, nose, and eyes get drier as you age, as well. You might not think of them as skin, but just like the tissues inside your genitals–they’re called “mucosa,”–hormonal changes impact these as well, leaving you with itchy eye pain, cotton mouth, and that awful sandy feeling in your vagina. Thankfully there are many ways to help you, and your skin, feel better again.
What Helps with Dry Skin During Menopause
We’ve written about treating dry skin before and many of the tips outlined in these posts and our free guide, can help:
- Here’s How to Treat Dry Skin as You Get Older
- Make This One Change to Relieve Dry Skin Make This One Change to Relieve Dry Skin
- 5 Tips to Help You Care for Your Menopause Skin
- And you can also download our free guide packed with 7 Powerful—and easy—Tips to Help Banish Dry Skin.
Why Am I Dry Down There All of a Sudden?
Beyond your skin, hair and nails, you may notice menopause dryness in some unexpected places. Like down there. Estrogen’s impact on your skin also extends to the mucosal tissue found in your vulva and vagina. Low levels of the hormone can lead to thinning, drying, and inflammation of the vaginal walls. Vaginal tissues become more easily irritated. This condition is called vaginal atrophy and can result in:
- Itching or stinging
- Burning and pain during sex or urination
- Light bleeding following intercourse
- An increased risk for developing urinary tract problems such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) and frequent urination.
There are other causes of vaginal dryness as well, including breastfeeding, some medications, and certain medical conditions. Read more about this here: Don’t Put Up With Vaginal Dryness | How to Treat it
How do I Treat Vaginal Dryness?
Without treatment, vaginal dryness usually worsens over time. And since treatments are available, it’s important to try them to help relieve your symptoms and discomfort. There are 3 main ways to address vaginal dryness:
- Lubricants
- Vaginal/Vulvar Moisturizers
- Hormone Treatments
What works for you depends on a number of factors, including personal choice along with trying different products. Many women may start off by using a lubricant but then move to a moisturizer like More Than Lip Service for longer term relief. Hormonal treatments are an option for some women and a discussion with your trusted medical provider is always a good place to start.
Can I Use Lube to Moisturize Menopause Dryness?
Lubricants are designed to deliver added moisture to your vagina just before sex or pleasuring, but their results are only temporary. Moisturizers on the other hand, deliver longer lasting benefits, keeping your vagina and/or vulva moist all day. Although they work differently and provide different results, you can use lubricants along with moisturizers if that’s what works for you.
Vaginal moisturizers like More Than Lip Service are one of the best ways to reduce vaginal and vulvar dryness for the delicate tissue in this part of your body. You can use it daily to begin with, then every few days to help keep the skin and tissues moist and to relieve vaginal dryness symptoms. The moisturizer can also be applied to the vulva to relieve dryness there. Apply before bed to help it maintain contact with tissues.
Don’t use moisturizers not meant specifically for this part of your body.
What is the Best Vaginal Moisturizer?
While there are many options to choose from, research has shown that a formulation made with hyaluronic acid (as found in our More Than Lip Service Vaginal Moisturizer), helps to relieve the symptoms of vaginal atrophy, reducing dryness and itching and improving urinary incontinence, comparable to treatment with estrogen therapy.
The bonus? It comes without the potential for side effects using hormonal drugs.
Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. 2016 Jan; 4(1): 69–78. Comparison of the Hyaluronic Acid Vaginal Cream and Conjugated Estrogen Used in Treatment of Vaginal Atrophy of Menopause Women: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Azam Jokar, MS,1 Tayebe Davari, MS,2 Nasrin Asadi, MD,3 Fateme Ahmadi, MD,4 and Sedighe Foruhari, MS1
Vaginal moisturizers are also available in creams, suppositories and natural oils. The key is to find one that works for you.
Menopause Dryness Natural Remedies
Do a search on the internet and you’ll probably find several safe and effective ways to help alleviate menopause dryness. Use caution with where you’re finding the information as not everyone who gives advice is actually qualified to give this advice. Please always consult your doctor before trying out potentially harmful treatments.
That said, there are number of things you can do to help manage dryness naturally:
- Diet. A diet high in essential fatty acids, found in foods like fish and nuts may help to improve vaginal elasticity and tissue strength. As well, soy contains plant estrogens, which may help to reduce vaginal dryness. Last, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Limit caffeine and alcohol, which are dehydrating.
- Exercise. May help to improve blood flow and balance hormone levels.
- Caution with Personal Care Products. Douches, scented soaps and harsh cleansers may irritate the area and increase dryness.
- Have More Sex. Studies have shown that sexual intercourse helps to increase blood flow to your vagina, helping to keep tissues health. Remember to use a lubricant to help eliminate dryness and make sex more pleasurable.
