World Menopause Day: DSM-Firmenich and BASF spotlight women’s skin and health in personal care formulations

18 Oct 2023 --- In recognition of World Menopause Day, Personal Care Insights has gathered the latest consumer data and related solutions in the cosmetics industry for women experiencing menopause symptoms.

Menopause describes the natural decline of a woman’s reproductive hormones when the body experiences its last menstrual cycle.

According to BMC Women’s Health research, 1.2 billion women worldwide will be menopausal or post-menopausal by 2030. Additionally, they flag that 73% of women don’t treat their menopause symptoms.

World Menopause Day was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Menopause Society in 1984. It raises awareness about women’s experiences with menopause, destigmatizes reaching out for treatment, and aims to increase health policies provided.

Wonder You for menopause
DSM-Firmenich asserts that the drop in estrogen and progesterone levels alongside high cortisol levels leads to “important changes in the body” while women experience menopause.

Furthermore, the company conducted a Skincare Consumer Survey of 600 women in the US, China and France. Sixty percent of women noticed changes in their skin while going through menopause.

DSM-Firmenich notes symptoms of menopause as:

Acne and oily skin.
Age spots and irregular skin tone.
Lines, wrinkles and sagging skin.
Skin sensitivity and redness
Having a dry and itchy skin and scalp.
Hair loss and thinning.

Four Wonder You products lined up next to each other. Cosmetic brands spotlight skin care solutions for menopausal women (Image credit: DSM-Firmenich).To help menopausal women manage these symptoms that affect their appearance, which can, in turn, affect their confidence due to societal pressures, DSM-Firmenich created Wonder You. The solutions are designed with technological assets backed by skin and hair science.

The products can help with the effects of menopause on the skin and hair, which the company hopes empowers users “to embrace everything that makes [them] a unique woman.” The solutions are designed for the requirements of the skin and scalp under the influence of hormonal changes.

Women’s skin experiences approximately a 30% drop in collagen in the first five years of experiencing menopause. Additionally, the fine lines on the skin in peri-menopause can become deeper and more pronounced over the years.

The skin care solutions from the range include Wonder You Day Care Cream SPF 50, Wonder You Meringue Facial Cream, Wonder You Soothing Polar Cream, HYA-ACT In&On Wrinkle Filler Serum and Wonder You Time Freeze Eye Serum.

The hair care solutions include Wonder You Hair & Scalp Care Shampoo and Wonder You Hair and Scalp Care Conditioner.

DSM-Firmenich surveyed 115 consumers in Australia, the US and the UK. The respondents’ three main concerns regarding their hair were dry and itchy scalp, hair loss and thinning.

BASF’s Me&Pause
Meanwhile, BASF will showcase its Me&Pause concept for menopausal women at the Cosmetorium in Barcelona from October 18 to 19. The chemical producer says menopause represents “a new paradigm for women.”

“Since we cannot reverse aging, the Me&Pause concept presents the needs of this natural and vital stage of women without taboos and provides formulations that promote the health and beauty of skin and hair, intending to have a significant impact on their self-esteem and happiness,” asserts the company. A woman touching her undereye and looking up. The WHO asserts that menopause treatment should be routinely available.

It further emphasizes that there has been an apparent demand from menopausal women who want skin and hair solutions tailored to their needs.

At the event, the company will showcase its Emulgade Verde 10 MS emulsifier, Cosmedia HP Starch biopolymer, Euperlan NL Pearl wax perlizer, Tinomax CC sun protector and Z-Cote Sheer liquid dispersion.

“Integral part of health care”
According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, peri-menopause occurs between ages 35 to 50. The initial signs of peri-menopause usually begin with menstrual cycle changes.

Menopause, which on average occurs between ages 45 to 55, is the experience of no longer having menstrual periods. Post-menopause for 50 and older is the time after menopause has happened when women have been without a menstrual period for 12 months.

The WHO reports that symptoms associated with menopause include:

Hot flushes and night sweats.
Changes in the regularity and flow of the menstrual cycle, culminating in cessation of menstruation.
Vaginal dryness, pain during sexual intercourse and incontinence.
Difficulty sleeping and insomnia.
Changes in mood, depression and anxiety.

“Socially, a woman’s experience of menopause may be influenced by gender norms, familial and sociocultural factors, including how female aging and the menopausal transition are viewed in her culture,” says the WHO.

The WHO considers social, psychological and physical health support during the menopausal transition and after menopause should be an integral part of health care.

“Many governments do not have health policies and financing for the inclusion of menopause-related diagnosis, counseling and treatment services as part of their routinely available services,” explains the WHO.

By Sabine Waldeck