Key takeaways on Galderma’s menopause survey results
- A global Galderma survey reveals significant knowledge gaps around menopause‑related skin changes.
- Galderma notes that declining oestrogen accelerates collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid loss, impacting firmness, hydration and confidence.
- Aesthetic treatments show the highest satisfaction rates among women managing menopausal skin concerns.
- Galderma plans to include menopausal status in clinical trials to advance evidence‑based aesthetic solutions.
At the International Master Course on Aging Science (IMCAS) 2026 World Congress in Paris on 30 January, pure‑play skin care company Galderma will reveal key insights into how menopausal women are approaching menopause‑related skin care and concerns.
Galderma’s survey, which will be presented as a poster at IMCAS, included more than 4,300 peri‑ and post‑menopausal women aged 45–60 from the United States, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, China and Thailand, who have had or would be open to aesthetic treatments.
Menopause exposes a major skin care knowledge gap
The results showed a significant knowledge gap around the impact of menopause on the skin, despite women experiencing an average of three skin changes during this life stage.
The survey found that more than 50% of women learned about the effects of menopause on the skin by going through it themselves, with most becoming aware in their 40s. However, more than 30% said they would have liked to learn about these changes in their 30s. Meanwhile, 50% of participants said that they felt either neutral or dissatisfied with their level of knowledge on the topic.
The biological impact of oestrogen decline on skin health
According to Galderma, menopausal women experience a decline in oestrogen, which supports many aspects of skin health, with fluctuations beginning during the peri‑menopausal stage. At this point, decreasing oestrogen leads to an accelerated decline in collagen and elastin, with a 30% reduction in collagen seen within the first five years post‑menopause, causing the skin to lose firmness and become more prone to wrinkles. Reduced hyaluronic acid levels in the skin is another effect, which can result in skin dehydration, dryness and itchiness.
The effects of menopause on the skin are still poorly understood and frequently overlooked but can negatively impact wellbeing. Galderma’s survey found that women agreed or strongly agreed that menopause‑related skin changes made them feel less attractive (60%), anxious (57%), less confident (55%) and less inclined to socialise (46%).
Galderma noted that aesthetic treatments can help to address this by targeting the root causes and correcting these skin changes to enhance appearance and, in turn, boost confidence and positive self‑perception.
“Aesthetic treatments are important tools in addressing and preventing the varied menopause‑related skin changes women can experience,” said Dr Doris Day, a board‑certified dermatologist based in the US. “Hyaluronic acid treatments can help to correct skin changes through enhanced hydration and contour, whereas biostimulators can help to regenerate skin health from the inside by boosting collagen and elastin to improve firmness and radiance.”
Dr Day highlighted that this survey is an important step forward in understanding the impact of menopause‑related skin changes and the role that aesthetic solutions can play for both prevention and treatment.”
Unspoken challenges of skin changes during menopause
Other key findings of the research highlighted the unspoken challenges of skin changes during menopause. For example, the women surveyed experienced an average of three skin changes to the face and body since the onset of menopause.
The most common changes were lines and wrinkles (experienced by 59% of women on the face and 33% on the body), loss of firmness and elasticity (58% on the face and 54% on the body), increased dryness (56% on the face and 58% on the body) and a duller skin tone (40% on the face and 30% on the body).
Of all treatments or actions to help reduce the effects of menopause – such as cognitive behavioural therapy, exercise changes, food supplements and traditional medicine – aesthetic treatments had the highest level of satisfaction with results.
Many women are considering aesthetic treatments for menopause-related skin issues
Many women said they would consider aesthetic treatments in the future to help with menopause‑related skin changes: 47% would consider anti‑wrinkle treatments, 41% hyaluronic acid treatments, 39% hyaluronic acid skin‑quality treatments and 30% biostimulators.
Currently, women primarily use aesthetic treatments to address menopause‑related skin changes (49%) rather than for prevention (26%), likely because many learned about the skin impact while going through menopause, limiting the window for preventative action. However, more than 60% of women said they would have acted differently if they had known earlier about the impact of menopause on the skin.
At IMCAS, Galderma will also host a symposium with live demonstrations titled Menopause in the mirror: challenges, science and aesthetic solutions on Friday, 30 January.
“Through this global survey, close collaboration with our network of experts and ensuring that menopausal status is included in all our clinical trials moving forward, we aim to elevate awareness and advance aesthetic solutions, backed by robust evidence, for women navigating this important life stage,” explained Bill Andriopoulos, PhD, head of global medical affairs at Galderma.
Looking ahead, the Swiss company plans to address this knowledge gap by using its dermatology expertise to improve awareness, understanding, education and treatment approaches for menopause‑related skin changes.
With around 85% of aesthetic patients being female, understanding how these treatments can support women at all life stages – particularly during menopause – is increasingly important. To support this, Galderma said it plans to include menopausal status in its clinical trials, with the aim of gaining more insight into how injectable aesthetic treatments can best serve this patient population.
