Skin does not age in a straight line. It changes in response to what is happening in the body, and few things affect the body as significantly as hormones. Understanding this connection helps explain why a routine that worked in your 20s may not serve you in your 40s, and why some of the most frustrating skin changes have nothing to do with the products you are using.
In the years leading up to menopause, a stage called perimenopause that can begin in the late 30s or early 40s, oestrogen levels begin to fluctuate and gradually decline. Oestrogen plays a significant role in skin function. It stimulates collagen production, supports the skin's ability to retain moisture, and maintains barrier integrity. As levels drop, the skin produces less collagen, loses moisture more quickly, and becomes thinner and more reactive. Changes that might previously have resolved on their own, a hormonal breakout, a patch of dryness, start to persist longer.
Progesterone also shifts across the menstrual cycle and through perimenopause. In the second half of the cycle, when progesterone rises, sebum production increases. This is why many people notice their skin becomes oilier or more congested in the week before their period. Testosterone, while present in smaller amounts, drives sebaceous gland activity and contributes to breakout cycles, particularly around the jawline and chin. It also stimulates hair follicle activity in these areas, which is relevant because acne in the lower face is often follicular in origin, developing within the hair follicle itself rather than at the surface.
What this looks like in the treatment room
I work with a lot of clients navigating these changes, often women who feel that their skin has become unpredictable in ways they did not experience before. Dryness that is not resolved by moisturiser. Sensitivity to products that used to feel fine. Breakouts in new areas. A loss of the resilience their skin once had.
These are not separate problems requiring separate products. They are expressions of the same underlying shift in barrier function and sebaceous activity. The treatment approach focuses on what the barrier needs at this stage: ingredients that support lipid production, reduce inflammation, and work with the skin's changed chemistry rather than against it. Prologic Skincare is formulated with this in mind, which is part of why it works well for skin at this stage of life.
Hormonal skin change is not something you manage with more products. It is something you understand and adapt to, with a prescription that reflects where your skin actually is rather than where it used to be.