Morning Glow Newsletter Vol 30

Team Yara - Writing
Jan 23
8 min read

Why Your Skin Goes a Bit ‘Oh No’ During Perimenopause

Let’s be honest. You might be going about your day, feeling fine, when suddenly you catch your reflection and wonder when your face decided to audition for a crumpled map look. If that sounds familiar, you’re not imagining it. As your hormones shift during perimenopause and menopause, your skin gets pulled into the drama too, and it shows up more quickly than you’d expect.

Here’s the science bit without the boring bits: as oestrogen levels drop, your skin loses some of its superpowers. That hormone helps keep collagen production humming along, which is what keeps skin firm, plump and pretty resilient. When that slows, your skin gets thinner, fine lines deepen, and wrinkles become more visible. Add to that changes in pigment and hydration, and you start to see uneven tone, dullness and a dry-feeling surface that can really knock your confidence.

This doesn’t happen in isolation. Your body is essentially recalibrating, and your skin reflects that shift. The good news is that hormones don’t have the final say. With the right approach, you can support your skin through this phase and keep it looking as vibrant as possible.

So what helps? Focus on ingredients and habits that support hydration and encourage skin renewal. Think products with hyaluronic acid to help bring moisture back to the surface, vitamin C to brighten dullness and niacinamide to help with uneven tone. Gentle exfoliation can also help speed up cell turnover so you’re not left with a layer of dull cells hanging around. Sun protection remains non-negotiable at every stage of life, especially if you’re seeing more pigmentation and age spots than before.

Most importantly, be gentle on yourself. This shift feels abrupt because it’s happening at a deeper biological level, not because you’ve done anything wrong. With a few tweaks to your routine and a better understanding of what your skin needs now, you absolutely can navigate this phase with confidence and glow in your own way.

MenopauseMatters HormoneHealth MoodSwings MidlifeWellbeing YaraGlow

— Yara x

Life After Oestrogen: What Every Woman Should Know

Women’s bodies are shaped by hormones, and when those hormones shift, other parts of our health change too. One of the most significant shifts happens when oestrogen levels fall during perimenopause and menopause. What experts are now finding is that the longer a woman lives without that hormone, the greater the impact can be on both heart and brain health.

Before menopause, oestrogen helps protect the heart. It supports healthy blood vessels, helps keep cholesterol in check, and generally helps our cardiovascular system stay resilient. Once oestrogen declines, those protective effects diminish. Over time, this can lead to stiffer arteries, higher blood pressure and greater risk of heart disease and stroke than women of the same age who are still producing more of the hormone. The link between low oestrogen and cardiovascular risk is recognised in research on heart disease in postmenopausal women.

Oestrogen also plays a role in brain function. It influences blood flow, reduces inflammation and supports the health of neural connections involved in memory and thinking. When oestrogen levels drop, some women notice changes in memory or concentration. Research suggests that lower lifetime exposure to oestrogen may be one of several factors linked to cognitive ageing and an increased risk of conditions like dementia later in life.

This doesn’t mean every woman will have serious heart or brain issues after menopause, but it does underline the importance of paying attention to health as hormones shift. Lifestyle factors like regular exercise, healthy eating, managing cholesterol and blood pressure, and keeping mentally active are all helpful ways to support wellbeing at midlife and beyond.

Some women discuss hormone therapy with their doctors to manage symptoms and possibly support long-term health, but it isn’t right for everyone and must be personalised. The key point is to be proactive about heart and brain health rather than assuming menopause is only about hot flashes.

Why Midlife Women Suddenly Think Beards Are Sexy and Six-Packs Are So Yesterday

Turns out what women find attractive in men isn’t fixed for life. It can shift with hormones, priorities and a bit of life experience. Recent research suggests that as women move through menopause and beyond, their preferences for male traits can change in surprising ways. These shifts aren’t about losing interest in men, just about what feels appealing at different stages of life.

Studies looking at women from their reproductive years through to post-menopause found that older women, including those after menopause, tend to rate men with fuller facial hair as more attractive than younger women do. Beards might signal maturity, stability or simply confidence, which can feel safer and more appealing than chiselled features on a 25-year-old.

There’s also evidence that preferences for very muscular, V-shaped bodies become less dominant in later life. As youthful reproductive cues become less central, traits associated with health and approachability rather than raw physicality seem to rank higher on the appeal list.

Research into facial structure suggests that preferences for very masculine faces, which younger women sometimes favour, can soften with age and changes in hormones like oestrogen. That doesn’t mean all women suddenly want exactly the same type of man; individual taste, personality and cultural influences still play a huge role.

It’s worth noting that not all studies find big shifts purely due to menopause, and attraction remains a complex mix of biology, experience and personal preference. Whatever your stage of life, different traits can start to feel more or less attractive as your priorities and perspective evolve with age.

Rub Out the Riot: Why Menopause Massage Might Be Your New Best Friend

If your body feels like it’s hosting a particularly unruly party thanks to perimenopause or menopause, listening to menopause, a massage might feel more joyful than odd. It’s essentially a regular massage that’s tailored to help ease some very real symptoms many women experience at this stage of life. People who practise it use techniques that go beyond a basic back rub, blending things like Swedish massage, lymphatic work, craniosacral therapy and even a bit of aromatherapy to soothe the body and mind.

The idea isn’t that massage will magically reverse hormonal shifts or balance oestrogen levels. What it can do is help your nervous system settle and reduce tension that accumulates when your body feels like it’s on permanent alert. Many women find that massage helps lessen stress, improve sleep and ease muscle tension, which are common challenges during menopause. Some small studies and reports suggest these benefits are genuine, even if the research isn’t yet extensive.

A key part of menopause massage is that it’s adapted to you. Good therapists talk through your symptoms first so they can tailor the approach, whether that’s focusing on lymphatic drainage to reduce bloating, gentle techniques for nervous system ease, or slower, restorative movements that encourage the body to relax. It can also become a chance to learn simple at-home practices, like breath work or gentle stretching, to carry that calmness out of the clinic and into your daily routine.

Some health professionals see massage as more than an indulgence; it’s a supportive tool that helps with quality of life as your body changes. Women who weave it into their self-care often describe feeling calmer, sleeping better, and simply feeling more at ease with the transition. Whether you call it self-care or a survival strategy, this kind of massage may make the whole menopause experience a bit more manageable.

Caffeine: The Elixir That Might Keep Us Buzzing Longer Than Our To-Do Lists

If you enjoy your daily coffee, you might be pleased to know that science has been taking a good, hard look at the relationship between coffee and healthy ageing. A handful of recent studies suggest that drinking coffee regularly could be linked with living longer and staying healthier as we get older — especially for women. This doesn’t turn coffee into a miracle cure, but it certainly gives us another reason to savour that morning brew. (Medical News Today)

Several pieces of research have found that people who drink coffee tend to have a lower risk of dying from a range of causes compared with folks who never touch the stuff. These findings hold up even after accounting for things like smoking, diet and exercise. In some studies, moderate coffee drinkers had a noticeably lower risk of heart disease, certain cancers and diseases linked to ageing overall.

One particularly interesting observation is that women seem to benefit quite strongly. In groups of middle-aged and older women, those who drank coffee regularly had lower rates of mortality during the study periods than those who didn’t. Researchers aren’t entirely sure why the effect was more pronounced in women, but it might come down to differences in metabolism, hormones or how coffee compounds interact with cells over time.

Coffee is rich in antioxidants and other bioactive compounds that can reduce inflammation and support cellular health. These biological actions may help explain some of the positive links researchers see between coffee intake and markers of healthy ageing. Again, this doesn’t prove coffee causes these benefits directly, but the associations are consistent enough to make people sit up and take notice.

Of course, everyone’s body reacts differently. Drinking coffee in moderation — and paying attention to how you feel — remains sensible advice. But if your daily cup makes you smile and research suggests it might help nudge your long-term health in the right direction, that has to be worth celebrating.

Your Gut Is Chatting Away Behind Your Back, and Your Brain Is Listening

If you’ve ever been told “it’s all in your head,” take a seat. That well-meaning phrase might need a rewrite because science and lived experience are pointing in another direction entirely: a lot of what you feel in your mind genuinely has something to do with your gut. This isn’t woo-woo; it’s about the two-way conversation between your brain and your digestive system that researchers are starting to unpack in greater detail.

Think of your gut as an unruly but talkative friend. It doesn’t just break down food and keep your digestion humming. Inside your intestinal tract live trillions of microbes and a complex network of nerves that send signals straight up to your brain about what’s going on down there. That connection, often called the gut-brain axis, means that stress, diet and inflammation don’t just affect digestion; they can influence your mood, energy levels and overall sense of wellbeing.

That’s not to say every emotional wobble is explained by what’s happening in your gut. Far from it. Life’s stresses, relationships, sleep and other factors all play their part. But experts are increasingly recognising that gut health has a seat at the table when it comes to understanding things like anxiety, mood shifts and why stress sometimes makes your stomach clench as surely as your thoughts race.

The evidence isn’t yet definitive about exactly which microbes do what, or whether you can change your mood simply by eating yoghurt every morning. But there are signs that when your gut microbiome is in better shape overall — rich in fibre-loving bacteria and well supported with probiotics and prebiotics — your whole system feels more stable.

What does that mean in practice? Eating a variety of plant foods, staying hydrated, getting regular movement and managing stress all contribute to a healthier gut. Those habits don’t just help digestion; they may support a calmer nervous system and a clearer head. It turns out that the body really does talk as an ensemble, not a solo act — and listening to all of its parts can help you feel better, not just in your head but throughout.

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