Something happens in our 40s and 50s. The skin care you\u2019ve relied on for years may not work quite the same way. Changes in firmness and texture can become more noticeable. And beauty starts to feel less about trying everything new and more about figuring out what\u2019s worth your time.<\/p>\n
NewBeauty\u2019s The State of Aesthetics Summer 2026 <\/em>report found that aesthetic priorities peak during these decades. More than a third of respondents, 34.1 percent, say their 40s are when those priorities feel most urgent, followed by 28.8 percent who say their 50s. Only 7.2 percent say they want to age without any aesthetic help at all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the same time, menopause is becoming a bigger part of the beauty conversation, with women connecting changes in their skin to the hormonal shifts happening alongside them.<\/p>\n In the survey,\u00a070.8 percent of respondents said they\u2019re interested in topical skin-care products designed specifically for menopausal skin.<\/p>\n The concerns women bring to Miami dermatologist\u00a0Anna Chacon, MD\u00a0go well beyond wrinkles. She says the common concerns her patient\u2019s have are dryness, crepey texture, thinning skin, laxity, sensitivity, volume loss and changes in hair density. Many also notice \u201cthat their skin no longer responds to the products and routines that worked for them in their 30s and 40s.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a physiological reason for that shift. \u201cEstrogen plays a central role in maintaining skin collagen, hydration, thickness and resilience,\u201d says Southlake, TX and Monroe, LA dermatologist\u00a0Janine Hopkins, MD. \u201cMenopausal skin requires a comprehensive approach, one that considers hormonal health alongside skin care and procedural treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n That changing skin is also influencing what women want from their products. Dr. Chacon sees more interest in barrier repair, hydration, peptides, growth-factor technologies, antioxidants and strategic use of retinoids, particularly products that can address sensitivity and visible aging at the same time.<\/p>\n Skin care wasn\u2019t the most popular category in the survey.\u00a0Energy-based treatments ranked even higher, with 76.6 percent interested in options like lasers and radio-frequency microneedling.<\/p>\n The interest is already showing up in doctors\u2019 offices. Newport Beach, CA dermatologist\u00a0Jennifer Channual, MD\u00a0says menopausal women are becoming \u201cmuch more proactive about preventing and treating skin aging,\u201d particularly laxity, collagen loss, thinning skin and changes in facial structure. \u201cMany patients want to delay or even avoid a surgical facelift, so they\u2019re increasingly seeking noninvasive energy-based treatments that stimulate collagen and improve skin quality.\u201d<\/p>\n For patients who aren\u2019t ready for surgery, fitting treatments into everyday life is part of the appeal. \u201cI still perform plenty of surgical facelifts, but many patients want results that fit into their lives, not the other way around,\u201d says Concord, CA plastic surgeon\u00a0Eric Mariotti, MD. \u201cThat\u2019s why treatments with little to no downtime are so popular right now.\u201d<\/p>\n New York dermatologist\u00a0Erin Kil, MD\u00a0sees high-intensity focused ultrasound treatments like Ultherapy and Sofwave leading the way for sagging skin, with fractionated CO\u2082 laser remaining popular for wrinkles and fine lines. \u201cPerimenopausal and menopausal patients see examples of other women in their age group who look amazing and are thriving in their careers,\u201d she says. \u201cThey believe these results are attainable through energy-based devices.\u201d<\/p>\n The treatment plan itself is evolving, too. Instead of relying on one device to address everything, Dr. Channual says she\u2019s seeing growing interest in combination approaches. \u201cPatients understand that aging occurs at multiple levels of the face,\u201d she says. In her practice, that can mean combining Sofwave for collagen remodeling and skin tightening with EMFACE to address muscle tone and support.<\/p>\n Vienna, VA dermatologist\u00a0Brenda Dintiman, MD\u00a0sees another kind of combination happening. Women may be managing dryness and hormonal breakouts with active skin care while also choosing treatments such as lasers and microneedling to stimulate collagen with minimal downtime.<\/p>\n When respondents were asked what matters most when considering an aesthetic treatment for menopause-related changes,\u00a0efficacy ranked first at 24.9 percent, ahead of cost at 22.2 percent and safety at 20.9 percent.<\/p>\n That finding sounds familiar to Louisville, KY dermatologist\u00a0Tami Buss Cassis, MD, who says her patients are willing to invest in lasers and energy-based treatments, but they expect those treatments to deliver. \u201cMy patients will spend the money, but they won\u2019t waste it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Dr. Mariotti describes them as \u201cseasoned consumers\u201d who have already been through the trial-and-error phase. \u201cThey\u2019ve already tried the trial-and-error route and they\u2019re done with it,\u201d he says. \u201cTheir patience for \u2018maybe it will work\u2019 is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Something happens in our 40s and 50s. The skin care you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.sanity.io\/images\/0vv8moc6\/newbeauty\/9b6ebcfec116e7c53f6d71c822dbb0f6bd350039-1000x1000.png?w=1200&auto=format&q=70\")
Menopause Has Entered the Beauty Aisle<\/h2>\n
In-Office Treatments Are Becoming Regular Maintenance<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.sanity.io\/images\/0vv8moc6\/newbeauty\/979657f86506488b8278493c393f43fdbd549e42-1000x1000.png?w=1200&auto=format&q=70\")
It\u2019s Not One-and-Done Anymore<\/h2>\n
We\u2019ll Spend, But It Better Work<\/h2>\n