Significant skin changes occur during this decade, due to menopause and other age-related shifts that can impact the health and quality of your skin. A cosmetic dermatologist is a type of dermatologist who has gone through all the same medical training, but is specifically focused on anti-aging, skincare ingredients, and procedures. This expert can help you navigate these hurdles and create a personalized skincare routine to help prevent more significant changes.
At Cottonball, each of our formulas is prescribed by a cosmetic dermatologist and customized to meet your skin’s unique attributes. Here are 7 reasons to consult a cosmetic dermatologist to help support your skin's evolving needs in your 50s.
Reason #1: Menopausal skin
Menopause typically starts in your early 50s, with an average onset age of 52. While symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disruption are well known, what’s less talked about are the skin changes triggered by menopause, which causes a significant decline in two key hormones: estrogen and progesterone.
Estrogen plays a vital role in maintaining skin’s levels of collagen and moisture as well as its elasticity, and it may also impact skin barrier function, the outermost layer responsible for keeping hydration in and irritants out. Progesterone also supports collagen production and skin elasticity.
When these two hormones plummet during menopause, skin becomes thinner and noticeably drier with increased laxity and more visible wrinkles. Lighter skin tones may appear sallow.
The complexity of these skin changes requires more than just switching to a richer moisturizer. A cosmetic dermatologist can help you determine what will best support your skin at this age. After all, it’s never too late to make impactful changes.
“As long as we’re breathing and our heart is pumping, our skin is still producing new collagen and elastin and turning over new cells, though perhaps more slowly than it once did,” says David Bank, M.D., a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist in Mount Kisco, New York. “There is a wide range of resources we can employ, from over-the-counter skincare to prescription treatments to in-office procedures, to help reinvigorate these skin processes as we get older.”
One such treatment that specifically addresses menopausal skin is estriol, a prescription, topical estrogen derivative that can help improve skin elasticity and hydration and reduce fine lines by supporting collagen production and dermal thickness. (Dr. Bank recommends checking with your og-gyn before starting any treatment that includes hormones, even if they’re not absorbed systemically.)
Cottonball VX.3 Hormone Renewal Complex is a prescription daily treatment serum that contains estriol in a 0.03% concentration designed to provide localized skin benefits with minimal systemic absorption. The formula also delivers nourishing hyaluronic acid and potent antioxidants to plump, protect, and boost radiance.
Reason #2: Routine refresh
As skin becomes drier in our 50s, you may be inclined to dial back your use of anti-aging treatments such as retinoids, which can cause dryness. But that would be like giving up reading when your vision worsens rather than updating your glasses prescription.
Retinoids are hailed by dermatologists for their proven ability to improve skin’s appearance and slow further skin aging. These vitamin A derivatives speed up skin cell turnover to stimulate collagen and elastin production, which helps fade and prevent the look of wrinkles, dark spots, and uneven skin tone. They also smooth the skin’s texture and thicken it. They’re an ideal choice to maintain a healthy-looking complexion throughout your 50s and beyond.
A cosmetic dermatologist can determine the right retinoid dose for your skin and adjust it over time if needed. Cottonball VX.1 Advanced Anti-Aging & Repair Complex delivers prescription-strength tretinoin, a potent retinoid, in a customized concentration based on your skin’s needs.
The formula also contains plant-derived bakuchiol, which stimulates collagen production through different skincare receptors. Bakuchiol has been shown to be as effective as retinoids at reducing fine lines and hyperpigmentation while being markedly gentler on the skin.
To punch up the tretinoin and bakuchiol even further, there's rapamycin, a ingredient shown in one study to increase collagen to help reduce wrinkles, dark spots, and skin sagging.
For a retinoid-specific focus, Cottonball VX.2 Wrinkle-Smoothing & Prevention Complex offers prescription-strength tretinoin in concentrations up to 0.10%, depending on your skin needs.
Reason #3: Gentler ingredients
With all the skin changes that occur in your 50s, you may find that the tried-and-true skincare you’ve used and loved for years doesn’t work as well anymore, or that your skin is more sensitive to certain products now.
A cosmetic dermatologist can evaluate your skin at a clinical level and recommend the right ingredients and formulas to address your concerns while being gentle on skin that’s now drier and more prone to sensitivity. Be sure to bring all the skincare products you’re currently using to your appointment so the doctor can review them and offer personalized guidance that aligns with your preferences.
And if you’re not interested in aesthetic procedures, that’s okay. Just communicate this upfront so your dermatologist can help you craft the most effective skincare regimen.
Reason #4: Skin health check
You get an annual check-up with your primary care physician to get ahead of future health issues, and regular dental cleanings to help prevent tooth decay. (You do, right?) Seeing a cosmetic dermatologist in your 50s is no different. It can help your skin age better in your 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s. “My 95-year-old mother still comes into my office for treatments,” says Dr. Bank.
“A dermatologist can help you keep your skin in the best possible health, so it produces collagen and elastin at an optimal rate,” he says. This helps skin stay strong, balanced, and resilient, which in turn minimizes visible signs of aging over the years.
At a skin health check, in addition to looking for atypical moles or any signs of skin cancers, your dermatologist may also look for signs of sun damage (like benign keratoses) or signs of aging, like wrinkles and volume loss.
Reason #5: Thinning hair
In addition to skin changes, menopause also affects hair. Estrogen and progesterone impact hair growth and strand density, so as these two hormones drop off in menopause, hair will often become thinner and drier with less volume. Plus, the cycle of hair growth naturally slows down with age.
Other factors, such as nutritional deficiencies or thyroid issues, can also trigger hair thinning or loss, and a cosmetic dermatologist can help identify what’s causing the issue. “We look at your B12 and folate levels, which are often not part of the standard bloodwork done at an annual physical,” says Dr. Bank.
Treatments a cosmetic dermatologist may recommend include oral minoxidil, which is shown to improve female hair loss, and platelet-rich plasma therapy, or PRP, which involves injecting a patient's own platelets into the scalp to stimulate hair growth.
Reason #6: Sun-damaged chest
The thin skin on the décolletage is particularly vulnerable to the sun’s harmful rays. And since UV damage is cumulative, the collective time we’ve spent in the sun throughout our lifetime starts to rear its speckled head by our 50s.
Sun damage on the chest typically appears as poikiloderma, a benign skin condition characterized by mottled, reddish-brown discoloration. It’s more common in people with fair skin, and in women who are post-menopausal.
A cosmetic dermatologist can prescribe a retinoid treatment such as tretinoin to help even out skin tone and improve crepiness. The Cottonball VX.6 Precision Neck-Sculpting Complex contains prescription-strength tretinoin in a customized concentration for your skin, plus alpha arbutin, a powerful but gentle derivative of hydroquinone that lightens hyperpigmentation caused by sun damage and helps prevent further discoloration.
The deeply nourishing complex also has niacinamide and tranexamic acid to help brighten skin and even tone, and resveratrol for antioxidant protection and skin repair.
If you have significant sun damage on your chest, a cosmetic dermatologist can also perform a series of professional laser treatments. These have been shown to help improve the redness and discoloration caused by poikiloderma.
Reason #7: Plastic surgery consult
There are certain structural changes that happen to the face in our 50s that even the best skincare can’t tackle, such as bone resorption and fat loss or displacement. These changes often present as a loss in facial volume and skin sagging, and there is a wide range of minimally or non-invasive aesthetic procedures like injectables and lasers that can help improve these issues.
“There is so much that can be done now without going under the knife that will not only improve the look of your skin almost immediately but can also help delay more invasive procedures down the line,” says Dr. Bank.
He notes that if you’re considering plastic surgery, it’s best to see a cosmetic dermatologist first to find out what your non-surgical options are. "If the doctor feels you’re better off seeing a surgeon, then you’ll be referred to one they trust. But more often than not, there is something we can do in a dermatology office to address your needs,” he says.
By working with you on a personalized plan to keep your skin in optimal health, a cosmetic dermatologist can help you look and feel your best throughout your 50s, on your own terms.
Is prescription skincare from Cottonball right for you? Take this short quiz or to find out.
Stop the menopause madness. Renewal for your skin, right this way…
