It’s safe to say that menopause doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being a blissful time in a woman’s life. Still, we’re inspired by Shania Twain and her newly optimistic approach to the benefits of menopause. In fact, she credits the positive changes of aging to helping her enjoy better self-acceptance, feeling more comfortable in her skin, and being liberated to play around with her personal style more. The singer is a great example of how being open-minded to different phases of your life can be transformative. We might want to adopt Shania Twain’s mindset and start embracing the drastic changes that getting older brings.
Shania Twain Sheds Light On The Positives Of Menopause
You may be thinking that the word positive does not belong anywhere close to the word menopause, but Twain believes that it does! If she thinks this way, it’s probably worth giving it a closer look. According to Prevention, the singer was recently featured in a Harper’s Bazaar video in which she shared her nighttime skincare routine and touched on a couple of ways that menopause has positively impacted her and her skin.
We might want to rethink the fact that menopause only brings in the bad, and none of the good. While we do not want to take away from the fact that going through menopause can be difficult, it might just be beneficial to make room for some optimism regarding the topic.
How menopause can affect your skin
According to Prevention, during Shania Twain’s Harper’s Bazaar video, she began by stating her skin type: “I would describe my skin as combination skin. I have the classic T-zone oily area. Now that I’m in menopause, I don’t get the flaky skin anymore, and I don’t get the breakouts,” she said victoriously. Ah, benefit. There’s a positive side to menopause.”
It is refreshing to know that Shania Twain has experienced a handful of positive results from menopause regarding her skin, and it gives others hope that they, too, might be able to expect the same. However, you should be aware of some other ways menopause can impact your skin in a less-than-positive way.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, menopause can result in, sagging and loss of plumpness due to decreased collagen production, dryness, and possible itching, dark spots, and potential acne breakouts. While we embrace optimism, one should be aware of all possible outcomes.
Benefits of menopause explained:
With optimism in mind, according to Everyday Health, a few benefits that come with menopause are:
- No more periods. Menopause brings along the joy of marking the end of the menstrual cycle. For many, this can be extremely painful. Not to mention, it’s just overall unpleasant. Not having to experience any of the negatives of having a menstrual cycle is a win.
- Less stress about PMS – About 9 out of 10 women of reproductive age say they have premenstrual symptoms, according to the Office on Women’s Health. This can include irritability, fatigue, changes in appetite, depression, anxiety, bloating, and breast tenderness. Even if you’re a woman with a “clockwork” cycle and your symptoms are predictable, PMS can still make life pretty unpleasant for a few days each month. For a few women, the symptoms are disabling, a form of PMS called premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Menopause means you no longer have to experience any of this.
- The end of menstrual headaches – Migraines and headaches can also be part of premenstrual symptoms that can go away after menopause. According to the American Migraine Foundation, at least 60 percent of the millions of women who experience migraines have observed a connection between their menstrual cycle and the migraine.
Menopause may encourage additional positive changes
Embracing how your body changes during this time may just be the answer to a deeper level of self-acceptance, according to Prevention. For Twain, “the change helped her grow into self-acceptance, which encouraged her to pose nude for her Queen of Me album art in 2022.”
According to Prevention, the grammy winner expressed,
“I was just so unashamed of my new body, you know, as a woman that is well into my menopause. I’m not even emotional about it; I just feel okay about it. It’s really liberating.”
The singer is also embracing the natural look. As she expressed during her Harper’s Bazaar video according to Prevention, “It’s nice to feel good without makeup on because I don’t do anything else to my skin. Maybe I should? But right now I’m just all-natural,” she said.
Her skin and body aren’t the only things she is embracing through the ups, downs, and benefits of menopause and the additional changes aging brings. Going gray is a part of aging that many people do not look forward to. Yet, Twain embraces it, viewing it as a new opportunity to express herself through wigs. According to Prevention, she expressed to E News,
“As I go gray, I’m like, ‘I might as well toy around with different colors.’ It’s almost an excuse to play with color and embrace it. I just enjoy playing around with it, like fashion.”
The bottom line
Granted, menopause can be an extremely difficult time for many women. However, we must not forget to highlight some of the benefits that one can experience during this time. Leaving room for some optimism can encourage you to embrace the changes and allow for self-acceptance. Just as Shania Twain has shifted her mindset, we can too.
My references
American Migraine Foundation. (n.d.). Hormonal & Menstrual Migraine. [online] Available at: https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/hormonal-menstrual-migraine/.
Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Here’s How Menopause Affects Your Skin and Hair. [online] Available at: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/heres-how-menopause-affects-your-skin-and-hair.
EverydayHealth.com. (n.d.). 10 Reasons to Look Forward to Menopause – Menopause Center. [online] Available at: https://www.everydayhealth.com/menopause-pictures/positives-of-menopause.aspx.
Harper’s BAZAAR (2024). Shania Twain Removes Her Makeup With Olive Oil & Sugar | Go To Bed With Me | Harper’s BAZAAR. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60GGNhZOzfE [Accessed 28 May 2024].
OASH (2018). PMS relief. [online] womenshealth.gov. Available at: https://www.womenshealth.gov/menstrual-cycle/premenstrual-syndrome.
Prevention. (2024). At 58, Shania Twain Shares the Unexpected ‘Positive Side to Menopause’. [online] Available at: https://www.prevention.com/health/health-conditions/a60700272/shania-twain-positive-side-to-menopause/ [Accessed 28 May 2024].
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