Glow On: How To Care For Menopausal Skin With Confidence

Menopause may bring hormonal shifts, but that doesn’t mean your glow has to fade. We caught up with Otilia Beschea, Director of Innovation at Canadian beauty powerhouse Groupe Marcelle, to learn how changes in estrogen levels can impact the skin—and how to respond with science-backed care. From collagen dips to dryness and pigmentation, Otilia shares the smartest ways to support your skin through menopause, and how Marcelle’s new Revival+ Skin Renewal line is helping women feel radiant at every stage. —Noa Nichol

What inspired Groupe Marcelle to develop skincare specifically designed for menopausal skin, and how does the Revival+ line reflect that mission?

At Groupe Marcelle, we’ve always believed that skincare should evolve with women, not the other way around. As we listened to more conversations around menopause, one thing became clear: many women felt their changing skin was being overlooked, and the subject of hormonal care remained surprisingly quiet for something so universal.

That’s what inspired Revival+. We wanted to break that silence, not with assumptions, but with real insight. So, we co-created the line with over 400 Canadian women at different stages of menopause. They told us what their skin was going through, what they couldn’t find in existing products, and what they wished skincare brands would understand.

Revival+ is the result of that partnership: thoughtful, science-driven formulas designed to support skin through hormonal changes gently, effectively, and without compromise. It reflects our ongoing mission to create skincare that’s not just age-aware, but life-aware.

How does menopause biologically affect the skin, and why is it important to address these changes with targeted skincare?

Menopause triggers a cascade of hormonal shifts, especially a steep decline in estrogen that profoundly impact the skin. Estrogen is crucial for supporting collagen and elastin production, maintaining hydration, and keeping the skin barrier strong and resilient. As levels fall, skin can quickly become thinner, drier, and more sensitive, with visible signs like fine lines, sagging, redness, and uneven pigmentation. Research shows that women may lose up to 30% of their skin’s collagen in the first five years alone, which is why many notice such dramatic changes in a relatively short time.

These effects are not simply about getting older, they’re rooted in biology. That’s why it’s so important to address them with targeted skincare. Products designed for menopausal skin don’t just moisturize; they compensate for what’s been lost, reinforce the skin’s barrier, and help restore comfort and balance.

When skincare respects what the skin is truly experiencing rather than trying to cover it up or use generic anti-aging solutions, it can make a meaningful difference. It’s about providing care that is informed by science and guided by empathy, so women can feel supported and confident as their skin evolves.

You’ve included ingredients like Vitamin D, Turmeric, Hyaluronic Acid, and Squalane in the new Revival+ products, can you walk us through how each of these supports menopausal skin?

These ingredients were chosen to address some of the most well-documented effects of menopause on skin: loss of moisture, decreased barrier function, increased sensitivity, and uneven tone. Each one targets a specific biological change:

• Hyaluronic Acid helps replenish the skin’s declining moisture reserves. As estrogen drops, skin loses its ability to retain water, hyaluronic acid draws hydration deep into the skin, helping to smooth fine lines and restore suppleness.
• Squalane mimics the skin’s natural oils, which become less abundant during menopause. It reinforces the skin barrier, helping to reduce moisture loss and protect against irritation and environmental damage.
• Vitamin D levels both in the body and in the skin often decrease with age and hormonal shifts. Topically, Vitamin D helps strengthen the skin’s barrier, modulate inflammation, and support repair processes, making it especially valuable for reactive or compromised skin.
• Turmeric offers powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. It helps calm visible redness, even out tone, and protect against oxidative stress, without the harshness of traditional brightening agents.

These are just a few of the high-performance ingredients in the Revival+ range. The line also includes other actives which help improve firmness and elasticity, and that offers up to 48-hour hydration. Together, these ingredients work in synergy to help menopausal skin feel more comfortable, resilient, and balanced, without overwhelming it.

Many women are surprised to learn they can lose up to 30% of their collagen during the first five years of menopause. What role can skincare play in mitigating this rapid collagen loss?

That level of collagen loss in such a short time can feel sudden, and it is. Collagen is a key structural protein that gives skin its firmness and elasticity, and when production slows dramatically during menopause, skin can start to look and feel thinner, looser, and more fragile.

While skincare can’t stop this biological process entirely, it plays a valuable supporting role in how skin weathers those changes. The right skincare helps create a healthier environment for collagen to function and persist. When skin is properly hydrated, protected, and less inflamed, it’s better equipped to maintain its structure and slow visible signs of aging.

In practical terms, skincare can:

• Preserve existing collagen by minimizing external stressors (like UV and pollution) that accelerate its breakdown
• Support the skin barrier, keeping it resilient and more capable of repair
• Improve skin’s elasticity and appearance, even as deeper structural shifts take place

So, while skincare may not replace what’s happening hormonally, it helps skin stay stronger, smoother, and more responsive making a meaningful difference in how women experience this transition.

Hydration is a big concern during menopause. What makes the Revival+ formulas particularly effective at combatting dryness and restoring skin’s elasticity?

Revival+ formulas are designed to deliver both immediate and long-lasting hydration, while also addressing structural aspects of the skin that influence elasticity.

At the core is a Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF)-restoring complex of Hyaluronic Acid, Urea, and PCA. These molecules mimic the skin’s natural moisture system, drawing and retaining water in the upper layers of the epidermis. This provides up to 48 hours of hydration, which is critical for maintaining smoothness and preventing the tightness or flaking often associated with dry skin.

To maintain that hydration, Squalane reinforces the skin’s lipid barrier, preventing moisture loss and supporting overall suppleness.

Elasticity is further supported by other targeted actives known for their firming and redensifying benefits, and by Glycogen, which helps energize skin cells to support renewal and vitality.

Together, these ingredients provide a multi-dimensional approach—hydrating the skin deeply, reinforcing its barrier, and visibly enhancing elasticity for skin that feels more comfortable, supple, and resilient.

Hyperpigmentation and sensitivity are also common during this life stage. What are some of the smartest ways to address these concerns without irritating already sensitive skin?

Treating hyperpigmentation and sensitivity at the same time requires a thoughtful approach. Many traditional brightening treatments use strong exfoliants or aggressive actives that can disrupt the skin barrier, which is especially risky when the skin is already more reactive due to hormonal changes.

The smartest strategy is to focus on strengthening the skin first, then treating gently. A well-supported barrier helps calm inflammation, which is often a root cause of both sensitivity and pigmentation. When skin is hydrated, soothed, and resilient, it’s also more responsive to active ingredients, making treatments more effective and better tolerated.

Look for anti-inflammatory antioxidants and low irritation brightening agents that support tone and clarity over time, rather than quick fixes. Gentle, consistent care often leads to better long-term results than aggressive treatments that risk overcorrection.

If there’s one message to reinforce, it’s this: treating pigmentation doesn’t have to come at the cost of comfort. With the right approach, one rooted in barrier support, patience, and targeted actives, it’s possible to improve both tone and tolerance, without compromise.

Marcelle has long been known for gentle yet effective products. How do you balance innovation and performance while ensuring formulations remain safe and non-irritating?

Our innovation strategy is rooted in a clear purpose: to deliver advanced skincare solutions that are clinically tested, clean, and developed with a deep understanding of how skin evolves over time. That means bringing together science-backed performance with the highest standards of tolerance and safety, so consumers never have to choose between results and comfort.

We achieve this balance by carefully selecting high-efficacy ingredients, then formulating them at optimal concentrations and in skin-compatible formats. Every step of development is guided by the principle that performance should never come at the expense of sensitivity.

All our formulas are clinically tested, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, and aligned with clean beauty principles, so consumers can feel confident that what they’re putting on their skin is both effective and trustworthy.

To us, innovation isn’t just about what’s new, it’s about what’s meaningful. It’s about developing skincare that evolves with our consumers, supporting them with care and performance at every stage of life.

What message do you hope to share with women navigating menopause when it comes to skincare, and how does Marcelle aim to empower them through product development?

You are not alone, and you are not invisible. The changes your skin goes through during menopause are real, valid, and deserving of attention. This stage of life is not something to be hidden or endured in silence, it’s a transition that deserves recognition, respect, and meaningful care. In Canada, over 10 million women are over the age of 40, yet the skincare industry has too often ignored their evolving needs. Nearly 10% of women may leave the workforce due to unmanaged menopausal symptoms, showing how deeply this stage can affect not just how women feel, but how they live.

At Marcelle, we aim to empower women by transforming skincare into something more than a routine, it becomes a reflection of their voice. Rather than making assumptions about what women need, we invited them to lead the conversation. Our skincare line was co-created with Canadian women for Canadian women, and that changes everything.

This wasn’t just about collecting input, it was about giving women a real role in shaping products that reflect their experiences. Every decision from how a formula feels, to how it performs, to how it supports changing skin, was informed by their voices. In doing so, we created skincare that doesn’t just respond to needs, it represents them.

That’s what meaningful innovation looks like to us: not just creating for women but creating with them. And that’s how we’ll continue to show up, through products grounded in science, shaped by real experience, and built to reflect the lives of the women we serve.