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For years, the menopause skincare conversation has focused on what happens to collagen, hydration, and the skin barrier. But research is now revealing another biological change taking place, menopause changes the skin's microbial ecosystem too.
Since 2024, studies across different populations and using different research methods have identified changes in the skin microbiome associated with menopause and menopausal stage, spanning both bacterial and fungal communities.
This changes the conversation around menopausal skin. The skin barrier does not exist in isolation. It exists alongside a living microbial ecosystem that changes through menopause too.
Nu Allumé calls this emerging relationship the microbiome-menopause connection.
Researchers compared 14 premenopausal and 30 postmenopausal women and identified significant differences associated with menopausal status:
Differences were particularly pronounced on the forehead.
Researchers found differences in the relationship between skin properties and the microbiome when menopausal status and sebum levels were taken into account.
Older participants also had lower sebum and greater bacterial diversity. However, this apparent increase in diversity isn’t as it seems. As the keystone species drop off, their functions that support the skin are lost; as a result, some of the less abundant rarer species are detected seemingly increasing diversity. However, this change shifts the functional capabilities of the skin microbiome which could lead to issues as skin ages
The findings suggest sebum could be one factor linking changes in skin physiology with changes in the microbiome through menopause.
Researchers identified menopausal stage specific differences in the prevalence and abundance of Malassezia spp., an important fungal component of the skin microbiome.
Postmenopausal women also had significantly lower skin surface sebum than premenopausal women.
Different researchers. Different populations. Different methodologies. Different microorganisms.
Yet the research contributes to the same emerging picture:
Menopausal status is correlated with changes within the skin's microbial ecosystem.
In March 2024, researchers from DSM Firmenich published “Menopause and facial skin microbiomes: a pilot study revealing novel insights into their relationship” in Frontiers in Aging.
Differences between premenopausal and postmenopausal women were particularly pronounced on the forehead. Importantly, reduced Cutibacterium did not entirely explain the increased diversity. When Cutibacterium was mathematically removed from forehead samples, the difference in bacterial alpha diversity remained significant.
The two groups differed in age by an average of 12.4 years, so researchers also considered whether ageing itself could explain the microbiome differences.
The skin characteristics they measured did not differ significantly between the groups, leading the researchers to identify menopausal status as the main factor associated with the different microbial profiles, although age could not be completely ruled out.
An exploratory analysis of four perimenopausal women also found significantly lower bacterial alpha diversity than both groups, although the sample was too small to characterise the perimenopausal microbiome.
In July 2026, researchers from Yakult Central Institute examined skin microbiota alongside age, menopausal status, skin properties and sebum in Japanese women.
Their findings suggest sebum may be associated with differences in the relationship between skin properties and microbiota.
In August 2026, the evidence expanded beyond bacteria.
Researchers studying 345 Asian women identified menopausal stage specific differences in Malassezia, an important fungal component of the skin microbiome.
They also went further, investigating potential biological function.
In laboratory testing, high levels of Malassezia damaged skin cells, entered the cells and triggered an inflammatory response. This begins to take the research beyond identifying which microorganisms differ towards investigating what those differences could mean biologically.
Further research is needed to establish how these laboratory findings translate to menopausal skin in vivo.
Research has established that menopause is associated with changes in the skin microbiome and we already know the microbiome plays an important role in skin barrier function, immune regulation and inflammation.
What has not yet been established is precisely how the microbiome changes identified through menopause contribute to specific menopausal skin concerns such as dryness, sensitivity and redness.
We also don't yet know how consistently individual microbial changes occur between women and populations or what an optimal microbial ecosystem looks like through the different stages of menopause.
These are the next questions for research to answer.
If menopause changes both the skin itself and the microbial environment living on it, should skincare developed specifically for this stage of life consider both?
That question informed an 18-month research and development programme with Australian microbiome scientists at BiomeCentric, shaping our approach to cleansing, fermentation, postbiotic ingredients and preservation.
Nu Allumé formulations include two Lactobacillus-fermented, postbiotic ingredients from BiomeCentric’s xoBiome® range: EpiHydrate™, a fermented Aloe Vera filtrate, and EpiBright™, a fermented berry and pomegranate complex.
These are not live probiotic bacteria and this is an important distinction as what we need to influence change are their postbiotic metabolites.
BiomeCentric's xoBiome® EpiHydrate™ is a postbiotic aloe vera ferment filtrate. Its fermentation process can release nutrients from plant material while producing compounds described as postbiotics.
xoBiome® EpiBright™ uses microbial processing of cranberry, blueberry, black elderberry, pomegranate, and raspberry to make polyphenols and postbiotic metabolites more bioavailable.
The use of probiotic-derived ingredients is particularly interesting in the context of the 2024 research, which identified Lactobacillus among the bacterial genera that differed significantly between premenopausal and postmenopausal facial skin.
This does not mean the formulations replace Lactobacillus on the skin or recreate a premenopausal microbiome. Rather, the research reinforced our broader approach of considering microbial biochemistry when developing skincare specifically for this stage of life.
Considering the microbiome also influenced how the formulations are preserved.
Nu Allumé uses BiomeCentric's xoBiome® EpiProtect™, a preservative system developed specifically with consideration for the skin microbiota.
Its multifunctional ingredients restrict microbial growth within the formulation through mechanisms including control of water activity and metal ion chelation.
Once applied to the skin, the concentration of these ingredients falls and their inhibitory effect disappears. These multifunctional components then exhibit their humectant and skin conditioning properties. This reduction in concentration is a deliberate feature designed to minimise disturbance to the skin microbiota, which has been validated through both in vitro and in vivo work.
In simple terms, the system performs its preservative role where it is needed, in the formulation, while its components can perform a different, skin conditioning role once applied to the skin.
Considering the microbiome should extend beyond adding a prebiotic or postbiotic ingredient. It should influence how the formulation itself is designed.
It is this thinking that underpins Nu Allumé's approach to skincare through the biological changes of perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause.
Pagac MP, Stalder M, Campiche R.
Frontiers in Aging. 2024;5:1353082.
DOI: 10.3389/fragi.2024.1353082
Contribution: Direct comparison of premenopausal and postmenopausal facial bacterial microbiomes.
Ishii Y, Kudo M, Imaoka A, Shima T.
Scientific Reports. 2026.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-59379-w
Contribution: Examines relationships between skin physiology, sebum, menopausal status and microbiota.
Davient B, Rikhraj JK, Ravikrishnan A, et al.
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes. 2026.
DOI: 10.1038/s41522-026-01119-z
Contribution: Large study across three menopausal stages examining the fungal microbiome and potential biological function.
Nu Allumé did not conduct or fund the published studies.
The 2024 authors were employees of DSM Firmenich and women using HRT or steroid hormones were excluded.
The July 2026 research was conducted at Yakult Central Institute and supported by Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. The authors declared no competing interests.
The August 2026 authors declared no competing interests. The article was published on 6 August 2026 and is currently available as a peer reviewed accepted version, with the final Version of Record to replace it automatically.
This resource was prepared by Nu Allumé and reviewed by BiomeCentric prior to publication.
