Disrupting 'anti-ageing' skin care: Q&A with menopause-beauty brand founder

Within the past three years, there has been a surge in consumer interest in ‘menopause-beauty’​ products, which has resulted in more innovation across numerous categories, including skin care, hair care, inside-out wellness and feminine care products.

To find out more about this growing space, Cosmetic Design-Europe​ spoke to Jackie Lamyman, the founder of Made of More – a disruptive new skin care brand for 40+ hormonal skin – about the growing menopause beauty space and why she launched the brand.  

CosmeticsDesign-Europe (CDE): Why did you launch a menopause-focused beauty brand now?​

Jackie Lamyman (JL): It was down to a personal need to begin with, which soon turned into a larger quest for women out there in the same situation as I was. It’s interesting as there’s a report from GenM which states ‘87% of women experiencing the menopause said they feel overlooked by society and brands’ and I think that’s fairly realistic of today’s offering.

I very much set out knowing my own feelings towards what was available on the market and vowed that Made of More would forego any ‘poor yous’ and ‘pity parties’ and that women need to feel like they are made of more; the very best versions of themselves rather than always settling for the anti-ageing option packaged in the cliched lilac.

CDE: Can you tell me more about the ingredients you have formulated with and why you chose these?​

JL: My husband took over his family farm in Lincolnshire, UK, where he now grows, harvests and presses hemp. From this he created a CBD brand, Crop England. Knowing the benefits of each ingredient I wanted to delve deeper into how they would work combined on the skin. By working with a CBD expert, we looked one step further at CBG – the mother of all cannabinoids – which is rarely used in skincare.

All of Made of More’s products combine British Hemp seed oil with CBG along with a potent blend of other clinical ingredients all designed to address the challenges of hormonal skin from aged 40 upwards. We call this our HC+ Complex: a unique and innovative complex, clinically formulated to meet the key challenges of fluctuating hormones.

These ingredients work synergistically to tackle problem areas such as dull, tired skin, collagen degradation, lack of sleep, fine lines, loss of skin tone and puffiness, which are often combined with increased sensitivity and redness. Our complex works to support the skin during these times while avoiding some commonly known ingredients that can increase irritation at this time.

CDE: What kind of issues did you face during the R&D period? And how did you overcome these?​

JL: We looked very carefully at the issues women of this age were experiencing with their skin and spent a long time speaking with doctors and women’s health specialists to find out what their patients’ skin concerns were.

There was a glaring disconnect between the products available and what women really needed for their skin; they were seeing an increase in sensitivity, dryness, redness, puffiness, and lack of glow. The products being marketed to us were fragranced and most importantly seemed to be obsessed with the idea of anti-ageing. There was no sense of true innovation, which was highly frustrating when you consider the size and scope of the skin care market today.

I was lucky enough to work with a hugely experienced chemist who herself had been through the menopause and immediately understood our need for innovation and cutting-edge ingredients for our underserved customer. We scrutinised so many raw ingredients to get what we needed. A perfect example of this is Grifolin*, contained in our HC+ complex, which is designed to help heat damage to the skin. Used in some SPF products, we’ve used it to help that uncomfortable feeling that can happen to your skin when you have a hot flush. The chemist said they were the best products she’d ever created and she felt so proud of them; which was an incredible moment for me as it shows the power, knowledge and wisdom of women our age! 

CDE: Do you expect menopause-focused skin care and other menopause-focused beauty categories to grow in the upcoming years?​

JL: Very much so. Addressing all areas of midlife and the menopause is key. It’s not only skin that needs the support but our overall mental wellbeing and happiness.

We will be launching an intimate wellbeing product in May 2024, where we will be combining our expertise of CBD and innovative ingredients. Our reason: because women deserve and should have more!

CDE: Anything else to add on the topic of menopause beauty?​

JL: A lot of women are not ready or wanting to talk about menopause whereas so many do, which is great. We very much talk about midlife and fluctuating hormones ensuring women can identify their changing needs and address what’s needed at their own speed. No one likes being told what to do and how they should be feeling.

It’s also a very sensitive topic for women when their much-loved skincare routines of many years no longer deliver the results they once did, so it’s about ensuring the messaging and opportunity to re-educate women in a streamlined and sensitive way is priority. Most notably with a simple product line-up that doesn’t have a hint of lilac, anti-ageing or ‘poor you’ splayed across it! Made of More is for vibrant women – as we like to say; ‘Midlife does not define us. We are Made of More’.

* NB: According to chemicals supplier Rahn AG, trials have shown that Grifolin works to decrease skin temperature by 3%, which helps protect collagen from heat spikes caused by hot flashes and decreases Cox-2 gene expression which induces ageing. It has also been shown to significantly improve elasticity and hydration.