Special support

Menopause specialist Deborah Forsythe wants to support fellow medical aesthetic practitioners in delivering excellent menopausal care

A report last year said that the menopause market is predicted to be worth $22.7bn (£16.4bn) by 2028 – an estimated CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5.7% over the next seven years. Despite the clear demand from women across the globe for access to better products, technologies, treatments and medical services to manage the physical, mental and emotional symptoms of this time in their lives, the majority are still left searching for help or having to “just get on with it”.

The dietary supplements segment (which includes both hormonal and non-hormonal products to help ease symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings and insomnia) accounted for a revenue share of more than 90% of the menopause market in 2020 and is expected to dominate the market over the forecast period to 2028. 1 These findings indicate huge potential for medical aesthetic professionals in the menopause space – not to mention that Europe has the second-largest market share by region – but, so far, dedicated and accessible education has been hard to come by.

Enter registered nurse Deborah Forsythe, who specialises in menopause expertise and consultancy. Having graduated The Marion Gluck Academy where she trained in hormone-balancing therapy using both bio and body-identical therapies, Deborah has since set up her own menopause practice spanning hormone therapies, functional nutrition and aesthetic treatments, and her next venture is to pass on her knowledge.

“I have had the good fortune to be involved in medical aesthetics for over 20 years and have seen an enormous growth in the treatments and education available to us to enhance, repair and change the concept of face and body aesthetics,” says Deborah. “What we have ignored are the organic anatomical and functional changes in our ageing patients, and how they are reacting emotionally and physically in the face of these changes – not only aesthetically, but especially during the menopause transition.

Deborah Forsythe

“Going through my own menopause blindsided me. I had no clues as to what was happening to me, never mind my own patients at the time. When I would change the conversation with a patient from their face to menopause, a floodgate of hormonal chaos opened up that confused and overwhelmed them. At that point, I recognised menopause was an integral part of my aesthetic practice. The decision to create a menopause in aesthetics course was a natural evolution.”

Her new course, Changing the Face of Menopause, will train doctors, dentists, and nurses to understand menopause and provide proven solutions for healthy skin. Specifically designed for those in the aesthetics specialty, the course focuses on how the many changes women go through affect the treatments they have in clinic, educating on understanding how hormonal imbalance affects the skin, hair and body changes that the majority of patients will experience during this time. Delegates will learn how to recognise these changes and adapt their treatment portfolio to sustain successful results.

The course covers:

• The different phases of menopause: premenopause, peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause

• The signs and symptoms that patients will be experiencing during the phases of menopause

• The changes of the skin and hair that occur during the menopause transition

• The anatomy and physiology of the menopausal ageing face

• How to assess the skin of a woman in her post-menopause phase

• The client’s expectations and how to deliver to these effectively.

Conducted online through prerecorded classes, procedure demos and live workshops, delegates also receive downloadable PDF files including references and skincare product information, along with 12-week access to a post-training group with six Q&A Zoom sessions with Deborah and fellow delegates. In addition, upon graduating delegates will automatically become members of the Menopause in Aesthetics Association; a community that will hold regular and progressive educational sessions and a weekly Zoom drop-in for discussing specific patient issues.

The course is priced at £1,800 and the first intake will begin on 1 November 2021, with a second intake starting 4 January 2022. Visit deborahthemenopauseconsultant.com/ChangingTheFaceOfMenopause to enrol.