Women's health optimisation

Why longevity medicine is the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to women’s health in aesthetics

Aesthetic medicine is no longer just about the visible signs of ageing. For millions of women, what shows up on the face is increasingly inseparable from what’s happening internally. Hormonal fluctuations, metabolic change, chronic stress, sleep disruption and inflammatory load don’t just impact how they feel, they affect collagen integrity, wound healing, skin health and how they respond to treatments.

It’s no surprise then that a growing number of aesthetic practices are taking a 360-degree approach to health optimisation and longevity, encompassing functional, lifestyle, integrative and personalised medicine alongside aesthetic and regenerative treatments.

THE GROWING DEMAND FOR WOMEN’S HEALTH

Women spend up to one-third of their lives in the perimenopause-menopause transition, and yet this period is still poorly understood within conventional healthcare and absent from standard aesthetic consultations.

But aesthetic clinics are often the first place women voice concerns and this presents a unique opportunity and responsibility.

“We see women sooner and more often than their GP ever will”, says Dr Mayoni Gooneratne, a former NHS colorectal and pelvic floor surgeon turned functional medicine and women’s health specialist. “That puts aesthetic clinicians in a powerful position to notice patterns, initiate conversations and signpost women to the right support.”

Her clinical framework – the Human Health Methodology – built through years of functional medicine training and lived personal experience, forms the backbone of her Thrive programme, which positions midlife not as a period of decline, but as an opportunity for women to “build their health pension pot” by focusing on upstream drivers of vitality.

“So many women come into clinic feeling like they’re ‘falling apart’, but what they’re experiencing is a predictable shift in hormones, metabolism and nervous system regulation. If we don’t understand their internal landscape – their gut health, cortisol levels, mitochondrial function and metabolic flexibility – we will always struggle to get the aesthetic results women want.”

THE TRIAD OF CHANGE

There are three forces Dr Gooneratne believes must be addressed if women are to thrive, not simply cope through menopause.

1. Hormonal decline and imbalance

Falling progesterone, fluctuating oestrogen and rising cortisol change the skin’s architecture and the body’s inflammatory balance long before menopause begins. The result? Drier, thinner skin, impaired barrier function, heightened sensitivity, slower healing and worsened pigmentation.

2. Metabolic inflexibility

Largely invisible but increasingly common, metabolic dysfunction drives glycation (leading to loss of skin elasticity), puffiness and inflammation as well as volume changes in the face. It also leads to increased weight and co-morbidities such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, pre-diabetes, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.

3. Nervous system dysregulation

Chronic stress shifts the body into “survival mode”, impairing both healing and overall skin quality.

EDUCATION IS THE MISSING LINK

To support this shift, Dr Gooneratne believes education is key. She has set up Human Health Professionals, a community of like-minded clinicians passionate about delivering wellness, longevity, and true health care to their patients. She is also the chair of the Future Patient Congress, which takes place on February 5, 2026, at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London.

Dedicated to functional medicine, longevity and the next era of preventive care, the first-of-its-kind event will cover topics ranging from epigenetics and nutrition to gut health and neuroscience.

Delegates wanting to dive deeper into women’s health can also attend Menopause in Practice the following day (February 6).

Dr Gooneratne says, “Women deserve personalised, evidence-based, compassionate care that acknowledges their biology — not dismisses it. When we support women from the inside out, their aesthetic results naturally follow.”

You can book tickets at www.futurepatient.co.uk and www.menopauseip.co.uk for one or two-day passes that include both events.