Is menopause and perimenopause the same thing?

Perimenopause is the transition period or the interval before one truly becomes menopausal. The perimenopausal time period is a natural shift of the hormonal cycle to irregular cycles and finally towards permanent infertility – the loss of eggs. The timing of perimenopause is variable and starts at different ages. For most women it starts in the 40s but in some cases, it may even start in the late 30s.

A woman may notice that her periods are becoming irregular and may vary in length of days from longer to shorter; and the actual menstrual cycle may also vary. This may go one for several months and eventually lead to permanent cessation of the menstrual cycle.

Associated with the perimenopausal period is the start of some symptoms like hot flashes, difficulty sleeping and vagina dryness. In most cases, the perimenopausal period lasts about 9-12 months. Once a woman has gone through 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, she has then medically reached the stage of menopause.

Bio-Oil for Scars and Wrinkles

I’ve been using a little bottle of Bio-Oil made by a company in South Africa for a couple of months when treating a scar and then for much longer as an anti-aging wrinkle preventer.

Recently I had a mole removed from my face by a plastic surgeon. For scar recovery, the plastic surgeon suggested I start out using pure vitamin E to treat the scar over a period of two months. By simply pricking the vitamin E capsule and pressing out the pure vitamin E oil and gently smoothing it over the scar. After the two month period, he said I should use Bio-Oil, available in any drugstore. This is how I have treated my scar. After all was healed, I was left with a barely noticeable scar.

Since then, I’ve been using Bio-Oil over a night time moisturizer around the eye area and above my upper lip to try and prevent and get rid of my wrinkles. This is where my wrinkles seem to be appearing first.


Bio-Oil is an orange colored oil containing something call PurCellin Oil. It is recommended for uneven skin tone, scar healing, stretch mark prevention and wrinkle prevention and treatment. I checked out the website and they say that there have been studies on Bio-Oil done over a period of time for all of these problems. All of these studies show positive results.

The ingredients of this product are listed as the following from the company’s website (www.bio-oil.com:

Paraffinum Liquidum
Triisononanoin
Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate
Isopropyl Myristate
Retinyl Palmitate
Tocopheryl Acetate
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil
Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil
BHT
Bisabolol
Parfum
Amyl Cinnamal
Benzyl Salicylate
Citronellol
Coumarin
Eugenol
Geraniol
Hydroxycitronellal
Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde
Limonene
Linalool
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone
CI 26100

As you can see, it’s got some very nice oils in it such as vitamin E, rosemary, lavender, calendula, sunflower and soyabean oils, all useful for skin healing and wrinkle prevention. You might ask what is PurCellin oil. I was curious to find out to. It’s a lab creation oil from the glands of a duck, secreted when the duck is preening its feathers. It is used as a delivery system for the other oils.

It’s a nice oil to use for both scar healing and wrinkle prevention/curing. I saw the results of the scar healing properties of the oil and the jury is still out on whether it helps prevent wrinkles. The price is reasonable for a bottle of Bio-Oil. I’ll buy it again for its antiaging benefits when this bottle runs out.

Suzanne Somers Interviewed About Ageism in Hollywood

Suzanne Somers was interviewed on TV on The Insider show about ageism in Hollywood and her views on celebrity infidelity. Although some stars in Hollywood such as Jane Fonda, Sharon Stone, Juliette Binoche and Julian Moore do find good roles, generally, there are not a lot of interesting roles for female actors in Hollywood. It seems that once an actress hits 30 - 35 years of age, the good acting roles dry up. Male actors find acting roles, no matter what their age. They are often paired up in relationships with female stars almost half their age or less.

Hollywood stars have to undergo botox, plastic and cosmetic surgery and starve themselves just to remain "young looking" as the roles become less available.

Not only does ageism exist in Hollywood, ageism is very present in the workforce. It is more difficult for older women to find work in the workforce. Ageism, like any other prejudice pre-judges a human being.

What can you do to fight ageism? If you are in a position to hire, don't hire a person just based on their looks or youth. Hire the best person for the role and let their qualifications and experience guide your hiring decision. If you are in Hollywood, hire actors in the appropriate age group to play opposite the male star.

The ironic news about ageism in the workforce is that with declining population levels, corporations will have to rely on and hire older workers who want to work because there will be too many people collecting pensions and not enough young workers to support the pension system.

Looking your best as you grow older can be helped by using good antiaging creams, eat a healthy diet, exercise to keep yourself in the best shape. Get a great haircut and don't dress in old fuddy clothes. Dress professionally for the workplace, not trying to be a 22 year old, but wear classy, nice styled clothes. If you need it, see your cosmetic surgery doctor for some collagen injections, but don't overdo it. The final advice is, get rid of your stress and keep a happy and optimistic mood. Let your happiness spread around.

Slowly, attitudes will change in the workplace and hopefully Hollywood will make movies that reflect real life more closely. I mean, how often do you see a 67 year old man who's all saggy and baggy, married or falling in love with a 22 year old hot thing? It doesn't happen very often unless the old man has stacks of cash.