By Belmar Pharma Solutions

Recently, Belmar Pharma Solutions partnered with NewBeauty, an authority on all things beauty, offering readers an in-depth look at the beauty industry’s latest products, cutting-edge innovations and breakthrough technologies. They surveyed women, aged 30-79, to gather insights from patients with a “beauty budget” and discern their knowledge of hormone replacement therapies (HRTs).

The average age of respondents (nearly 52 years old) reveals intriguing insights into the attitudes of women towards cosmetic procedures and HRT. The survey highlights an untapped market of perimenopausal women, emphasizing the need for education and proactive management of symptoms associated with aging.

An untapped market of perimenopausal women

Perimenopausal women represent a significant, albeit underserved, demographic in the market for both cosmetic procedures and HRTs. These women are eager to invest time and money to improve their appearance and overall well-being from the inside out, through hormone therapies and complementary cosmetic procedures.

Unfortunately, many women who express concerns about their waning libidos, increased vaginal dryness, unpredictable mood swings, frustrating weight gain and disruptive (and embarrassing) hot flashes are dismissed by their primary care providers, who don’t fully understand how to help this patient population.

The Belmar-NewBeauty survey underscores the importance of educating women so they better understand their own symptoms, become aware of available therapies and can find providers who are knowledgeable about perimenopause, menopause and HRT.

Women with beauty budgets are seeking HRT guidance from their providers

Nearly 60% of women consider their health care providers as their primary source for reliable health information. This statistic highlights the critical role of providers who are well-versed in hormone therapies to educate and guide women through the potential benefits of HRT. However, unless providers pursue it themselves, they are typically not trained in the nuances of assessing female patients’ hormones or prescribing bioidentical hormone replacement therapies (BHRTs). The majority of medical programs lack a dedicated menopause curriculum, and those providers who do complete some type of hormonal health training strongly agree that their programs needed more menopause educational resources.* 

Cosmetic and plastic surgeons should take note of the untapped market of patients who are already in the office to proactively manage their appearance as they age. These same women are also searching for knowledgeable hormone specialists who can address perimenopause and menopause symptoms. 

The research indicates that educated women with disposable income are particularly willing to explore HRT as a way to enhance their appearance and alleviate symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. A significant 60% of women view aging as "something to be managed proactively." This perspective presents an opportunity for health care providers to position themselves as experts in BHRT, attracting new business from women in perimenopause and menopause age groups.

Target population for HRTs

A staggering 82% of women surveyed have experienced symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause, including hot flashes, dry/crepey skin, thinning hair, low libido and weight gain. Women aged 30-79, particularly those between 40-69, actively seek information and relief for these symptoms.

Health care providers (including cosmetic and plastic surgeons) with a majority of female patients, should focus on women aged 30-49 as their target demographic for HRT. Half of the women in this age group are considering hormone therapy to address menopause symptoms. An overwhelming majority of 80% of these women would consider HRT if it could improve their appearance, starting with younger women aged 30-39, where 95% expressed interest.

Importance of BHRTs

Another interesting finding from the survey indicates that the majority of women across all age groups (60%) believe it is "very important" to use BHRTs. In fact, BHRT emerges as the leading choice for women considering hormone therapy to manage the effects of aging and hormone decline.

Women also have valid concerns about the safety of BHRT, often stemming from incomplete or biased research. It is imperative for health care providers to educate patients about the potential short- and long-term benefits of HRT. Many advantages may go beyond alleviating menopausal symptoms: cardiovascular health, bone density, mood and overall well-being. Long term, hormone therapy can help improve inflammation, impact glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity and, potentially, limit cognitive decline.

A willingness to invest in HRT

As noted above, women with beauty budgets are willing to invest in hormone therapies. The survey reveals that 74% of women are willing to pay for HRT to alleviate menopause symptoms, with the willingness highest among women aged 30-39 (85%), followed by 40-49 (81%) and 50-59 (76%). Nearly 30% of these women are willing to allocate more than 50% of their beauty budget to feel as good as they look.

The findings of the Belmar-NewBeauty survey brought to light what was already suspected: the importance of addressing the unmet needs of perimenopausal and menopausal women. By proactively managing aging symptoms and educating women about the benefits of HRT, health care providers—especially those who already offer cosmetic procedures—can bridge the gap in patient care and become leaders in the field of hormone therapy.

(For further insights and visual representations of the data, please refer to the infographics created by Belmar Pharma Solutions.)

To learn more about BHRT training and prescribing compounded medications, please reach out to a Solutions Engineer today.

To learn more about female patients who are interested in personalized hormone therapies, watch our free, on-demand Preferred Provider webinar: Untapped Market of Perimenopausal Women

*https://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/abstract/2023/10000/needs_assessment_of_menopause_education_in_united.4.aspx

Founded in 1985 in Golden, Colorado, Belmar Pharma Solutions is a leading compounding pharmacy organization focusing on women’s and men’s hormone health and longevity. Belmar Pharma Solutions provides support to providers through its full-time medical director and a dedicated women’s clinical health team, helping providers and patients navigate hormone replacement therapies and personalized medications. Its six Compounding Centers of Excellence across the country serve health care providers and patients in all 50 states. It offers a variety of dosage forms and strengths, including tablets, capsules, creams, sterile injectables, pellets and more for customized patient therapies.