Bonza Health Blog
Gain the tools and understanding you need to help manage the challenges of perimenopause and beyond.
Women experiencing perimenopause or menopause can reclaim their health and vitality. At Bonza Health, we help women see hormone changes as a natural midlife transition and provide the doctor-backed information women need to navigate hormonal health conditions with confidence.
Check out our latest blog posts from our leading physician’s best tips and tools for easing hormonal symptoms, special announcements on our courses and services, and much more! Be a part of our ever-growing community of like-minded women who are thriving in health -- even with perimenopause or menopause conditions.
Estradiol on Your Face: Hype vs. Evidence
At a recent women’s health medical conference, I discovered something that stirred my curiosity. Between sessions, at dinners, and in hallway conversations, nearly every physician I spoke with was using estradiol on their face. Gynecologists, dermatologists, internists, menopause specialists: the "estrogen face cream" trend wasn't just on social media. It was happening among the people who write the prescriptions. My first reaction was curiosity. My second was the one every physician is trained to have: Where's the evidence? When doctors adopt something for themselves, it's worth paying attention. But it's not the same as proof. So I went back to the research to answer the question my patients keep asking me: Is applying estradiol to your face beneficial, or is it hype? The honest answer is that it's both. Here's how to tell the difference.
The Study That Scared a Generation of Women — And What It Actually Found
A patient of mine — a physician herself — had a hysterectomy and started transdermal estradiol a few weeks later. Then her breasts began to ache. Not a little. Enough that a seatbelt hurt. Enough that she lay awake at 2 a.m. reading about estrogen and breast cancer and arrived in my office certain she had done something dangerous to her own body. She is a trained clinician. She has read papers. And she was still terrified. That tells you something about how thoroughly one 2002 press conference reshaped what an entire generation of women — including the ones with medical degrees — believe about estrogen. So let's go back to what the Women's Health Initiative actually found. Not the headline. The data.
Why You Struggle to Burn Fat in Menopause (Even If You Lift Weights)
We tend to think of estrogen solely as a reproductive hormone—the thing that gives us periods and helps us make babies. But estrogen is actually a powerhouse metabolic regulator. It dictates how your body burns energy, where it stores fat, and how it responds to insulin. During the transition into menopause, your ovaries stop producing consistent levels of estradiol. This drop does far more than trigger hot flashes; it flips a switch in your metabolic engine.
The Biological Functions of Estrogen: Understanding It’s Role in Perimenopause and Beyond
Estrogen is often referred to as the "fountain of youth" due to its vital role in maintaining cognitive function, bone strength, skin elasticity, and cardiovascular health. As women approach menopause and estrogen levels decline, the protective effects of this powerful hormone wane, making it essential to explore ways to support estrogen levels and reclaim vitality during this life stage.