Perimenopause for Hairdressers and Beauty Therapists: Managing Symptoms at the Salon

Standing Behind the Chair Has Changed

You've spent years making other people feel good about themselves. You know how to hide when you're having a rough day. But perimenopause has a way of making that harder, whether it's a hot flash mid-blowdry, aching feet and back by noon, or the foggy feeling that makes it hard to keep up light conversation with a full book of clients.

If you're a hairdresser, beauty therapist, nail technician, or salon owner navigating this transition, the unique demands of your work create specific challenges. This guide is written for you.

Why Salon Work Is Particularly Hard During Perimenopause

Beauty professionals stand for most of their working day on hard floors, often in shoes that prioritize appearance over support. They work in warm, often poorly ventilated spaces. They use their hands and wrists repetitively for hours. And they are on stage with clients the entire time, with no opportunity to step back and be low-key.

Estrogen affects joint health, and when levels fluctuate during perimenopause, feet, ankles, knees, and lower back become noticeably more painful during and after long days. Carpal tunnel symptoms and wrist pain are also more common, which directly affects your ability to use scissors, brushes, and massage techniques effectively.

The warm environment of a busy salon can amplify hot flashes significantly. Chemical fumes and the heat from blow dryers add to the ambient temperature. If your salon doesn't have good ventilation, raising this as a practical issue with your employer or, if you're self-employed, making a ventilation upgrade, is worth considering.

Hot Flashes on the Salon Floor

A hot flash when you're in the middle of a colour application or a lash treatment is not just uncomfortable. It can affect your hands, your concentration, and your ability to hold a professional, confident presence with your client.

A few practical strategies make a difference. Wear breathable, moisture-wicking clothing under your uniform or salon apron. Keep a small personal fan at your station for the gaps between clients. A cold water spray bottle, positioned discreetly at your station, can help you cool down quickly without drawing attention.

If you're self-employed and have flexibility in scheduling, building slightly longer buffers between appointments during high-symptom periods gives you more recovery time. Even five extra minutes between clients reduces the pressure to perform while you're still flushed and sweating.

Your Hands and Wrists Are Your Tools

The repetitive nature of hairdressing and beauty therapy puts significant strain on the hands and wrists over a career. Perimenopause can accelerate joint changes in these areas. Carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, and general hand stiffness are all more common during the perimenopause transition.

If you're noticing new symptoms in your hands or wrists, see your GP. Some symptoms are treatable with simple interventions, including wrist supports, anti-inflammatory approaches, or physiotherapy. Ignoring them and hoping they'll pass tends to make them worse.

Ergonomic changes to how you hold your scissors, how you position clients, and how you set up your workstation can reduce cumulative load. A brief hand and wrist stretch routine between clients, even 60 seconds, helps maintain mobility and reduce stiffness during a long day.

The Emotional Toll of Client-Facing Work

Beauty professionals are expected to be warm, upbeat, and fully present with every client. That's emotionally demanding work even on a good day. During perimenopause, when mood fluctuations, irritability, and anxiety are common, sustaining that professional warmth can feel exhausting.

You're not becoming a worse person or a worse therapist. Your brain chemistry is shifting. Estrogen and progesterone both affect mood-regulating neurotransmitters. When those hormones fluctuate, your emotional baseline changes. This is a physiological reality, not a character flaw.

Building small recovery rituals into your day helps. Even taking your lunch break away from the salon, outside if possible, gives your nervous system a genuine rest. Protecting that time, even when the booking system pushes against it, matters for your long-term wellbeing.

Self-Employment, Flexible Bookings, and Adjusting Your Business

If you're self-employed or run your own salon, you have more control over your schedule than you might realize. Many beauty professionals resist adjusting their booking patterns because they fear losing income. But working yourself to exhaustion through a difficult perimenopause transition can lead to longer-term health issues that are more costly than a few reduced booking days.

Practical adjustments include cutting your maximum number of appointments on your heaviest physical treatment days, scheduling your most physically demanding treatments earlier in the day when your energy is highest, and building a lunch break into your diary as a fixed, unchallengeable appointment.

If you're employed and have a manager or salon owner, you can describe your health needs without using the word 'menopause' if that feels too personal. A health condition affecting your energy and physical comfort is a legitimate basis for reasonable adjustments in most countries.

Tracking Patterns in a Busy Working Life

It can be hard to see the patterns in your symptoms when each day blurs into the next. But most women find that their worst days are not truly random. They're linked to sleep quality, the number of appointments they've taken on, hydration, what they've eaten, or where they are in their cycle.

PeriPlan lets you log symptoms daily so that patterns become visible over time. Knowing that your worst hot flashes tend to follow your longest days, or that your joint pain spikes when you've not slept well, gives you information you can actually act on.

Bringing a symptom log to your GP appointment also makes the conversation much more productive. You have something concrete to show them instead of trying to describe several months of symptoms from memory.

You Give People Confidence Every Day. Invest in Yours.

You help people feel good about themselves as your core work. It's worth applying some of that same care to yourself. Perimenopause is a real transition with real symptoms, and you are entitled to support, both from your healthcare provider and from your workplace.

If your symptoms are significantly affecting your quality of life or your ability to work, please see your GP. There are evidence-based treatment options that work. You don't have to navigate this alone or push through in silence.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about your specific situation.