Let's talk about the hormone that doesn't get nearly enough airtime.

If you've spent time reading about menopause, you've heard about estrogen and progesterone. Their decline gets all the headlines. But there's a third hormone that's been running a lot of the show in the background since your twenties — and when it drops, you feel it. It's called DHEA. And once you understand what it does, a lot of the "why does my body feel different now?" questions start making more sense.

We've written about DHEA at length — if you want the full deep-dive on the science, we've pulled together the research here. But today we want to share something a little different: what a group of real women in their 50s and 60s noticed after two months of adding topical DHEA to their daily routines.

First — the Science (Short Version)

DHEA is a hormone produced by the ovaries and the adrenal glands. It's what's called a prohormone — the most abundant naturally occurring hormone base in the body. It's associated with the production of estrogen and testosterone, both of which are involved in many everyday processes.

Here's the part that matters for menopause: DHEA levels peak somewhere between ages 18 and 25. (Not coincidentally, this is also when most of us had the most energy, clearest thinking, and best physical resilience. Funny how that works.) Then, around age 30, levels begin a slow, steady decline — roughly 2% per year. By age 70 to 80, DHEA levels can be 10–20% of what they were at peak. Its decline is often associated with the natural changes that come with aging.

That's the science. It's not dramatic. It's just biology — and it's useful to know.

About the Group

We asked 44 women — all 55 and older, average age 63 — to add topical DHEA to their routines for 60 days and share what they noticed. Before they started, we asked what changes they were navigating during the menopause transition that they hoped to address. The answers looked a lot like what we hear from women in our community every day: feeling less energized than they used to, shifts in overall well-being, and a general sense that something had changed and they wanted to understand it better.

These were women who'd been navigating the shifts that come with post-menopause and were curious about whether adding DHEA might fit into their overall wellness routine. A solid group to ask.

What They Noticed

After 60 days, we circled back. The most common theme across the women who completed the full two months: feeling more energized and more balanced overall. Not a dramatic transformation — a meaningful one. The kind of shift that's quiet on any given Tuesday and noticeable when you look back over two months and realize something has changed.

There was one area where some participants noticed something less welcome: an increase in facial hair. This is worth understanding, not panicking about. DHEA is associated with testosterone production, and testosterone can convert to DHT (dihydrotestosterone), which plays a significant role in hair growth and hair loss. It's one of those quietly important details the body keeps to itself until someone mentions it — and we'd rather you hear it from us first.

The Number That Stayed With Us

38 of the 39 women who completed the full 60 days chose to continue after the experience period ended. That's the number that matters. Not a chart. Not a domain count. Just women who felt something worth continuing — and continued.

If you're curious about DHEA and whether it makes sense for where you are in your menopause journey, that's a genuinely great conversation to have with a knowledgeable provider. The more you understand what's actually happening in your body, the better positioned you are to make choices that work for you. And that's always the goal. We got you.