The Essentials
As the founder of the menopausal beauty brand Stripes Beauty, Naomi Watts has always been very open about her own experience navigating menopause and all the changes that come with it. “I went into early menopause in my mid-30s, which felt incredibly isolating at the time because nobody around me was talking about it,” the actress and entrepreneur told CNN Underscored in a recent interview.
“Physically, one of the first places I noticed changes was my skin,” she said. “It became drier, thinner and less resilient with fine lines that felt more pronounced. I also became much more sensitive. Products I’d used for years no longer worked the same way anymore.”
According to the 57-year-old, the entire experience took a toll on her confidence, but it also become the catalyst for her pro-aging brand, Stripes, which she founded in 2022. “I realized there was such a gap in the conversation and in the products around menopause,” Watts said. “Everything felt either overly clinical or completely dismissive of real women’s journeys. I wanted to create something that normalized the experience and addressed it with honesty, dignity and a bit of style (and humor!).”
Today, Watts said her skin “feels calmer and more predictable” than before, but it still requires more attention than it used to. She’s also learned to listen to her skin more “instead of following rigid rules.” As for the best skin care tip the beauty brand founder’s picked up in the last few years? “Less is often more,” she said. “I used to think more products meant better results, but I’ve learned over time that consistency and supporting your skin barrier are far more important long-term.”
