Stacy London Opens Up About Her Struggles With Menopause — And How She’s Helping Others Avoid Them

Stacy London is no longer interested in telling people What Not to Wear, as she did for 10 years on the hit TLC makeover show. Instead, she’s getting candid about her own journey through menopause and creating products that make “the change” a whole lot easier for everyone.

“We are going to be old much longer than we are going to be young,” London said in a recent episode of the Breaking the Bias podcast. “Women not only deal with the personal crisis of change — physical, mental, and psychological — but we value the price of youth so much and we devalue the price of wisdom. We need to change that narrative.”

She went on to emphasize the importance of not shying away from what has been considered a sensitive or taboo subject in the past. “Being able to talk about menopause and aging more frankly will help to take the shame and the stigma out of it,” she explained. “Anything you shine a light on is going to not only normalize the experience, but also optimize the conversation.”

London recently opened up about how blindsided she was by menopause and how that inspired her to help others avoid going through the same frustrating ordeal. “Here I had experienced perimenopausal symptoms in a way that made me feel an incredible loss of identity, an incredible loss of agency, and the losses of my sense of self,” she told InStyle. “I thought, ‘Well, it can’t just be happening for me.'” 

She admitted it took her four years to realize menopause was causing her laundry list of symptoms, like heart palpitations, joint pain, dry skin, brittle hair, insomnia, anxiety, and brain fog. “To feel like you’re going batsh*t crazy and not have real answers is unacceptable to me,” she said.

With all of that in mind, London became the CEO of a personal care brand called State Of. “We aren’t your mother’s menopause company because she didn’t HAVE one. I’ll be damned if we have to keep silent about this completely natural phase of life a minute longer,” London wrote on the brand’s website. “We are here because menopause is hard (not hopeless).”

Along with being vegan, ethically and sustainably sourced, and free of ingredients like parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances or dyes, the products are also reasonably priced. One of their most popular items is the Cooling Spray (Buy on State Of, $12), which provides quick hot flash relief with peppermint and menthol oils. The Arnica Hand & Joint Cream (Buy on State Of, $18) is another top pick that includes three ultra-moisturizing ingredients (shea, coconut, and cocoa seed butters) along with ache-soothing arnica.

Everyone’s experience with menopause is different, of course — or as London puts it, “One ‘flash’ does not fit all.” We certainly hope products like these and her upfront attitude about the whole thing can make it less of a hassle for more people going through it.