The secret is out. Menopause exists. And though it’s yet another taboo that women tend to keep to themselves—when 6,000 women enter a four-to-six-year relationship with menopause each day, it’s not a topic that should be kept in the shadows.
Enter Womaness, a wellness brand devoted to empowering women as they age with products to support them through menopause.
“Around 70 percent of women feel very uninformed going into menopause,” says Sally Mueller, Womaness co-founder and CEO and White Bear Lake native. “We want women to feel positive about this time of life.”
Mueller’s personal experience with menopause symptoms was the catalyst for Womaness. Though she expected the drying skin, hot flashes and mood changes, Mueller didn’t connect her other symptoms with menopause until a new doctor pointed it out.
“I knew I was in menopause, but I didn’t know what I was experiencing was related to menopause,” Mueller says. “And that’s very, very common.”
The doctor directed her to a line of products to aid her symptoms, but upon closer look Mueller was astonished at their ingredients and packaging.
“I said to my husband, ‘I’m never buying any of these products,’" Mueller says. “No disrespect to the doctor’s taste level, it was the best she could find out there.”
As an industry leader with decades of experience marketing and incubating brands for women at Target Corporation and within her own business, Mueller quickly came to a realization.
“I felt like there was a real lack of one destination brand that could really address all the major symptoms of menopause, that was accessibly priced and made with really good ingredients,” Mueller says. She says she told herself, “‘After all these years of building brands for women, I should tackle this space.’”
And that’s just what she did.
Alongside friend Michelle Jacobs, Mueller launched Womaness in March 2021. The brand offers a line of clean products to treat common menopause symptoms, alongside a website chockful of information and affirmations to help women feel confident and encouraged.
Some of their best-selling products for skincare include Overnight Magic, a hydrating night cream, and Let’s Neck, a neck and décolleté serum.
Womaness also offers products targeting a variety of feminine health subjects, including sleep, sexual health, mood and energy.
In the year that has followed the Womaness launch, Mueller has watched women get behind the brand and their mission of “menopositivity.”
“I think women are like ‘Hallelujah, finally someone’s talking about this,’” Mueller says. “We’re not invisible.”
Whether you’re in menopause or soon to be, Mueller encourages all women to become informed, talk to their girlfriends and start to have conversations with a doctor, even before any severe symptoms of menopause arise.
“Menopause isn’t a bad thing,” Mueller says. “It’s just another phase we all have to deal with.”
Terms to Know
Perimenopause: The period leading up to menopause when hormone production declines. Menstrual cycles may become more irregular after onset between ages 35–45, and side effects such as hot flashes and sleep difficulty may begin.
Menopause: The production of menstruation-causing hormones halts, with no period for 12 consecutive months. At this stage, intense symptoms may appear. This typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55.
Post-menopause: The stage after menopause has occurred, with symptoms of menopause mostly disappearing for most women four to five years from their last cycle.
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