Naomi Watts has seen it all when it comes to her acting career. The actress, 54, has played characters who have endured loss, suffering, and great tragedies. However, Watts was blindsided when her own body started changing in her 30s.
Nothing had prepared Watts for menopause. She didn’t even see it coming. In fact, the actress was shocked when she began experiencing perimenopause when she was in her 30s. That’s why she recently founded Stripes. The brand provides education, resources, and, most importantly, a community for women who are experiencing perimenopause and menopause.
Women Shouldn’t Have To Go Through Menopause Alone
Stripes is dedicated to providing a supportive community to women who are going through the menopausal transition. After experiencing perimenopause at a young age, Watts was astonished to find a lack of community. She also didn’t hear many people discussing around the issue. Watts founded Stripes as a way to build community and to bring the topic of menopause into the public sphere.
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Watts is fulfilling her mission. Just last week, the actress attended The New Pause Symposium in New York City to discuss the importance of bringing menopause into the spotlight. She also highlighted why she founded Stripes. There is much more to be said about menopause than is typically mentioned publicly. As she says in her Instagram post about discussing menopause at the symposium, “The conversation is just getting started.”
Watts was at the symposium just after launching Stripes, a company that provides relief to menopausal symptoms through various products, as well as a community of support to women experiencing menopause. The actress reflected on her experience with perimenopause and the importance of the community that exists through Stripes.
“I found myself at 36 and perimenopausal, a word I didn’t even know about, and at the precipice of trying to start a family,” Watts shared at the symposium. “So I went into complete panic, felt very lonely, very much less-than or like some kind of failure and what was I going to do? There was no one to talk to, there was no information, basically on my visit to the doctor, who said, ‘Well you’re not getting pregnant … your bloodwork is indicating that you’re close to menopause,’ so I was freaking out.”
‘Too Young’ To Experience Menopause
Watts felt like she was too young to be going through perimenopause. She kept this part of her life a secret for many years. In fact, she didn’t think about sharing her experience with others until she was in her 50s.
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At the symposium, Watts shared that it wasn’t until the pandemic that she began considering taking on projects that dealt with menopause. During this time, she reflected on how she could help women who were struggling with perimenopause just as she had.
“I started letting the ideas percolate, and that’s when I said, ‘Okay now I’m on the other side of 50, I don’t have to feel that shame.’ It is the average age. I’m now beyond the average age and I can actually say it out loud and I can say, having gone through the worst part of it, I’m on the other side of it now.”
‘A World Where Menopause Isn’t A Dirty Word’
Cue the birth of Stripes. Just as the company says on their website, “Because while menopause may be part of midlife, midlife is a lot more than just menopause.” Watts has made it her mission to normalize speaking about menopause and help other women age comfortably during midlife changes. Through Stripes, women have a community, are seen, and also have their specific needs met. As Watts shared in a recent Instagram post, ensuring that women are visible and have community are extremely important during menopause.
Stripes offers multiple items for women who are going through menopause. From hydrating facial serums to revitalizing hair masks and probiotic supplements for your “down there” (as the website says), Stripes has you covered with products that support women’s menopausal experiences. Plus, you can feel good about using products from the company. Stripes is environmentally friendly, inclusive, and dedicated to helping women age comfortably.
Committed to sustainability, Stripes has partnered with the biotech company Amyris. This allows Stripes to create “holistic, science-backed solutions” for women going through menopause. As their website says, their “active ingredients are sustainably sourced and created to be good to both you and our planet.”
Stripes is also adamantly not an anti-aging company. Instead, the brand is dedicated to helping women age comfortably. They do so by providing solutions that help women navigate transitions that occur throughout menopause. In fact, Stripes views aging as a privilege that people should celebrate.
A brand that is devoted to ending the shame, stigma, and unknowns around menopause is needed. Thankfully, Stripes is doing just that. Through science-based research, squashing the stigma around menopause, and creating a community for women, Stripes is unapologetically shining the spotlight on menopause.
