Exclusive: Fern Britton on the hormonal breakout that hit during menopause, and how she solved it
It's a more common menopause symptom than you'd think - here's what helped Fern
Fern Britton got candid about a skin issue that caught her off guard during menopause: breakouts around her chin. While speaking with woman&home's Editor-in-Chief Hannah Fernando at the woman&home's Editor's Lunch in Manchester, broadcaster, author and long-time friend of the brand, Fern, brought up the topic of hormonal breakouts, leading the conversation to one of the most useful beauty tips of the afternoon.
"When I was in menopause, I got loads of spots all around my chin, and that happens quite a bit," she revealed - a symptom plenty of women experience. Hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause can trigger breakouts in exactly this area, often for the first time in years, which makes Fern's honesty about it all the more reassuring.
It took a chance recommendation to turn things around. "This beautician said, try this, and then I got hooked. So I haven't stopped using it," Fern explained. The product in question is a serum from the cult brand iS Clinical, and she's remained loyal to it ever since.
A cult-favourite loved by facialists and A-listers, including Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, this multi-tasking serum is formulated with sugar cane, bilberry and willow bark extracts. It gently exfoliates to smooth fine lines, refine pores and fade the look of dark spots and blemishes. Just a few drops go a long way, making the £88 price last for months.
iS Clinical Super Serum Advance+ combines a high 15% concentration of vitamin C with copper tripeptide growth factor to brighten dull skin, fade dark spots and visibly firm the complexion. Centella asiatica and hyaluronic acid add antioxidant protection and hydration, while arbutin helps even out tone. It's also praised for softening the look of scarring and stretch marks.
"There's something called iS Clinical. There's a range of all sorts of things. They are expensive. You get a 30ml bottle of a day serum and a night serum. That might cost 250 quid, but they last for a long time, because you only use about three drops," Fern said.
It's a detail worth remembering if the price tag makes you wince at first glance - a little goes a very long way, and a bottle can last for months, which is exactly why fans like Fern say the price works out better value than it first appears.
The rest of Fern's routine is far simpler. "I think my mum had very good skin, and she was always into beauty anyway, and she taught me about cleanse, tone, moisturise," adds Fern, proof that decades-old basics still hold up alongside a targeted treatment step.
For anyone else caught off guard by menopause breakouts, Fern's experience is a useful reminder: it's a genuinely common symptom, not a sign that something's gone wrong with your skin, and sometimes the fix is as simple as one trusted product used consistently. As Fern proved at woman&home's 100th anniversary Editor's Lunch, you don't need to overhaul your entire routine - just find the one step that actually works for you.
