Women suffering through the hot flushes, night sweats, mood changes and sleep problems that can come with menopause – all while looking in the mirror and noticing signs of ageing – are being bombarded with products.

More open conversations about menopause and the time leading up to it – called perimenopause – are happening just as social media has supercharged marketing.

Women are being confronted by lotions, serums and light masks that promise to rejuvenate their faces and necks, dietary supplements claiming to boost moods and ease hot flushes, and gadgets promising to help with symptoms.

“The marketing has gotten very, very aggressive. It’s pervasive,” says Dr Nanette Santoro, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Colorado Anschutz in the US.

Santoro and other doctors say that before spending lots of money on products that make big promises, it is important for women to talk to their doctors about what has actually been proven to help – and what could be harmful.

“It really pays to be very, very, very sceptical,” Santoro says.