We’ve built a dedicated network of real women who help us test all sorts of products across homes, health, fashion and beauty. Our testers all have one thing in common: they’re navigating all the physical and emotional changes that come with being a woman over 40 in today’s world. From night sweats and disrupted sleep to changes to hair and skin, their firsthand experiences are essential in helping us evaluate which products truly deliver results.
Women join our Tester Network by signing up through our website or responding to calls for testers in our newsletter and social channels. We ask a few quick questions to understand their symptoms, lifestyles, and preferences, so we can match them with the right products. Whether it’s a cooling mattress, a silent fan, or a new beauty tool, we want to make sure every tester gets to try something relevant to her needs — and give honest feedback about whether it made a real difference.
What makes our testing process unique is that it’s not just about reviews — it’s about real-life trials. Our testers use the products in their everyday routines, often over several weeks or months, and then share honest, relatable feedback with us. This helps us understand what works, what doesn’t, and where improvements could be made.
It’s all part of our mission to cut through the noise and recommend only the products that genuinely help women feel their best in their forties and beyond. Here are just a few of their stories…
(Image credit: Sally Ketley)
Sally Ketley
Woman&Home Tester Network member
Sally Ketley is a freelance copywriter and designer from Hampshire with a background in luxury interiors, consumer goods and the charity sector. “As a 57-year-old woman, I have a personal interest in testing and reviewing products that help women navigate peri-menopause and menopause – and all the associated symptoms such as hot flushes, sleep problems and dry skin/hair,” she says.
I am currently testing SnoozeBand™ – Bluetooth Sleep Headphones. I literally cannot fall asleep without The Archers or a podcast gently chatting away in my ear, but finding headphones that are comfortable for a side sleeper has been an ongoing quest for many years. I am keen to see how Snoozeband™ compares.
(Image credit: Carly Hall Simms)
Carly Hall-Simms
Woman&Home Tester Network member
Carly describes herself as “the sweatiest peri-peri-meno-monster” when she started testing mattresses for us. She wanted to test a cooling mattress out of sheer exasperation, explaining how she has to wash her sheets every morning because of her night sweats. She also struggles with joint pain as a result of her symptoms, saying, “I’m a red-hot Yorkshirewoman and not in a good way”.
After buying a cooling mattress that only served to make her feel hotter, she’s been on the lookout for the places where you can spend money and actually get some relief from your symptoms. Silenight might just be the place.
(Image credit: Joanna Brierley)
Linda Harrison
W&H Tester Network member
Linda has been living with menopausal symptoms for over five years, and one of her biggest challenges is staying asleep through the night. Night sweats and disrupted sleep led her to volunteer for the W&H Tester Network — she was eager to find the best cooling mattress to help regulate her temperature and improve her rest. On top of that, Linda shares a bed with a light-sleeping partner who tends to move around, so motion isolation was a must. As a dedicated side sleeper, she was also looking for solid support in all the right places.
Read Linda’s Slumberland Duo 1400 2-in-1 mattress review to see wheat she thought.
(Image credit: Lindsey Kemp)
Lindsey Kemp
W&H Tester Network member
Lindsey struggles severely with hot flushes and night sweats – so much so, her friends call her the “hottest woman in the world.” She signed up to test a fan for our buying guide on the best cooling fans, but stipulated that she wanted one that could run silently, so she could stay cool without keeping her partner awake. It was a big ask, you can read her Duux Whisper Flex 2 Smart Fan review to see if it was up to the task.
(Image credit: Melanie Blanksby)
Melanie Blanksby
W&H Tester Network member
With over 20 years of experience as a health writer, Melanie brings a sharp eye and deep insight to product testing. She’s currently dealing with the ups and downs of menopause — from night sweats to disrupted sleep — making her an ideal tester for our best cooling mattresses buying guide. Sharing a bed with her husband (and sometimes their large dog) means she’s also on the lookout for anything that can minimise nighttime disturbances and keep everyone comfortably asleep.
Read her Dreams TheraPur ActiGel Glacier 4800 review to see how it fared when her 32kg Goldendoodle dog tried using it as a trampoline.
