When it comes to your skin, getting ahead of yourself (or just getting confused!) is easy to do. The beauty aisles are jam-packed with products containing beneficial ingredients like antioxidants, retinoids, peptides and acids, and you might think you need to be using all of them – right now. All in due time Spa Girls! Skincare concerns change throughout the decades, and what you need in your 20s might not be the same as what you need in your 40s. Here’s how to pace yourself through the decades.
Watch the video on The List TV show:
Skincare in Your 20s
Your twenties are all about prevention and health. Taking good care of your skin now will greatly benefit you down the road.
Recommendations:
- Listen to your mother. Get enough sleep, eat well, don’t smoke (ever) and use products that are gentle and keep your skin healthy and balanced.
- Keep it simple. Typically, your skin is plump and healthy in your twenties and doesn’t require a slew of products to achieve a natural glow.
- Get in the SPF habit. It’s never too early to be proactive about taking care of your skin. Preventative care and developing healthy skin care habits early on makes a big difference later in life. Find a daily SPF moisturizer that works for your skin type and use it daily.
- Tread lightly. Unless you need stronger products for acne-prone skin, go with gentler products that keep skin healthy and don’t strip natural moisture. Avoid anything too abrasive.
Try: Sebamed Liquid Face & Body Wash
This two-in-one wash gently cleanses the skin with its ultra-mild, soap-free formula, while also restoring the skin to a pH balance of 5.5 – the exact pH of healthy skin. Ideal for all skin types, Sebamed helps maintain the skin’s protective mantle and shields it from environmental factors that can break it down. $12.99 at CVS drugstores nationwide and sebamedusa.com.
Skincare in Your 30s
In your 30s, the production of collagen and elastin starts to slow and the effects of genetics and environmental factors such as sun exposure start to creep onto your face.
Recommendations:
- Up your “Anti’s.” Replace the skin-sabotaging bad habits with good ones, like wearing an antioxidant-enriched SPF every single day, eating and drinking antioxidant-rich foods.
- Wear your vitamins. Your best bets are products with retinol (active vitamin A) and vitamin C to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
- Feed your face. Add an extra umph to your skincare routine by eating retinol (anti-wrinkle super ingredient!) rich foods like sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens, butternut squash and spices like paprika, red pepper cayenne and chili powder.
Try: Meaningful Beauty
This skincare line from Cindy Crawford has everything you need to keep skin nourished and protected without costing a fortune. The starter kit includes a Skin Softening Cleanser, Antioxidant Day Crème Broad Spectrum SPF 20, Crème de Sérum, Lifting Eye Crème and Brightening Décolleté/Neck Treatment. $39.95 plus shipping and handling at meaningfulbeauty.com.
Skincare in Your 40s and Beyond
Skincare in your 40s and beyond should focus on repairing past damage, slowing the signs of aging and preventing further damage. Once we hit our 40s, the rate at which the skin renews and repairs itself becomes much slower, so your skin begins to show signs of aging at a faster pace. In addition to common signs of aging, women are also forced to face their skin sins of the past. Remember those sunny beach days in your teens? They are now starting to show up on your face as sun spots and hyperpigmentation. All is not lost! It is simply time to boost skincare regimen with anti-aging products that will help restore your natural radiance.
Recommendations:
- Keep it up. Never stop preventing skin damage. Just because you have a few sun spots or lines on your face does not mean you can’t prevent new ones from forming. Keep on top of your preventative routines including daily use of a hydrating sunscreen with broad spectrum SPF and a night cream that deeply moisturizers while you sleep
- Brighten up. When it comes to treating the damage you already have, look for products that have brightening qualities. These products fade the dark spots you already have, even out the skin tone and give you that natural glow your skin once had.
Try: Repêchage Biolight Brightening Corrective Skin Care
Repêchage Biolight Daytime Protection Cream ($95) is a daily moisturizer containing zinc oxide that hydrates and tones skin while providing protection against environmental aggressors. Repêchage Biolight Brightening Overnight Cream ($100) is a power-packed cream that combines three clinically proven peptides to rapidly help reduce the appearance of uneven skin tone and hyperpigmentation. These revolutionary new products contain the latest in skin brightening science and innovative marine bio-technology to help reduce the appearance of uneven skin tone and imperfections from sun damage, hormones, post-acne scarring and certain prescription medication. Available at top salons and spas worldwide including locally at Tocaloma Spa & Salon and repechage.com.
