Regardless of age, we all have something in common; we all want to look our best. Anti-ageing should not be about looking the youngest for your age, it’s about looking like your best self for the age you’re currently at. Here is a guide to how your skin changes over time and what you can do to look your best.
Twenties
Prevention is the best medicine, and your mid to late 20s are a good time to start thinking about prevention. By now, you should be cleansing and moisturising daily. If you wear make-up, or if you’re prone to oily skin, use a toner after cleansing to help remove any leftover traces of oil and dirt. Using moisturiser and drinking water are especially important to keep your skin hydrated if you’re having a bit of a mid-twenties party phase. Alcohol and lack of sleep dehydrate your body and your skin, among other things, so you should drink moderately and get your shuteye.
Sunscreen is essential for all ages. Registered Nurse Robyn Cussell says that sunscreen is “the cheapest, most effective anti-ageing you can buy.” You may miss out on having a tan now, but it can prevent age spots, fine lines and a host of other issues later on.
By your mid to late 20s, you can start considering anti-wrinkle injectables as a means to prevent wrinkles from forming. After the age of 25, your skin produces 1% less collagen each year, which means you’re losing elasticity and becoming more prone to wrinkles.
You can look into some anti-ageing skincare products, such as a vitamin C serum to help collagen synthesise and boost the radiance in your skin, but you can also wait. Our best advice for this age is to keep it simple.
Thirties
Skin cell turnover begins to slow down in your thirties, which can leave your skin looking dull. Gentle exfoliation with an at-home cleanser or regular professional facials can help promote cell turnover and keep your skin looking healthy. We recommend using an exfoliant with natural fruit enzymes to dissolve the dead skin cells rather than a mechanical scrub, such as the scrubs that contain exfoliating beads. If you scrub too hard with them, you can actually cause minor damage to the skin.
Don’t exfoliate too often or too rigorously, because too much can cause acne and other problems with your skin. It’s all about balance.
If you haven’t been using mineral make-up, this is the time to switch. Regular makeup will often have inexpensive additives and fillers to reduce oily appearance and give fuller coverage. This can increase hyperkeratinisation (in which dead skin cells stick together and clog the pores). Mineral makeup has much cleaner ingredients, so it’s less likely to cause these problems in your skin.
If you haven’t started with injectables, but hints of fine lines are slowly appearing, it’s a good time to think about anti-wrinkle injections before the lines become deeper and harder to treat.
You can also add some anti-ageing products to your skincare routine. A serum with Vitamin A or collagen peptides can help your skin rebuild its collagen and prevent fine lines. You can apply it at night so the active ingredients can be put to work while you sleep. Also, vitamin A makes you more sensitive to the sun, so you don’t want to apply it in the morning.
If you’re starting to notice pigmentation from sun damage, or hormonal pigmentation that can come with pregnancy or oral contraception, you can add a pigment inhibiting serum to help keep your complexion clear. Before using any products during pregnancy, check that the ingredients are pregnancy safe.
Again, use sun protection. The UV rays can undo any benefit you see from these products.
You can also start looking into laser and ultrasound treatments to keep your collagen healthy and prevent further ageing, but more on that in the next section.
Forties
It’s perfectly normal to notice deeper lines and slight sagging of the skin in your forties. This is because we’ve been producing less collagen and slowly losing volume in our face over the years. It’s just what our body does.
Dermal fillers are the fastest way to restore lost volume and smooth out lines, but there are laser and ultrasound treatments that can stimulate collagen production in your skin and kick off a natural rejuvenating process. Basically, these treatments deliver energy to the lower layers of your skin and create a micro-healing response. As with most medical treatments, prevention is better than cure, so it’s a good idea to start on these treatments when you notice early signs of ageing.
Many people notice pigmentation and “age spots” showing through at this time. These are caused by years of sun exposure, though they may only show up now (we told you to start wearing sunscreen in your twenties). A pigment inhibitor can help reduce these lesions, but there are also lasers that can help. These lasers deliver concentrated light or vibrational energy to the lower layers of the skin to shatter the pigment. Your body then carries the broken pigment particles away naturally.
Fifties
Most women enter menopause in their 40s or 50s, and the hormonal changes can have effect on your collagen and cell turnover. You can discuss these changes and how to manage them with your doctor.
We recommend that you continue with the skin care and treatment regimen that you may have started in your forties. Regular maintenance will be your best friend.
Your skin may also be more prone to dryness at this age. It can be a tricky transition for people who have had more oily skin types for most of their lives. You may need a richer moisturiser, or a moisturiser with active ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid, which occurs naturally in the skin and helps it to lock in moisture.
You can also refresh your makeup routine. Loose powders can amplify the appearance of sagging skin. Use a pressed powder or mineral foundation instead of a powder and blend your eyeshadow well, or opt for clean eyeliner instead.
Sixties
The best part about your sixties is that you can reintroduce a whole palette of brightly-coloured lipsticks. On younger and middle aged women, they can be tough to pull off, but once you pass sixty, they look youthful and beautiful. You may want to lighten up on your eyeshadow (or do away with it completely) because it can exaggerate the crease in your eyelids. A bit of subtle bronzer will help you keep a fresh appearance that isn’t sallow.
If you’ve been looking after your skin so far, it’s probably going to be in pretty good shape, and you can continue with your routines. Many people notice their skin getting thinner in their sixties, but laser and ultrasound treatments that stimulate collagen can help with this as well. SkinTight Duo is a particularly good treatment for women this age because it helps to thicken the skin in the lower half of the face.
Seventies
Your treatment and makeup routines may be similar to those in your sixties. The less desirable news is that these treatments are not magic. While they can slow down the ageing process, they cannot stop it completely. At this age, some people may notice their jowls and the skin on their neck sagging. This is completely normal and it’s nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, it’s also something that may be beyond the ability of non-invasive laser and ultrasound treatments. There is no age limit to these treatments, we regularly see patients in their 80s, but our ability to achieve noticeable results will depend on the condition of your skin.
Draw some inspiration from women like Iris Apfel and embrace and own your age. While it may affect the condition of your skin, it by no means dictates how bold and beautiful you can still be.
