I’m a Leo baby, and this month, I left my 20s behind for a brand new exciting decade! Thanks to COVID, I couldn’t travel home, but I felt blessed; I could celebrate with friends and enjoy a relaxing staycation with my husband.
Although I know nothing drastic will happen the day after you move into a new age bracket… it did cause me to reflect on how best we can look after ourselves and our skin.
If you’re anything like me, I have noted some skin changes in my late 20s: skin is a little less bouncy, maybe dullness and dryness are more of an issue, loss of fat on the face, you need more sleep, and (sadly) hangovers take their toll the next day like they never did before. Let’s talk about some steps and products to help!
More Exfoliation for Dullness
Children’s skin cells turn over (i.e. showing fresh new cells) every 14 days, oh that bouncy glow from within! In our 30’s cells turn over more like every 28-35 days. So having some exfoliation in your weekly routine is key to sluff off the dullness and help our skin shed the old cells faster.
I always recommend a chemical exfoliant, like an AHA toner (acid toner) over a physical scrub. The word ‘acid’ may sound harsh, but I assure you the physical scrubs are a lot rougher on your skin. Acid toners come in various ingredient strengths; I would suggest starting at a lower strength and seeing how your skin tolerates to begin – you can always increase later! Read my complete Guide to Skincare Acids here for more info.
Skin drier than before
As you move further into the 30s, the skin finds it harder to retain oil and water, so focusing on hydrating steps and products is critical. Some of the lines you have could be just from poorly hydrated skin. With just a few days of a lovely skincare routine, and I promise you you’ll see a difference. Also, are you only using facial oil? Do you know that’s not hydrating your skin enough? I dived into it a little more in this article, Why facial oils are not actually Hydrating your skin! Additionally, to check and learn a little more about moisturisers, head here Humectant + Emollient + Occlusive, Which Category is your Moisturiser?
Losing fullness, elasticity and density
This is an area I have noticed, my face has surely got thinner, and this is not an area I want to look smaller!
There are many reasons for our skin’s fullness and elasticity changes, including years in the sun, oestrogen levels lowering, collagen and elastin slowing. How to prevent or slow this down? You may be thinking… well, there are a couple of things! The first is easy – SPF. You guys know I’m a HUGE sunscreen lover; sun protection will prevent any further and future damage. Please make it a daily habit.
Another thing to consider is Vitamin A (aka retinol, retinal, tretinoin etc.). It’s the gold standard ingredient in skincare, and they have been studying it since the 1980s. The retinol results are fewer visible lines, more even skin tone, increased collagen production, speedy cell turnover and smoother skin.
Sounds impressive, right?! Just bear in mind that using a vitamin A product takes work. Often, people try and receive the known side effects when first starting, like redness, dryness and flaking skin. They think, oh, I’m allergic and stop using it. However, the majority are not, and it’s a process you first have to go through while your skin becomes accustomed to it, then you will start to get beautiful results. That being said, if you are getting marked irritation, then please stop using and consult your GP!
Use on dry skin at night, start small (once a week) and build your way up to 2-3 times a week. Suppose your skin gets too irritated, like stinging when applying your regular moisturiser or burning feeling you have gone too hard with the retinol. Take a break from it for a few weeks, then start again slowly and maybe buffer it with a light lotion.
The all-mighty preventer
Drumroll please… SPF and just sun protection in general. Sun damage over a lifetime is the primary reason our skin ages. So reducing and limiting that exposure is key to better-looking skin. You cannot reapply SPF enough, and wearing a hat/t-shirt etc., will help too.
I cannot stress how vital sun safety is – I don’t stop talking about it! Whilst at a boat party this week, I noticed one girl spraying tanning oil SPF 4 on her body, it made my skin crawl but I held my tongue. That did not last long! Later on in the day, as we were talking, she pulled it out again. I said, ‘ok sorry, I’m a huge sun protection advocate… and I’m about to start preaching!’ I’m not sure if she took it in, but I couldn’t not say anything!
For more SPF info, I write Want to know, why we must use sunscreen everyday? Gosh, sorry, a lot of referring to my previous article in this one, but I’m hoping you find it useful!
Finally, you can do loads more things for the health of your skin by looking after your body from the inside out, and honestly, this is far more important than these skincare tips. Last year, I did write about things you can do for your skin that are not ‘skincare’ here. Our skin truly reflects the health of our insides, so prioritise that first!
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