You can still look stunning throughout the ageing process – you simply have to face up to each decade. You can achieve and maintain lovely skin from puberty through old age if you establish a skincare regimen in your 20s, protect and prevent in your 30s, freshen and hydrate in your 40s, and defy dryness and sagging in your 50s.
20-something
You are terrific at 20 but it's never too early to start pampering your skin. Generally, as you hit your 20s, your skin begins to lose some of its ability to retain moisture and it slowly but surely loses its energy, sparkle and suppleness so you’ll want a light but effective moisturiser that doesn’t clog your pores. As far as a woman’s complexion goes, this is as good as it gets, baby. You still have a healthy turnover of new skin every 28 days and those pesky teenage blemishes are now finally behind you, give or take a break-out or two.
To prevent premature ageing you need to use UVA/UVB protection every day, as tests show that 80 percent of skin ageing is caused by sun damage in the teens and twenties. The sun protection you use now will determine just how gracefully you will age. If you do nothing else but wear a high-potency sunscreen and wraparound sunglasses every day, you can help prevent early wrinkles. Concentrate on a proper cleanse, tone and moisturise routine in the morning and evening and stick to it – your skin will thank you in years to come. You need products packed with skin-boosting ingredients such as antioxidants, vitamin C and minerals to help you nurture your skin.
30-something
We all look forward to the flirty thirties when a woman comes into her own. Your life is moving at full throttle but a hectic lifestyle combined with sun and environmental harm means accumulating skin damage which is not that visible yet. It's time to protect and balance during the day and repair and revitalise at night. It's still vital to wear a daily sunscreen under your moisturiser which should always have a built-in sunscreen of SPF15. Take advantage of the dream hours to let your skin relax and re-energise itself and help the nightly renewal process along with a good niight cream. At this stage as you don’t want to overload your skin with heavily empowered products. That will all come later.
Your aim is to improve the tone and texture of your skin so your youth quotient stays high. As your natural healthy glow is wearing away you can improve radiance by adding regular exfoliation to your regimen to stimulate cell renewal. Pay more attention to the eye area with soothing products to reduce puffiness and dark circles. You can also fool everyone with the new silicone filler treatments that help to smooth out expression lines.
40-something
Middle aged? Forget it: these are the fantastic forties and you’re just getting started. This is your era to update and upgrade your looks. Unfortunately decades of wear and tear now make their mark on your skin as it becomes drier and thinner. Fine lines morph into deeper lines and little bags get bigger and firmness is letting go a bit.
Your secret weapons must include targeted and intensive products to boost and support your skin such as anti-wrinkle eye treatments, firming neck creams, replenishing night creams and serums that inject new life into your skin. Because of photo-ageing, you may also be susceptible to age spots and pigmentation, making your complexion uneven and patchy, so treat yourself to a skin illuminator to lighten and brighten your complexion.
50-something
If you're fit, healthy and comfortable with yourself even though your skin is slowing down, you must be fifty and fabulous. Take heart – it's not only about products, it's also about attitude. Growing older gracefully is still challenging but fun if you stay sexy and sassy. "Compensate" is your keyword. If crepey eyelids have made an appearance, enhance your lashes and brows instead! Your skin, as well as your body, is influenced by the menopause and products containing soy extracts and essential oils can help substantially to balance the effects of menopausal skin stress. When collagen breaks down, you get sagging contours and lines morph into folds around your eyes and mouth as gravity takes its toll.
The new anti-ageing mature skin products containing tightening and lifting ingredients are absolute blessings at this stage. Your goal is to plump up your skin and defeat dryness by pumping as much life-giving moisture into your complexion as you can. Look out for added benefits such as illuminators to you give you a brighter fresher complexion, which in itself makes you look younger and happier. Don’t forget to include hydrating masks and firming serums in your daily and weekly care routines. Regular facials are ideal for maintaining a healthy, youthful glow, as they improve circulation.
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