Your skin goes through so many different changes as you progress through your life. While you may enjoy a bright and bouncy complexion in your teenage years, the effects of sun exposure, pollution, natural aging, and genetics will start to make themselves visible as you mature.
Add to that the impact of any lifestyle and location changes and it’s easy to understand why adjusting your skincare routine is something that you’ll need to continuously do. It’s the only way to ensure that you’re meeting your skin’s evolving needs as your body, and life, changes as you age.
So, what exactly does that involve? How should you be tailoring your skincare routine as the years go by? Read on as Introlift explains.
Skincare for Your 20s
When you’re in your 20s, you can get away with having a relatively minimal skincare routine. Although the aging process technically begins at this stage in life, your skin is still producing plenty of new proteins, skin cells, and more, meaning that all you need to focus on is prevention.
This means ensuring that your skincare routine contains all the basics. Now is the time to get into the habit of following a routine twice a day, no matter how simple it may be. Start with a cleanser, follow up with a moisturizer, and keep your skin protected with a sunscreen each and every day. The latter is particularly important – the sun causes up to 80% of the visible signs of aging, meaning that you’ll be able to significantly slow down the skin aging process if you’re diligent about sun protection from now.
Professional Treatments to Consider in Your 20s
Chances are that, in your 20s, you won’t yet have any major visible skin concerns that require professional treatment. The few concerns that you do have will likely be rectified with a good skincare routine.
That said, with your focus currently being on prevention, booking yourself in for a complexion-boosting facial every once in a while would definitely be beneficial. If you’re still experiencing the remnants of teenage acne, consider the Introlift for Teens treatment. It uses salicylic acid and LED light therapy to combat the appearance of blackheads, pimples, redness, and oiliness.
The Wild Caviar Restoration would also be a good choice if you’re looking for something more indulgent. This facial makes use of real caviar, which is brimming with vitamins and antioxidants. It’s a great ingredient for preserving how elastic your skin feels while keeping the appearance of aging at bay.
Skincare for Your 30s
Once you reach your 30s, you’ll notice that your skin is starting to visibly age. Those creases that appear on your face each time you make a facial impression will turn into fine lines that don’t fully fade away once your skin relaxes. This is usually particularly noticeable around the eye area, making now a good time to add an eye serum and/or eye cream to your skincare routine.
You’ll also need to get serious about exfoliation. At this point in life, cell turnover starts to slow down. Regularly exfoliating your skin is one way to speed things back up again while preventing the dullness and roughness that can often appear at this age. Look for high-quality chemical exfoliants – these are gentler and more effective than scrubs.
Professional Treatments to Consider in Your 30s
At-home exfoliants are great, but they don’t quite compare to a professional chemical peel. Your 30s is a great time to start pampering your skin with peels. They’ll help to counter many of the visible skin problems that are common at this age, including fine lines, discoloration, and dullness.
At Introlift, we have several peels for you to choose from. Whether you want to brighten and even out the look of your skin with the Pigment Balancing Peel by SkinCeuticals or target the appearance of acne and wrinkles with our Micropeel Plus 20 Solution, all of our chemical peels are ideal for someone in their 30s.
If the thought of dealing with deep wrinkles in your 40s is something that scares you, then now would also be a good time to consider Botox. This treatment actually works far better as a preventative. When used in a person’s 30s, it will help to prevent fine lines from turning into deeper wrinkles, which would otherwise be inevitable.
Skincare for Your 40s
The visible signs of aging will start to become more apparent in your 40s, especially if your skincare routine in your 30s was lacking. This is when protein production significantly slows down, causing the skin to wrinkle and sag. The loss of volume is also a common concern at this age. Hydrating ingredients, such as sodium hyaluronate and glycerin, would be a good addition to your skincare routine – they’ll help to give your skin a fuller and plumper appearance.
Antioxidants are also vital in your 40s. They’ll help to counter many of the visible signs of aging, sun damage, and other forms of oxidative stress. If you’re hoping that your skincare routine will enable you to diminish the look of wrinkles and/or dark spots, then antioxidants are what you need.
Professional Treatments to Consider in Your 40s
Although there are many topical products that can help to give your skin the appearance of fullness and volume, most struggle to stimulate deep and long-lasting changes in the skin, particularly when it comes to restoring volume. Instead, for this, you’ll need dermal fillers.
Fillers are a great option for when the skin starts to sag. They’ll provide your skin with new volume and structure. By pushing your skin outwards from within, fillers also smooth away the visibility of fine lines and wrinkles.
If you’d prefer a completely non-invasive option, LED Light Therapy is another treatment that could work wonders on skin that’s in its 40s. Red LED light has been proven to help with collagen synthesis, making it a game-changer among those hoping to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Meanwhile, blue LED light is a superstar at reducing how greasy the skin feels. It’s also capable of killing bacteria on the skin, making it a great treatment for anyone suffering from adult acne.
Skincare for Your 50s
Once you hit your 50s, hormonal fluctuations become the norm. Menopause throws everything out of whack. Collagen production declines even further, the skin thins out, increased sebum production triggers acne breakouts…it can seem as though you have everything and more to deal with.
This can sometimes mean a complete overhaul of your skincare routine, and there’s nothing wrong with this. Look for serums and moisturizers that thicken and strengthen the feel of your skin, and spot treat pimples as and when they appear. Focus on keeping your skin as hydrated as possible since dryness will become more of an issue as you leave menopause further behind (whew!).
Professional Treatments to Consider in Your 50s
Microneedling is a treatment that’s often recommended to people in their 50s, purely because it can help with so many of the skin concerns that people commonly experience at this age. Be it sun damage, acne marks, wrinkles, a dull skin tone, or lax skin, microneedling can help! In fact, at Introlift, in addition to regular microneedling, we also offer a Microneedling With PRP treatment. This makes use of platelet-rich plasma derived from your own blood. It enhances the treatment’s effects while bringing you results even sooner!
Another one of the skin-related downsides of menopause is peach fuzz. Around 40% of women aged 45 and over notice excessive hair growth on the face, particularly on the chin. One way to get rid of this is with Dermaplaning. This is a manual exfoliation treatment. Its main purpose is to remove the outer layer of dead skin cells to reveal a brighter and more radiant complexion. However, at the same time, it also removes any peach fuzz covering the skin, leaving the face much smoother and silkier!
Skincare for Your 60s
By the time you reach your 60s, discoloration and dark spots will likely be one of your main concerns. Your skin will have suffered through six decades of UV exposure by now – the more sun damage you experienced in your earlier years, the more discolored your skin will be in your 60s. To lighten the look of dark spots, make sure that your skincare routine contains the likes of vitamin C, kojic acid, licorice root extract, and niacinamide, preferably in the form of a serum.
Your skincare routine should also contain plenty of hydrating and moisturizing ingredients. Your skin will now feel quite thin to the touch, making it even more prone to moisture loss. Slather on thick creams as often as you need to, and make the most of hydrating face masks.
Professional Treatments to Consider in Your 60s
While topical products can help to lighten the visibility of discoloration, it’s unlikely that they’ll completely get rid of those dark marks at this stage in life. The best way to do that would be with a series of Laser Skin Rejuvenation treatments. This treatment makes use of a Q-switched laser to directly target damaged and discolored areas of skin, meaning that it doesn’t cause any harm to surrounding tissue. You’ll likely need a couple of sessions to get rid of those dark spots for good, but the results should last you for at least a few years!
Hopefully, your skincare routine will now be packed with hydrating ingredients. However, a hydrating facial will help to give your skin the boost of moisture that it’s likely craving. The RF Aqua Facial Lift is a treatment that does exactly that. It also delivers a dose of antioxidants, making it perfect for anyone looking to slow down how quickly their complexion seems to be aging.
Summary
As you can see, your skincare routine will, and should, change quite significantly as you age. So long as you pay attention to your skin, you should be able to notice when its needs begin to evolve, enabling you to make the necessary adjustments to your routine. Plus, if you ever miss those signals and your skin starts to struggle, you can always turn to Introlift’s med spa treatments to set you back onto the right path!