When should you start using anti aging skin care?
That’s a great question, and the answer you’ve probably heard before is that it’s never too early or too late to start, in order to get healthy glowing skin at all ages.
However, the type of anti-aging routine you adopt should be chosen based on your age.
The best skincare for your teens and 20s
The mainstay of anti-aging here is “less is more”, with three easy steps:
1. Not over-cleansing. The aim of cleansing shouldn’t be to strip your skin completely of oil. You don’t want to destroy the skin’s natural barrier, which in turn results in premature signs of aging.
If you’re wearing makeup, it’s better to use two gentle facial cleansers (one oil-based and one water-based) rather than scrub at your skin with one harsh, oil-stripping cleanser until it feels squeaky clean.
Make sure to rinse off the cleanser within one minute, and remove it gently without scrubbing at your skin. Cleanse no more than twice a day.
The Heimish All Clean Balm and the Farmacy Green Clean Balm are some of the best gentle cleansers to try. Both of these keep our skin feeling nourished and looking dewy, while getting rid of oil and debris. We also recommend the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water for makeup removal.
By the way…some of the skincare we recommend are available on iHerb, which we use to buy a lot of our organic skincare. You can use our code AEJ0519 at checkout to get 5% off.
Make sure to choose a balanced pH cleanser. For more information about these types of cleansers, sign up to our monthly newsletter. We’ll also let you know when we discover newer cleansers with more organic ingredients.
2. Protect against UV rays. Did you know UV radiation may be high even on cold and overcast days?
UV causes wrinkling and pigmentation, as well as other signs of aging such as dry and sallow skin. Therefore, it’s crucial that you wear sunscreen every single day, even on overcast days. The type of sunscreen you choose will depend on your skin tone, skin type, and preference.
3. Always remove makeup before going to bed and apply a hydrating serum or moisturizer 1-2 times a day, depending on your skin type and climate in which you live.
We recommend The Ordinary "Buffet" as a serum, and the COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse) as a lightweight moisturizer. We find that both these products help hydrate our skin to make it look more plumb and youthful, without predisposing to oily skin. The COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse) sits poorly under makeup, so we like to apply it at night.
For dry skin or dry climates, you can afford to apply a creamier moisturizer, such as the MooGoo Full Cream Moisturizer. MooGoo is an Australian brand which prides itself on producing skincare with all natural ingredients, and we regularly use this product in our own skincare routine, because it’s great at making our skin feel soft, smooth and nourished during dry times.
Skincare in your 30s
Now is the time to start introducing retinoids if you feel comfortable with it!
Retinoids are derivatives of vitamin A. There are many studies in support of retinoid as an agent to increase cellular turnover, target pigmentation, and stimulate collagen synthesis. However, in this post, we are discussing non-prescription formulations available. For prescription medications, or if you have acne, see your doctor for advice and follow up.
Make sure you start with lower concentrations and work your way up, as retinoids can be drying and irritating for the skin.
One of the best non-prescription retinoids that work for us is The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid In Squalane, as it is a relatively mild formulation that doesn’t irritate our skin.
You can then try upgrading to stronger retinoid products such as the Pestle & Mortar Superstar Night Oil if your skin is tolerating retinoid well. This is a pricier option and comes in the form of an oil, so may not suit you if you have oily skin. However, it’s excellent for us at helping to smooth fine lines and increase the supple appearance of skin.
Make sure to only apply one retinoid product at any one time, and don’t use it together with any acids.
Also make sure you consult your doctor concerning use of topical retinoids during pregnancy. We avoid using these products while trying conceive, during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
If you haven’t started using eye cream yet, your 30s is the time to start! In our opinion, it’s never too early to introduce our favourite eye cream, which is the Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Eye Cream. This feels so rich and soothing around our eyes and has helped to decrease the appearance of dark circles and puffiness around the eyes.
However, this can get a little expensive, in which case, explore the myriad of other eye creams out there, for example:
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a drugstore eye cream like the Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream or the affordable k-beauty eye creams by Innisfree, such as the Innisfree Perfect 9 Repair Eye Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean) and Innisfree Jeju Orchid Eye Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse). We find that these are non-irritating, moisturizing eye creams, but have relatively minimal anti-aging properties.
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the Mizon Collagen Power Firming Eye Cream (Jolse) is a lightweight eye cream perfect for the summer time. Once again, it is great at moisturizing the undereye area, though we noticed minimal anti-aging effects.
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the Elensilia Cpp Collagen 80 Intensive Eye Cream is great at reducing the appearance of fine lines.
To get recommendations about other favorite organic eye creams we love, subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
It’s also really important to get on top of any age-related pigmentation that might pop up. See our breakdown of skincare to tackle hypigmentation for the best organic products to use to tackle pigmentation.
Finally, make sure to exfoliate, but not over-exfoliate! Exfoliation helps increase cell turnover, and is therefore an easy way to get that healthy youthful skin glow. See our best exfoliants page for more exfoliator recommmendations.
This is a temporary solution though, so don’t get addicted to exfoliating your face everyday to maintain that glow.
It’s best to only exfoliate 1-2 times a week, or only apply exfoliation as a spot treatment to problem areas (and avoid active breakouts).
Skincare in your 40s
Firstly, you finally have an excuse to invest in expensive formulations that contain higher amounts of more potent antioxidants, such as ginseng. We find the Sulwhasoo line perfect for this. Our top Sulwhasoo moisturizers are:
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Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream EX Light. This is one of our favorite moisturizers, which is incredibly rich while not irritating at all for combination skin. It has reduced the appearance of wrinkles and made our skin feel bouncier and look softer.
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Sulwhasoo Hydro-Aid Moisturizing Soothing Cream. This is more lightweight, but feels more luxurious and more hydrating than the average drugstore moisturizer. It has not caused us any breakouts.
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Sulwhasoo Essential Firming Cream (Jolse). This one is great for dry or dehydrated skin. It “melts” into the skin when you apply it, absorbing really well, even though it is a relatively thick emulsion. It has helped to get rid of dry patches without causing any irritation.
You can also risk applying heavier lotions and creams, if you find your skin becoming drier. Our favourite moisturizers for dry skin include the Hada Labo Premium Lotion (Olive Young)(dokodemo)(Jolse) (which is a very soothing but lightweight moisturizer with the consistency of a toner), Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm (which keeps our skin glowing and moisturized but not greasy overnight), and the E-Nature Birch Juice Hydro Mist (Style Korean) (which is packed with antioxidants that helped give our skin a youthful glow, but is very watery and lightweight). If you would like more recommendations, subscribe to our newsletter to get monthly updates on the best anti-ageing products to try.
You can also start to layer two or three layers of product around your eyes - for instance both an eye serum and an eye cream.
One of our top organic eye serums is the Moogoo Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Vitamin C, which we find is really good for lightening dark circles.
Just make sure to keep vitamin C products refrigerated in a dark container as it can become unstable in light. Also try not to use it with products containing niacinamide. Why? See our post on skincare ingredients not to mix.
Other eye cream options we love include the Amore Pacific Intensive Vitalizing Eye Essence and the Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum, both of which felt incredibly soothing around the eyes, especially after a tiring day, and helped to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
The area around our eyes are some of the first to show signs of age, so it is important to target this area of your face as the focus of your anti-aging regimen.
You can also apply the leftover eye cream on your hands to any areas showing signs of age, such as the nasolabial folds (smile lines), forehead and neck.
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P.S…this is probably obvious, but the information presented doesn’t constitute medical advice - always check with your own doctor!
