Why do our 20’s feel like the beginning of the end when it comes to skincare? There are so many products marketed to women in their 40’s and 50’s trying to erase wrinkles or tighten the skin, but is there any way to avoid that all together? The answer is an unsavoury “kind of.” Ageing is a natural process — as much as everyone wishes there was a magic potion to stop it its tracks, there isn’t one. Thinking about it in terms of ageing gracefully as opposed to not ageing at all is a far healthier perspective to approach skincare in your 20’s. But there are a number of products available to you to slow down that process as well as ingredients that specifically protect and target skincare concerns so that they’re far less likely to appear out of the blue in ten years time. Especially in your 20’s, the care with which you treat not only your skin, but your entire body, contributes to how you will feel several decades down the line. Here are some suggestions for products and ingredients designed to contribute to the overall health of your skin, with a focus on preventative skincare.
Vitamin C
Protects against free radicals? Check. Promotes collagen production? Check. Reduces hyperpigmentation? Also check. The only thing Vitamin C can’t do, it seems, is completely reverse time. But it gets pretty darn close. Vitamin C comes in a variety of forms; serums, powders, tonics, and moisturisers – all waiting to be incorporated into your routine. This is a product where the overall health of your skin is improved over time, with the added benefit of brightening and evening skin tone. An essential for any twenty-something!
Try the Skinceuticals C E Ferulic or Paula’s Choice C15 Booster.
An Eye Cream
Does it work or does it not? The age-old question of whether or not eye cream is just a placebo effect still haunts much of its discourse. But eye cream formulated with ingredients like retinol or hyaluronic acid targets fine lines and plumps skin. The skin around your eyes is the thinnest and most sensitive on your face, which means it benefits from a little extra TLC every night. Try applying your eye cream with the pad of your ring finger – that it’s the gentlest of your fingers isn’t a myth, either!
Try the RoC Retinol or Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment.
Retinol
The sheer amount of retinoid products on the market is daunting, but the benefits are tenfold. Boosting collagen production and even proven to reverse photoageing, retinol works at the cellular level to renew skin. Retinol can be finicky in terms of strength and skin type, so do some research and be sure to begin with a small amount mixed in with your moisturiser, finding which product works best for you. The general idea with retinol is to start with over-the-counter products and move into prescription-strength as you get older, and starting to use this product in your 20’s is the perfect time.
Try the Avene Retrinal or Skinceuticals Retinol 1.0.
A SPF
Your 20’s are the perfect time to start incorporating a SPF into your routine, because the older you get, the more sun damage begins to come out of the woodwork. Using a daily sunscreen or a moisturiser with SPF helps target those ultraviolet rays that do all kinds of damage to your skin, targeting both the outer and inner layers. SPF is beneficial not only as a preventative product but for the health of your skin as well, reducing the risk of melanoma or skin cancer down the line.
Try Elta MD UV Clear or Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen.
A Body Cream
So much focus is put into facial skincare that sometimes we forget that our skin is the body’s biggest organ, and we have to take care of all of it! While areas like the backs of our hands and the decollete are particularly important to target, using a body cream when you get out of the shower has benefits beyond making your pyjamas feel extra smooth and silky. Body creams with active ingredients like retinol, BHA, or salicylic acid work to smooth and protect the skin that so often gets overlooked outside of the shower. Bring your skincare routine down and remember that the rest of your body deserves some love, too!
Try Paula’s Choice Retinol Treatment or Paula’s Choice BHA Body Treatment.
Takeaway
Skincare in your 20’s isn’t all about preventing the early signs of ageing, or trying to make yourself look permanently youthful (though those are certainly perks), but is more importantly about learning what’s best for your body as it becomes more susceptible to the environment around it. Your stress, exercise, diet, and even relationships impact not only your general wellbeing, but the health of your skin, too. Paying attention to product labels and their ingredients is essential as our skin begins to bounce back with less vigour the more we damage it, and researching the right kinds of products for our skin types becomes crucial. Skincare in your 20’s is all about finding what’s right for you and building a healthy routine, one that will likely shift as you age, but that will nevertheless make you feel confident in your own skin.