Life is funny, when we were kids all we wanted to do was get older, and now we’re here we are trying to become younger. Stopping the ageing process is inevitable, we have to come to the conclusion that getting older is a part of life and we should embrace it. But do we have to succumb to the age of our skin? Definitely not!

If you’re like me and you’ve heard ‘happy birthday’ a few too many times in life. Each year beginning to notice the appearance of fine lines, areas of your skin starting to look a little more dull or tired, and potentially some wrinkles that weren’t there yesterday. If this is you, well you’re in luck this week. 

In this post we will not only share an understanding of what’s happening to your skin but how to proactively slow down the ageing process and bring your skin’s true age down 10-20 years. It’s that simple! 

What's Happening To Our Skin As We Age? 

Over time, the skin's support mattress gradually loses its firmness and elasticity, causing the collagen fibers to gradually deteriorate. The skin also becomes drier, thinner and the skin cells struggle to renew themselves allowing deeper wrinkles to appear. Many external factors also contribute to the aging process of the skin too such as the sun's rays, and the environment. It is up to us individually to protect ourselves from these environmental factors as best as possible with skincare.

How Does Skincare Help to Slow Down the Aging Process?  

Beauty has come a long way over the last century. With new advances in technology and science, some pretty important people have been able to clinically test the results from particular ingredients and apply them to skincare products. There are many anti-aging products which, thanks to their powerful ingredients, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, helping the skin to preserve its comfort, suppleness and firmness. 

By adopting the right anti-ageing skincare products , you can effectively slow the ageing process and rejuvenate your skin to it’s younger and fresher appearance.  So which ones should you use? Let’s take a look below to understand the most powerful ingredients

The Most Effective Anti-ageing Ingredients

Sunscreen: 

We will never say it enough, the sun is not good for your skin. UV rays attack skin cells and cause them to produce less melanin, collagen, and elastin. This is why using sunscreen daily with at least SPF 20 should be your first action against wrinkles. You can use sunscreen directly or mixed with your moisturiser, even if it is rainy outside. 

Céramides:

These are lipids that keep the skin barrier strong and healthy, sealing moisture in the skin and preventing dry and irritated skin. Because ceramides naturally decrease with age, you may want to use a ceramide skincare product to avoid redness or itching

Retinol:

Retinol is a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals and reduces the signs of aging. It helps your skin to speed up its normal cell-turnover process, meaning that it will shed skin cells more quickly. That helps tackle issues like fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots, and acne. Researchers also believe that retinol can help increase collagen production, which reduces signs of aging.

Collagen:

Collagen is a protein that helps keep the skin strong and firm. The problem is that our natural collagen production slows down as we age, even more progressively without proper protection from external factors mentioned above. More recently this has been marketed best as a beauty digestible but no clinical evidence supports its effectiveness over other ingredients. 

Glycolic acid:

It’s a popular chemical exfoliant known to boost the production of collagen and elastin in the body, reducing the signs of aging in the skin. 

Lactic Acid:

Lactic acid provides general exfoliation and skin lightening for skin types too sensitive for glycolic acid. Studies show it can increase firmness and thickness of skin while also reducing the signs of aging.

Hyaluronic Acid:

It is a powerful moisturizer and is one of the main contributors to keeping your skin supple and hydrated. 

Jojoba Oil:

Jojoba oil has a nourishing, protective, rebalancing and softening action. Its regenerating properties and the fact that it helps maintain firm skin make it an excellent anti-aging oil.

Vitamin C:

In external use, it is capable in a few weeks of reducing our wrinkles by fighting against the inflammation of our cells, by boosting our elastin and collagen fibers, and by increasing the density of our dermal papillae.

Importance of a good skincare routine

You now know which products are most effective for your skin. It is important to apply them correctly and set up a good skincare routine as soon as possible to properly benefit from their properties. If you are unsure whether you are following the right steps, or don’t have a current routine, you’ll find everything you need to know here - what is a good skincare routine. 

Choosing the right products for your skin is essential to see good results. This is why we created a simple solution for you in our newly created curated collections according to your specific skin type. They are great to use when you start your beauty routine with a basic 4 step routine, or advance and add some anti-ageing products inside the advanced 8 step routines. Here’s some things to look for inside your current routine.

Key Skincare Routine Tips To Slow The Ageing Process

• Removing makeup is our first tip  to keep a young face. Indeed, removing makeup removes pigments, impurities and pollution residues that accumulate on the surface of the skin and can suffocate it. The earlier in the day the better, try not to wait until before bed if you don’t have to.

• It is essential to hydrate your skin daily to be able to preserve your skin, its comfort, its suppleness, and its firmness. During the day, the skin needs to be hydrated and protected against external aggressions. At night, it must be preserved against water loss, which is inevitable during your sleep. Also, take advantage of this rest period to boost cell regeneration. Hence the importance of applying a treatment morning and evening. 

• Exfoliation is the best way to get rid of dead skin cells, revive the microcirculation and promote better penetration of the treatments in your routine applied thereafter. 

Pro Tip:
Invest in beauty tools that can help provide ‘at home’ pampering sessions to look after your skin every week. The FOREO Luna 3 mini range is great to have a good facial massage while cleansing. It stimulates the production of collagen and strengthens muscle memory, delaying the appearance of wrinkles. The new Foreo Luna 3 also is skin concern specific - Normal, Combination and Sensitive - to assist with your individual skin needs. Its anti-aging surface on the back is the perfect addition to the tool. It’s like receiving a spa treatment at home.

What age should we start?

Generally, most women will pair or combine their routine with supplementary anti-ageing products when the first signs appear. However, we recommend to do this earlier and take more of a proactive approach, adding anti-ageing products that promote hydration before you notice the signs. Remember it’s about slowing down, not stopping the ageing process. The earlier the better. This illustration below can help understand the road ahead for your skin.

 

 

While this is a more or a general view rather than applying to everyone’s individual skin path it does give a greater understanding that we are in control to slow the ageing process.

 Before 35, prevention first. The skin is young, rich in collagen, firm and quickly renewed. Skincare aims above all to preserve this youthful capital. At this age, it is essential to hydrate and stimulate.

 From the age of 35, cell renewal and collagen production gradually decrease. The first lines appear, the grain of the skin is less clear and the thinner and more fragile skin gradually relaxes. Continue to hydrate your skin by gradually moving towards anti-aging treatments that will be more concentrated in active ingredients to stimulate and protect your skin.

 From 45 - 50 years old, it is important to take care of mature skin. At the time of menopause, the texture of the skin changes a lot. It dries and refines following the alteration of the epidermis which is renewed much more slowly and produces less sebum. The skin relaxes and loses tone. anti-aging treatments then aim to stimulate and repair the skin.

 

Now that you know you have the power to slow down ageing process, all you have to do is action. Start with one of our Curated Collections or send a message to us to speak to you directly and assist with your individual needs. 

Need some help putting together the best skincare routine for your skin type? Try our skin quiz!