Age-old question: How to care for your skin in your 20s, 30s and 40s
We ask experts Susan Fox, Eavanna Breen and Jennifer Rock for their advice on caring for your skin through the decades
There are some skincare rules that apply to all ages and skin types (wear your SPF every day, don’t sleep in your make-up), but as we move from our teens to our 20s, our 30s, the 40s and beyond, there are often issues that come and go with the decades themselves. We asked the experts what we should be focusing on through some of the key decades of our lives — and got their hero product recommendations to help us on our way.
THE 20s
The biggest issue beauty therapist Susan Fox sees in women in their 20s is that they are overworking their skin.
“They’re using far too many products,” she says, “and they’re not giving a product enough time to see if it works for them.”
“Nothing is going to work in two weeks — you need to give a product three months at a minimum.”
As a self-confessed skincare addict in their early 20s who has bottles of half-used serums and acids in my bathroom cabinet, I feel admonished — I am guilty of exactly what Susan is describing.
“There is just too much information out there and people don’t know what they’re doing,” Susan says, by way of lessening the slap-on-the-wrist.
“People are trying to dry up oils and reduce breakouts, but what they are actually doing is drying out and overworking their skin, which is in turn, leading them to have impaired barrier function.”
“There is just too much information out there and people don’t know what they’re doing.
“They’re trying the wrong ingredients, buying the wrong products, and mixing lots of things together.”
Susan’s advice to women in their 20s is to pare everything back and stick to the basics.
And don’t get wrapped up in marketing — you don’t need every hero ingredient, and besides, not every hero ingredient will be a hero for YOU.
“For example, I don’t really think that Hyaluronic Acid is great for younger problem skin and those in their twenties,” she says. Cue a large intake of breath.
“Yes, it locks moisture in your skin, but that means it also locks sebum into your skin!” she exclaims.