Skin care in your 40s and 50s
Wrinkle creams, eye serums, and other anti-aging skin care products can help diminish signs of aging. To create a truly effective anti-aging skin care plan, however, it helps to start with healthy skin care habits.
The benefits of healthy skin care habits include:
- Prevent (or clear up) a blotchy complexion
- Retain skin’s youthful firmness longer
- Reduce fine lines and wrinkles
- Keep complexion looking brighter and younger
- Avoid leathery skin
- Reduce skin cancer risk
To help you create your own anti-aging skin care plan, you’ll find key healthy skin care habits below. Years of research supports each of these recommendations.
Anti-aging skin care tips
- Protect your skin from the sun: Sun protection forms the foundation of every anti-aging skin-care plan. The sun’s rays make our skin age more quickly. We have so much evidence that the sun prematurely ages our skin that there is actually a word to describe this effect. This word is “photoaging.” To help patients protect their skin from the sun and other harmful UV rays, dermatologists offer these tips:
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- Seek shade: Be sure to seek shade between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and whenever your shadow looks shorter than you are.
- Cover up in style: Whenever possible, wear a wide-brimmed hat, pants, and long sleeves. Gloves help to minimize common signs of aging on our hands such as age spots. Sunglasses help reduce fine lines around our eyes.
- Slather on the sunscreen every day before going outdoors: To protect your skin, apply sunscreen to all skin that clothing will not cover. You want to use a sunscreen that offers broad-spectrum protection, SPF 30 (or higher), and water resistance.
- Forget about indoor tanning: The sun, tanning beds, and sun lamps expose you to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. These rays accelerate skin aging.
- Apply moisturizer every day: As we age, skin becomes drier. Fine lines and wrinkles appear. Moisturizer traps water in our skin, giving it a more youthful appearance. For best results, use a facial moisturizer, body moisturizer, and lip balm.
- Wash away dirt and grime twice a day: How you wash your face can affect your appearance. For best results, you want to wash with warm water and a mild cleanser rather than soap. You also should avoid scrubbing your skin clean.
- Stop smoking: Tobacco smoke contains toxins that can lead to smoker’s face. Signs of smoker’s face include dull and dry complexion, loss of skin’s firmness, premature lines and wrinkles, and leathery skin.
- Eat healthy foods: A healthy diet promotes healthy skin. Make sure you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
- Get enough sleep: It’s called beauty rest for a reason. Sleep gives your body time to refresh and renew itself.