Four Tips for Skincare in Your 40s
Our bodies’ needs and capabilities change as we age and our skin is no exception. Skincare for 40s is just as important as in your younger years, but you may find that tried and true strategies become less effective as your 40s progress. Here’s some tips to help keep you aging gracefully.
What Your Skin Needs in the 40s
We’ve discussed how your skin can become less predictable in your 30s; while some patches get oilier, others dry out. By the 40s, skin is usually moving into much drier territory.
Skin’s ability to generate collagen and new cells declines in the 30s, even faster in the 40s. This can lead to a dull, dry complexion. According to dermatologist Doris Day, “Dead skin cells are slower to slough off—and the pileup can contribute to dryness and dull tone and even accentuate existing spots and wrinkles.”
Meanwhile, you may start to see the accumulated effects of skin damage from sun exposure, pollution, and other toxins. This appears as increased wrinkling and age spots.
Tips for the Best Skincare for 40s
Prevention is Still Critical
While you can’t go back in time, it’s never too late to protect skin from further damage. Be sure to wear a sunscreen of at least 30SPF daily and add protective clothing if you’re spending time outside.
Pair this with a regular skincare routine: daily cleansing and moisturizing, gentle exfoliation, and hydrating serums to combat dryness.
Keep an Eye Out for Oxidative Stress
Dry, sagging, or very wrinkled skin can also be a sign of deeper health issues, particularly oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress comes from a buildup of free radicals: by-products of both normal cell function and our body’s response to damage from injury or disease. While some free radical activity is normal, these highly unstable molecules can attack and damage cell DNA. Oxidative stress occurs when free radicals overwhelm our natural detox abilities, creating serious disruptions in our health, including more signs of skin aging.
Use Antioxidants to Fight Oxidative Stress and Help Skin
Antioxidants are essential nutrients that protect our cells by neutralizing free radicals. This prevents oxidative stress and keeps overall inflammation low. Many antioxidants also have amazing benefits for skin like:
- Vitamin A aka “retinol” or “retinoids”: Stimulates growth of new collagen and skin cells
- Vitamin B3 aka “niacinamide”: Improves overall skin tone and elasticity, diminishes appearance of wrinkles
- Vitamin C aka “ascorbic acid”: Brightens and evens out skin tone
Get Plenty of Glutathione
Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most plentiful substances in the body and for good reason. This potent antioxidant not only fights free radicals but also lends electrons to spent antioxidants so that they can keep fighting, too.
GSH works throughout the body, carrying out vital tasks like regulating cell function and turnover. When it comes to skin, GSH can improve just about anything: repairing old damage, boosting collagen and cell production, reducing redness and wrinkles, brightening hyperpigmentation, and combating problems like acne and psoriasis.
While our bodies create GSH using building blocks from food, this ability declines as we age. You can boost GSH production through diet (see Auro founder Dr. Nayan Patel’s comprehensive guide Glutathione Revolution for complete action plans on this). Or you can easily add GSH into your skincare routine with a supplement cream or spray.
In fact, transdermal sprays like Auro’s patented Skincare Protocol are the most effective way to supplement glutathione. And Auro is one of the few manufacturers to use sub-nanotechnology to deliver highly absorbable GSH along with premium skincare ingredients like antioxidants, glycerin, and sodium hyaluronate.
Skincare for 40s certainly requires a different approach than skincare in previous years. But once you understand what it needs (more moisture and a full supply of antioxidants), you’re well on your way to happy skin with fewer signs of aging!
