THE TOP 4 THINGS NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT SKINCARE IN YOUR 40s
Hint: Retinol isn’t the only solution to skincare in your 40s
You’ve made it to 40, congratulations! All of the BS from your 20s and 30s is officially behind you and now you can focus on the one thing people don’t talk about enough: skincare in your 40s. If you listen to the noise in the market, you would think that a skincare routine in your 40s is only about under-eye creams, wrinkle creams, retinol, and other anti-aging products.
Sure those products can be highly effective if used properly and consistently, but so is at least eight glasses of water per day, wearing mineral sunscreen daily, and being less animated with your face. As we did with our skincare routines in your 20s and 30s posts, we are taking an inside/out approach to help you look and feel your best.
If you’ve been following along with our New Year (New You) posts, you saw that we gave four tips for skincare in your 20s and eight tips for skincare in your 30s. Not only did we not forget you 40somethings, but we’re not just going to pile a bunch of products on you either! 40 is truly the new 30 and as a 30 something, I look forward to seeing that era of my life. Every 40-year-old woman I know is confident, light, and enjoying life way more than I thought I did in my 20s. You ladies look better than before and I know there’s more to that than some over-the-counter night creams and retinol!
Taking a page from my mom’s book - she is the most equanimous person that I know - here are a few tips for skincare in your 40s as told by an expectant 30something.
1. Live life easy
One of the biggest things millennials and Gen Alphas struggle with is our need to control everything. Every Internet self-help guru tells us that we control our destiny and everything we need is within our control and blah blah blah. But is any of this really true? I don’t think so. Going through life with this mentality can be helpful for what may happen externally but it does not adequately protect what’s internal. And just in case you didn’t get the gist of my last two posts, what’s going on internally manifests outwardly on your skin. So if you’re stressed out, your skin and body will tell the tale. Why? Because stress releases the hormone cortisol and high cortisol levels lead to facial and abdominal weight gain, dehydration (which you know is poor for the skin), irritability and low energy, and every middle-aged person’s worst nightmare: high blood pressure! In other words, if you’re stress-free your countenance will show it. Choose peace and happiness instead.
2. Don’t ever stop drinking water
One of the reasons you develop wrinkles and other telltale signs of aging is because of your skin’s low collagen levels. Dr. Amy Myers describes collagen as the “glue that holds your body together”. This fibrous protein is found throughout your body in organs, skin, hair, nails, etc. If you haven’t added collagen supplements to your diet, water will do. Water is the true elixir of life! It keeps your skin hydrated and hydrated skin is elastic yet firm, plump, smooth, and radiant.
3. No, the sun is not fun
Like we told our 20 and 30somethings, the sun is simply not fun! At least not for your skin. Human beings are not succulent plants that are designed to endure arid conditions caused by the sun. Spending too much time in the sun makes your skin dry, rubbery or leather-like, burnt, and uneven. Your skin is more prone to wrinkles, sagging, as well as white and dark spots under the sun. Not to mention, the risk of skin cancer increases exponentially with excess sun exposure. If you must absorb the sun’s harmful UV rays, take every precaution you can: hydrate (drink lots of water), use a mineral sunscreen moisturizer over your entire body, wear a hat that covers your face, put some shades on, and wear a long-sleeved shirt if it won't make you too hot! The sun is less forgiving as you get older and sun-damaged skin makes a skincare routine in your 40s a chore and bill rather than something that should be enjoyed.
4. Keep a neutral face
Halfway through my 20s, I developed superficial lines on my forehead that appeared when I furrowed my brows. Genetically, none of the women on either side of my family aged prematurely, so I knew that I created that issue for myself. I wasn’t hip to retinol at the time and even if I was, I could not afford a premium version of it. My only solution was to practice maintaining a neutral face so that I would not get any more wrinkles! This might sound extreme to you but I know a lot of women who practice the same. Just so no one confuses my neutral face with what is called a resting b*tch face, I smize (smile with my eyes) so that I can remain approachable. Have you ever noticed that a woman who smizes and has an RBF never has wrinkles?! Exactly. Try it out.
In your 40s, life is not about cutting corners or doing anything half-heartedly. It’s about commitment, consistency, and stability, right?! Go ahead and add these four steps along with Masktini’s four products to your skincare routine, big sis! I guarantee you that not only will your skin improve but your life will too!