There’s no doubt about it – cared for skin looks younger for longer. Younger looking skin takes a bit of work. A regular daily skin regimen is vital as you head into your 40’s and beyond – even if you neglected things in the past.
We all know the steps – cleanse, tone, exfoliate and moisturize. But are you doing it?
Don’t spend time worrying if you’ve let your beauty regimen lapse – start now – brush up on your anti aging skin care and see great results quicker than you think.
Number one rule – always take your make up off. Not cleansing properly can strip the skin of natural oils and drag and pull delicate skin causing wrinkles and sagging.
Use special products that are formulated with active anti aging ingredients to protect older skin.
Step 1: Cleanse
You can’t go far wrong if you stick to high end dermatologist based skin care lines many of which have excellent cleanser options. The cleanser from the Murad Resurgence line is well reviewed everywhere – Murad Resurgence Renewing Cleansing Cream is a high spec ultra hydrating cleanser for mature skin which works particularly well as part of the Resurgence complete kit. Contains papaya and apricaoil to moisturize.
On the best seller list at Amazon is a combined cleanser/polish which has a lot of good reviews. Olay Professional Pro-X Exfoliating Renewal Cleanser is non drying and refining and should enable you to cut out the exfoliating step from your skin care regimen. Good reliable skin care brand.
The worst thing about the cleansing step is eyes. Use a gentle make up remover like Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Makeup Remover specially formulated for the eyes.
Step 2: Exfoliate
If you want younger looking skin you have to exfoliate to get rid of dead skin cells. The skin sheds dead cells all the time – more as we age – and dead skin cells lie on the surface and block moisture from being absorbed into the skin,
The good news is you don’t need to do this every day – 2 or 3 times a week is plenty for mature skin – and there are some wonderful products around now which get rid of those dead cells with very little fuss and bother. This is one part of the routine I wouldn’t neglect and I know my skin looks instantly better after applying an exfoliant.
For a twice weekly salon treatment at home try Philosophy’s best selling Microdelivery Peel Kit – radiantly clean and glowing skin without the salon price. Users report significant improvements in skin tone and the glow factor with 1-2 uses a week.
If you want to slough off your dead skin cells every day and you think your skin is up to it try a face polish- but choose a gentle one that isn’t going to do any damage. Laura Mercier Face Polish is superb – moisturizing and polishing in one go it leaves skin glowing and silky smooth. Scores 100% five star reviews on Amazon and I have never seen that before!
For a really self indulgent exfoliating treatment which leaves your skin truly radiant take a look at some of the suggestions for great microdermabrasion creams in an earlier article.
Step 3: Tone
Applying toner to your skin was once considered an essential part of your anti aging regimen.
Toners tighten and close the pores so are best suited to skin with plenty of sebum to prevent excess oil. As we age skin care experts are telling us we should consider not using toner over 40 at all – especially if skin is dry and fragile. If you want to stick with the toning step – take care over your choice – anything too harsh (alcohol based) will strip skin of moisture and make lines and wrinkles more likely.
Go for a gentle anti aging toner like Murad Hydrating Toner which has a beautiful feel on freshly cleansed skin and is formulated with grapeseed extract, cucumber, vitamin E and vitamin C to protect mature and sensitive skin. Extremely well reviewed on all the skin care sites and forums.
Step 4: Moisturize
This is one step you can’t ditch if you want your skin to look the best it can over 40. After cleansing, exfoliating and toning, apply a good skin moisturizer or hydrating cream to nourish and protect the skin. Applying moisturizer to freshened, toned skin in the morning promotes hydration and gives you a great base for make up.
Last thing before you go to bed is a great time to apply anti aging moisturizer because sleep enables the skin to feed and restore itself properly during the crucial night time hours.
Murad Hydro Dynamic Ultimate Moisture is an ultra rich – almost weightless cream – packed with high strength active ingredients to give long lasting hydration and protect the skin from free radical damage and stimulate collagen production. Highly recommended and it should last many months.
To keep your skin looking as good as possible for longer you will also need a special eye cream – the skin around the eyes is thinner and more prone to wrinkles and damage.
When you’ve finished moisturizing – that’s it you’re done. Once you get the routine down to a fine art then you might want to introduce an additional step – just after cleansing and before your moisturizer – you can use an anti aging serum to stimulate collagen and boost radiance.
It sounds a lot when you read it but do it regularly and the whole process can be completed in around ten minutes. And when you see your younger looking skin emerging after a few weeks of tender loving care – you’ll be so glad you bothered!
