Every generation has their own basket of skin concerns. Here's how to address them. Photo / Giphy
Every generation has their own basket of skin concerns. Here's how to address them. Photo / Giphy
Opinion:
In 2023, having a 10-step skincare routine is the equivalent of a seatbelt. Knowing your skin type is just as important as knowing your blood type and I would sooner come home pregnant than forget to apply sunscreen before jetting off to work in the mornings.
While these might be exaggerations, the importance of skincare has been drilled right through our epidermal layers and ingrained into our brains.
Whether it be TikTok, Instagram or your mum during your monthly phone calls, there’s no shortage of reminders that we only get one skin, so we better spend some mega bucks on it.
But perhaps the most challenging part of our newfound obsession with skin is figuring out what is fact, what is fiction and what is for sure a sales ploy on a micro-influencers Instagram story.
We’re here to sort through all the marketing muck - and very long, complicated words - to give you a definitive guide to what your skin wants.
We’ve simplified the skincare system with a generational guide to healthy skin. Photo / Getty Images
How does age affect our skincare routines?
Everybody’s skin is different. In the same way that we boast our own, bespoke hair colour, eye colour and nose shape (thanks Dad), we also have a unique type of skin and there’s not a one-size-fits-all fix when it comes to ways to look after it.
Some people struggle with skin on the drier side, others with an oily complexion. Some have combination skin which is a mix of both. And all of these different types of skin need different things from us - it’s high maintenance, we know.
On top of skin types, one of the main categories we look at when tailoring our skincare regimens is the age of our skin.
Just like teenagers eat through growth spurts and women go through menopause, our skin has different needs throughout its lifespan. It ebbs and flows. Younger skin needs a bit more protection, older skin needs more hydration and all skin needs sunscreen - all the time.
With a little bit of help from the experts, The Skin Company’s Dr Vania Sinovich and Caci’s Linda Sharrem, we’ve simplified the skincare system with a generational guide to healthy skin.
Sunscreen is a non-negotiable for all age groups. Photo / Getty Images
Skin in your 20s
The buzzword for your 20s is protection.
Dr Sinovich iterates that a regime for young skin should “revolve around protection, prevention and avoidance of aggressive ingredients or treatments.”
Her number one recommendation is a daily high SPF broad-spectrum tinted sunscreen. This, she says, is “paramount to provide protection against harmful UVA and UVB, visible and infrared rays”, which are responsible for 90% of our skin’s ageing.
Sharrem urged young skincare enthusiasts to boost their antioxidants. “We’re talking vitamin C to protect the skin from free radical damage”, she says.
A nightly B serum not only helps reduce oil but is good for skin that may have been acne-prone in our teens and has the marks to show for it. “It can reduce uneven skin tone and pigmentation”, says Dr Sinovich.
Vitamin A serum, “the gold standard in cosmeceuticals”, says Sinovich, should be used once or twice a week at night to help balance oil, promote collagen and restore cells that have been damaged by UV light.
Slap on a lightly hydrating moisturiser to finish and you’ve got a skincare regime that is fit for a queen.
Once you hit “30, flirty and thriving” status, your skin tends to take the opposite route.
“In your 30s, your skin can start to reflect any stress and show signs of environmental and genetic aging, including fine lines, pigmentation and uneven texture”, says Dr Sinovich.
Your routine should include the antioxidant serums - often referred to as the ABC essentials of skincare - which help reduce wrinkles, sun spots and pigmentation, as well as protect against environmental stresses.
Dr Sinovich recommends a vitamin C serum in the morning and vitamin A and vitamin B3 (niacinamide) serum at night, adding that A and B are a good combination when it comes to fighting your skincare woes.
Vitamin A is a strong treatment, so using the product in the evening once or twice a week will suffice.
Finish off your daily skincare regimen with a slightly more hydrating moisturiser and, of course, your daily, high-SPF sunscreen.
Sharrem’s advice? Exfoliation, ”and we don’t mean a physical scrub, we mean the smart way with acids!”
As we age, our skin’s natural exfoliation slows down so exfoliating once or twice a week with alpha and beta hydroxy acids (AHAs and BHAs) is recommended.
Monthly treatments, such as hydradermabrasion for exfoliation and micro-needling to stimulate collagen production, are also good additions to skincare in your 30s.
As your skin gets older, it loses collagen. Photo / Getty Images
Skin in your 40s
As we age, our skin loses collagen and elastin, our barrier gets weaker and moisture leaves our skin, causing dryness and wrinkles. To make things go from bad to worse, uneven skin tone and age spots start to creep up on us.
This is when you call in the big guns, says Dr Sinovich. “Good powerful anti-aging ingredients” should be added into your regimes, including “more intensive hydration, ongoing antioxidant ABC serums, as well as targeted serums to address unwanted skin concerns and a regular eye gel or serum.”
Skin needling, clinic-based chemical peels and therapies should also be considered to reduce unwanted redness and pigmentation, fine lines and volume loss, says Dr Sinovich.
“Our skin cell turnover is slowing down, we start to see pigmentation, sun damage and sometimes a visible loss of volume/plumpness to the skin”, says Sharrem.
She recommends adding glycolic fruit acids and ultra-hydrating serums into your routine, as well as retinol (vitamin A) and a rapid dark spot-correcting serum to reverse signs of ageing.
“Don’t forget to keep hydrated inside and out and to diligently wear your SPF!”, Sharrem adds.
Skin in your 50s
When you hit 50, menopause, cumulative sun exposure and failing repair mechanisms reap havoc on your skin. Mature skin produces less natural oils, as well as hyaluronic acid, collagen and elastin, which leaves your skin looking dry, dull, uneven and - we hate to say it - wrinkly.
But there is no need to panic. This is not a sinking ship, just a boat learning how to navigate stronger seas.
The 50+ routine should incorporate a gentle cream cleanser on top of potent, anti-ageing and lifting components to help firm, smooth and refresh the complexion.
In addition to the ABC’s of skincare, Dr Sinovich advises those over 50 to add serums that contain large amounts of hyaluronic acid into their routine to help hydrate the skin without oil. Peptide serums are also a good pick to help stimulate collagen and soften wrinkles.
“There are serums with combinations of ingredients that achieve multiple outcomes. Advice from your dermatologist or dermal therapist can be helpful as the choice is often overwhelming”, says Dr Sinovich.
Sharrem adds, “Changes to hormones lead to a loss of collagen and elasticity and unfortunately sometimes cause breakouts! We’re looking for solutions that offer firmer more youthful feeling and looking skin.
She emphasises that, along with a cream cleanser and retinol (vitamin A) treatment, kindness goes a long way. “Be kind to your skin”, she says.
Sharrem recommends in-clinic LED light therapy and injectable hyaluronic acid treatments for firmer, smoother, hydrated skin.
The earlier the better when looking at dabbling in skincare. Photo / Getty Images
She reveals that a gentle AM and PM cleansing ritual and non-comedogenic sunscreen is your best anti-ageing insurance policy. Non-comedogenic low-oil moisturisers and sunscreens are calming for acne-prone skin and a must when looking to get your teen into the skincare game.
“A topical vitamin B3 serum in the morning is good for acne-prone, oily skin”, says Dr Sinovich. “A gentle vitamin A serum once or twice a week at night helps to reduce acne and pore size but remember to go low and slow.”
Sharrem chimes in: “The most important thing is to make sure to cover the basics, such as cleansing, hydrating and using SPF to protect our skin. Those steps can all be customised to your skin type.
“Then, we can expand and look at more targeted and clever products featuring the ingredients that will help to achieve your skin goals.”
Megan Watts is a Lifestyle and Entertainment digital producer for the New Zealand Herald whose passions include honest journalism, skincare hacks and doing things for the plot.
