Skincare Essentials in your 50’s and 60’s

Skincare treatments in these decades are going to be determined by how you’ve treated it up until now and what your major concerns are. Skincare essentials like strong chemical peels and microneedling with radio frequency are huge collagen producers and will smooth and tighten skin the most effectively. Using “full dermal health” lasers will help rejuvinate skin and prevent further damage.

Your 50’s is not the time to go easy on your skin as your likely to not see any results. The skin in your 50’s and 60’s needs the extra push to stimulate collagen and produce results. One of our highly recommended skincare essentials is Ultherapy. This should be done every 6-12 months depending on your level of laxity. Ultherapy not only stimulates collagen at extremely deep levels but also elastin which gives our skin that nice snap back and resilance youthful skin has.

This is also the time to start doing some injectables if you haven’t already. Injectables can be scary for some, we’ve all seen the celebrities and “houswives” that look overfilled. Injectables are nothing to be afraid of if performed by a skilled injector with the same natural aesthetic as you. Injectables can soften fine and deep wrinkles but also prevent them from ever forming. Some injectables are important for rebuilding your skin’s “scaffolding’ or underlying structures to lift and firm the face. There is a lot that they can do and tend to have very quick results.

Homecare

As for skincare essentials at home, retinol is a must. Try to use a retinol that you can tolerate nightly, (We can make recommendations). Use an anti-aging/color correcting serum daily if you aren’t already. Revision DEJ Booting Serum is the best! This will revive your skincells and get them to start acting and looking like much younger skincells.  A topical line relaxer around the eyes and mouth can soften and prevent wrinkles from getting deeper. We recommend Revision Revox. And of course a heavy duty moisturizer day and night to seal in those corrective ingredients and keep skin hydrated! skincare essentials

Skincare can be extremely overwhelming these days. As we all have heard by now, prevention is easier than treatment. But what does that mean, exactly? We’re here to tell you. Skincare essentials

In your 20’s

If we’re lucky enough to get our hands on you in your 20’s, you’re golden! This is the time when your skin is at it’s best. Hydration is good, collagen and elastin are in abundance, and most likely you aren’t showing signs of excessive sun damage. In your 20’s we will focus on prevention. Treatments such as Hydrafacial, microdermabrasion or light to medium chemical peels. The key is consistancy. With consistant treatments, the skin stays looking and feeling great without getting too aggressive.

Home Skincare Essentials for your 20’s 

Products will be minimal and basic. A medical grade antioxidant serum and SPF in the morning and a light retinol at night. These will prevent collagen loss and sundamage.If you have oily or acneic skin, we will recommend different alpha and/or beta hydroxy acids to  If you are excessively dry or your undereyes are a concern, we can recommend a product or 2 to add to your regimen. No need to go crazy and use 10 different products, your skin is able to thrive on a simple routine. You don’t need much when you have a few medical grade, super corrective products.

In your 30’s

This is the time to get serious about your skincare, if you haven’t already, seek out a professional Aesthetician to guide you. The good news is your skin is most likely experiencing less acne and oiliness but possibly showing more signs of sundamage in the form of hyperpigmentation. Melasma may be popping up as well. This is most common in women with hormonal changes such as pregnancy, breastfeeding or taking birth control. Your 30’s are also when your collagen production starts to deplete.  Consistant treatments are still the key. Medium to deep chemical peels here and there are excellent for treating multiple concerns such as hyperpigmentation, large pores, fine lines and for prevention in the form of collagen production.  Microneedling is a great way to produce collagen and treat all textural issues. Laser treatments such as AdvaTx are great for treating reds and browns in the skin and smoothing out uneven texture. This is the time to treat a concern before it gets worse.

Home Skincare Essentials for your 30’s

If you have been using basic medical grade skincare thus far,  no need to change too much. We  may need to add an extra brightening ingredient if sundamage is prevelant. Add a retinol if you haven’t already or increase the strength. Think of retinols as a 401K for your skin. They are essential for preserving the collagen  you have and producing more. They also increase cell turnover causing your skincells to act younger and allowing other ingredients to penetrate better. You may need to add a hydrating serum, especially if you live in Colorado, or add a highly moisturizing cream/mask at night to prevent water loss. Eye cream is a must in your 30’s. The skin around the eyes is the thinnest on the whole body so nuture it now, you will thank us later. And of course continuing using an SPF daily that you love. This is a good time to start using one that is a bit thicker and has more active ingredients.Think of your skincare regimen as an investment.

In your 40’s

Your 40’s can present some interesting and frustrating skin changes. Collagen and elastin production slow dramatically, making wrinkles, dullness and discoloration more noticable. Also, the 40’s can present hormonal changes causing adult acne. Good times. This is a time where you will want to find a good balance between exfoliation and hydration, especially in dryer climates. Obviously, consistant treatments are important, but this is a great time to throw in some “big gun” treatments as well. Ultherapy is #1 when it comes to collagen and elastin production, helping defy the effects of gravity. Ultherapy provides great lift and tone to skin beginning to show signs of sagging. Microneedling and Radio Frequency treatments are excellent throughout the year as well.

Home Skincare Essentials for your 40’s 

Homecare regimen will look similar to your 30″s, excellent medical grade and/or prescription correctives. You made need to use a heavier moisturizer at night as moisture production is extremely low. Eye cream is a must around eyes and lips. A product such as Revox Line Relaxer is a great addition to your regimen as it targets reduction and prevention of motion lines, the lines we treat with neuromodulators such as botox. This can really help keep the skin smooth and youthful

I will admit, I am a Gen X-er and not often up to date on the ever changing Instagram and Tiktok trends. But within the last few months we have been inundated with questions and comments about a recent Tik Tok trend called “skin cycling.” So of course we had to dive in and gather all of the opinions around here from the Physician’s Assistants, Dermatologists, Aestheticians and Medical Assistants. Specializing in Dermatology we found some strong, educated opinions.

This term was coined by Whitney Bowe, a New York based Dermatologist. The term is new but the concept is not. 

Skin Cycling Steps: 

Night 1: Use a chemical based exfoliant such as glycolic acid or salicylic acid to “prep” the skin.

Night 2: Use a retinoid, a form a vitamin A.

Night 3/4: Do not use any actives or correctives, simply moisturize.

Repeat weekly.

“This could be helpful if you have sensitive skin but you will get better results using a retinol as many nights as possible versus just a few nights a week. This will create more cell turnover giving better and faster results for scarring, hyperpigmentation and anti-aging.” –Allison Clark, MA at Accent Dermatology and Laser Institute

Advice From the Pros

Now as a skincare professional, I don’t hate this. But also as a skincare professional, this is nothing new and certainly not ground breaking. But I suppose to a young Tik Tok viewer, this would be “news.” This would be a very simple and easy regimen one might do if they are just dipping their toe into skincare, if they are very young, OR if they are very sensitive to active ingredients. The concept is that using active ingredients only on certain days and then having rest days helps to prevent the skin barrier from being compromised due to overuse of overly aggressive ingredients.

Many clients come to us wanting to know where to start, they are perhaps doing nothing or only cleansing and moisturizing, wanting to take it up a notch to see more result. On the flip side, we see SO many people, especially younger skincare fanatics that use WAY too much product and buy into every new social media or celebrity inspired product claiming to be amazing. Both of these two types of clients would benefit from skin cycling. The first client to get a foot in the door and start using corrective, active ingredients to start seeing results and the second to stop overusing way too many trendy, aggressive products which are most often causing more issues.

Overuse of aggressive ingredients breaks down the skin’s barrier, causing redness, dryness, irritation and even more acne sometimes as the skin’s pH is not balanced.

Using too many ingredients such as 1-2 serums, then an antioxidant, then an exfoliant, then a moisturizer, then an SPF for example is often times just a waste as many of those ingredients cannot get through all of the layers of product to the skin.

With that being said, I don’t love the idea of skin cycling for someone wanting results and as a skincare professional I would recommend someone use less concentrated or aggressive active ingredients, more often. Consistency is key when it comes to skincare. Just like going to the gym! 1-2 nights of product such as retinol and AHA/BHA are not enough to see good results. These products are going to be more effective when used regularly than sporatically.

“To get the most out of a retinol or any tretinoin product you need to use it consistently. It’s best to use something that your skin will tolerate on a nightly basis because it’s trying to regulate the skin.”  –Dr. Stephen Huang, MD, FAAD

I think the reason some people are having so much irritation from their actives is because their provider doesn’t explain how to use it so it doesn’t fry the skin or the person is buying and using something that is not from a skincare professional and they have no guidance. skin cycling skin cycling