What happens to your skin as you age (and how to best look after it)

Trialling and researching skin care products can feel like a full-time job. And just when you think you’ve found your dream team of formulas, your skin goes and changes. Ageing is often the main cause of your skin changes, and as you go from your 20s to your 30s and beyond, what your skin needs to look its best evolves. If you’re struggling to keep up, or have never thought to update your skin care as you age, this is the guide for you.

Not sure where to start? We’ll talk you through what happens to your skin as it ages, and what products you need to achieve younger-looking skin in every decade.

In your 20s

Most people will tell you your skin is in its prime in your 20s, but when you’re dealing with acne, dryness and temperamental skin that fluctuates with the seasons and your period, it’s hard to feel like these are the glory days. While your skin maybe not be perfect, the timing is perfect to form the foundations of a great skin care routine. (Hint: A great skin care routine is the secret to getting your skin to play nice).

No pressure, but the steps you take now have a big impact on how your skin will look in the subsequent decades. Your number one goal should be to prevent as much damage as possible. For this, daily sun protection is priority number one. If applying sunscreen every morning feels like too much of a chore, look for a multitasking formula that moisturises and has a subtle tint, too. Try La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF50+ BB Tinted Comfort Cream.

As for ingredients to look for in your skin care, antioxidants will go a long way to protecting your skin from the daily grind - think pollution, weather conditions, stress. Vitamin C is a good place to start; it helps improve hydration retention in skin while improving skin radiance.

Now is also the time to form healthy skin habits – such as always removing your makeup and cleansing your skin at the end of the day, never skipping moisturiser and introducing an eye cream into the mix.

In your 30s

Surprisingly, it’s in your 30s when adult acne (often hormonal) tends to rear its ugly head again. Forget (just about) everything you learned about disappearing breakouts in your teens and take a gentle approach. Over-scrubbing and using harsh formulas will just leave your skin dry, irritated and probably still breaking out. You don’t want to rid your skin of all oils, instead focus on antibacterial ingredients and try a chemical exfoliant instead of an abrasive physical scrub to get your skin’s oil and pH balance back on track.

As for maintaining that youthful look from your 20s? It’s time to introduce anti-ageing formulas into your routine. What you need is hardworking products (you’ll need a whole line-up to get the job done) that tackle your top ageing concerns: think fine lines, wrinkles, loss of firmness. From the age of 25, the ageing process really starts to kick in and the skin’s ability to regenerate itself begins to decrease. You’ll start to experience a decline in cell turnover, skin-tightening collagen and elastin, and hyaluronic acid (which is essential for moisture retention and keeping skin looking plump). To combat these not-so-ideal signs of ageing, try the L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Laser X3 range. The collection includes a serum, eye cream, two day moisturisers (one with SPF and one without) and a night moisturiser so you can fight the ageing process in each step of your skin care. What really makes this range a winner is the combination of powerhouse ingredients.

Fragmented hyaluronic acid is in charge of visibly repairing and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. To boost collagen production and elastin (yes, please!), there’s anti-wrinkle active adenosine; and working to re-densify skin by stimulating and strengthening the skin’s support fibres is Pro-Xylane - an ingredient that L’Oréal Paris developed for seven years to get just right. 

To use the range, start with cleansed skin. Smooth the L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Laser X3 Serum over your face, neck and décolletage, then gently tap the Revitalift Laser X3 Eye Cream around the orbital bone. Follow with one of the day creams in the morning, and the Revitalift Laser X3 Night Cream before bed.

In your 40s

Keep up the good anti-ageing work from your 30s – all those age-defying ingredients and products (the L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Laser X3 is great for skin in its 40s, too, especially as deep wrinkles start to form) will continue to be of the utmost importance in this next stage of your life. You’ll want to up the ante on your hydration efforts, too, as your skin’s sebum production will be slowing down so it may start to look more dehydrated.

If you weren’t as vigilant with your sun protection in your earlier years as you should have been, you may start to see signs of pigmentation (flat brown spots or freckles caused by prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays). Since your skin becomes thinner with age, pigmentation that may have been below the surface for years will start to show more prevalently. To combat this you’ll need to reach for whitening products (and no, they don’t ‘whiten’ your skin, they’re aimed at giving skin a bright, luminescent glow). Try Aspect Pigment Punch.

Did you know your hair could be making you look older than your years? Here are the top hair mistakes you might be making, and how to fix them.

What are your top skin concerns at the moment? Have you tried the L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Laser X3 anti-ageing range? Share with us your thoughts below.

Main image credit: Getty 

*Single session of CO2 fractioned laser vs use of Laser X3 Day Cream for 4 weeks.