Skin Care Through The Ages: 20s
Your 20s are all about choices: choosing who you want to be, what you want to do, where you want to live, where to go for spring break…. Along with all those choices is choosing the type of skin you want. “Huh? I already know my skin type, so what gives?” Yes, you already have the dry, normal, oily, combination or sensitive skin you had in your teens. That will start to change in your mid- to late 20s. But how you care for your skin during your 20s will determine how soon you see signs of aging in your 30s and what type of damage appears in your 40s. So let’s get to what you should do to help your skin age as gracefully as possible.
A routine
Did you mean to start a regular skin care routine in your teens, but never quite got around to it? Don’t worry. There’s no time like the present, but this is the time you have to establish a routine if you want to set yourself up for good healthy skin down the road. Choose the proper products for your skin type and use them every morning and every night. No exceptions. It is important to wash your face twice a day to take the day and night off your face. It is also important that your skincare regimen with active ingredients be applied at night. This is when products have the longest opportunity of time to stay on your skin and there is an increase in body temperature that happens when we sleep that helps with absorption of active ingredients.
Sunscreen
Yes, you hear this everywhere. That’s because it’s so important! We can’t change the body’s aging process (at least not yet), but you can prevent sun damage from adding to the aging process. Use a lotion with at least 30 SPF every day to keep sun damage at bay and avoid unnecessary sun exposure. It is important even if you don’t think you are in direct sunlight daily. Regular use decreases photodamage – this is shrinking of collagen and sunspots as well as decreases your risk of skin cancers. This age is most prone to sun damage as we are all young and invincible at this age, and this step in skincare can be skipped or overlooked. Most people don’t think about preventing wrinkles when they don’t have any.
Acne
Your teens may be over, but dealing with acne is not. Many people continue to experience issues with acne well into their 20s. Make sure to continue using acne treatment products as needed and avoid triggers that may cause breakouts. These include touching your face unnecessarily, using overly drying products, not moisturizing properly or stress, among others. Visha Skincare Advanced Purifying Cleanser is perfect as it has lactic, glycolic, salicylic acids that exfoliate the skin to decrease acne and help with exfoliating/preventing the fine lines and wrinkles to come. The cleanser is also a spot treatment for pimples with tea tree oil, to zap them away overnight.
Anti-aging
Although we were just talking about acne – traditionally a teenage problem – skin care in your 20s is tricky. There’s a reason why skin care lines offer products that are both anti-aging and acne treating. In your mid-20s, the rate your skin turns over will start to slow, and in your late 20s, you may start seeing some fine lines. These combination products are meant for that unfair time when acne and fine lines creep in at the same time. Introduce a gentle exfoliant like retinol into your skin care routine in your mid- to late 20s to avoid the fine lines, but also to make sure that it won’t irritate your acne. Visha Skincare Advanced Correcting serum has retinol, vitamin E, vitamin C, ferulic acid and a natural skin lightener that helps decrease uneven skin tone (acne scars and melasma) and as well as prevent acne from forming.
All those other pesky -ings
Now is the time to stop those other bad habits you’ve picked up: smoking; drinking (too much); eating (too much and the wrong foods); and sleeping (too little). These things may seem fun now, but in 10 to 20 years, you’ll think differently. You’ll want to make these changes now before they leave their permanent mark on your body. Eating an inti-nflammatory diet is also important at this time. Sugar, carbs and gluten in excess an stimulate the gut (the second largest immune organ of the body next to the skin) to create inflammation against different gut bacteria. Taking a probiotic helps with inflammation and decreases the chances of rashes and other medical issues.