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A decade by decade mini-guide to keeping your skin young

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From acne to aging spots, you need to be vigilant about skin aging. We are all in a constant battle with mother nature over the age of our skin.

And, for most people, nature is winning. Why? Because we do not do enough to protect ourselves. Here’s what you need to change right now.

Start Preventing Now In Your 20s

This is when you’re thinking about pretty much everything but your skin. You have youth on your side, but you also need to think "prevention."

It’s a lot easier to prevent damage than it is to fix it after the fact. Start with the basics - maintain healthy sleeping habits, avoid exposure to smog, pollution, and other toxic particles.

Environmental damage, combined with accelerated aging from excessive drinking and regular smoking will do a number on you later on in life. If possible, eliminate habits like smoking now and reduce your alcohol consumption.

Start using anti-aging creams and lotions. It won’t reverse aging at this age as it will slow it down.

Start Damage-Control Protocols In Your 30s

In your 30s, you’re more sure of yourself, you have a handle on your career, and you’re thinking of settling down. But, you’re also showing signs of wear and tear. All that partying you did in your 20s is catching up to you.

You’re developing wrinkles and fine lines. Don’t sweat it. Stress can manifest itself in numerous ways, but the most common ones are skin problems and a general lack of energy. You won’t feel like you did 10 years ago.

New imperfections start showing up in your skin that you can nip in the bud if you’re quick. Buying a simple Vitamin C serum on Amazon can be one of the easiest solutions to most major skin problems you’ll encounter at this age.

The good news is that your immune system is still very strong and you have plenty of stem cells left to generate new skin.

Vitamin C helps stimulate cell turnover in the skin, reversing the aging process. A vitamin C serum will effectively help you grow younger skin cells and bring them to the surface.

 With a consistent application of a high-quality serum, along with some retinol cream, you can start wiping away 10 years of aging so that, by the time you hit 40, you have a lot less to worry about.

This is why they say "30 is the new 20" and "40 is the new 30."

What To Do In Your 40s

Oh boy. For many women, 40 is a time when reality starts to sink in. You’re no longer young anymore. The aches and pains of half of your life are catching up to you.

A good diet and daily moisturizing is practically essential at this age.

You’re going to have to throw everything you can afford at new wrinkles, lines, and blemishes forming about your lips, nose, mouth, and the dreaded "frown lines" between your eyebrows.

Rest and relaxation becomes more important at this age, because you don’t bounce back as easily as you did 10 years ago.

This is a time when you’re still strong and healthy, but you also could swing the other way. Your body’s ability to repair itself is hampered by an illness, chronic or otherwise.

You’ll need to focus more on applying anti-aging skin creams, using vitamin C serums, and getting a prescription from your doctor for retin-A or something similar.

Retin-A is a prescription strength form of retinol that’s proven to enhance skin cell turnover. It’s the next-best thing to a full-on chemical peel (which might not be a bad idea at this age).

For The Over 50 Crowd

By now, you hope to have been taking care of your skin your entire life. If you haven’t been, then it’s going to be all uphill.

Sagging, jowling, and hollowing are all basic problems after you hit 50. You have to spend extra time cleaning and hydrating your skin if you want to stay looking young and healthy.

You also need to think more carefully about the products you use so that your skin stays healthy.

Think about using products with added vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Opt for organic products with minimal effective ingredients.

Try to destress your life and take more vacations. Get more sleep, and consider working with your doctor on melatonin supplementation, if appropriate.

At this age, it’s all about preservation of what you have left, getting enough sleep to maintain your skin’s natural beauty, and staying stress-free.

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