Lucia longs to know…I’ve heard that you should start using antiaging products in your twenties, so you’ll get less wrinkles, is that true? If so, will using a Retinol cream at night and moisturizer with SPF 30 during the day enough? I wanted to add some brightening formulas (like Vitamin C or Glucosamine), but not sure if I should or when. I’ve been a beauty junkie since I have memory (Believe it or not I started cleansing and moisturizing twice daily at the age of 10), and I have recently found that I don’t have enough time in the day to use all the products I read you “should” use in the magazines.
The Right Brain rejoices:
You’ve been moisturizing since age 10? Wow, You are a beauty junkie! (Hey, that’s not a bad name for a blog – The Beauty Junkie. Hmmm.)
Anyway, you’re not alone in that feeling – a survey by the Environmental Working Group found that the average woman uses 12 products per day, and that one woman in four uses at least 15 products. Junkies indeed!
And you’re right about not having time in the day to use all the products you “should.” Another recent study showed that if you were to use all the beauty products recommended in the July 2006 issue of Vogue, it would require 19.5 hours of application time each day. And that’s just for the skin care!*
But seriously, the single most important anti-aging precaution for your skin is to guard it from the sun. You don’t need to use a retinoic acid treatment in your twenties to prevent the wrinkles that will develop in your forties and unless you have really dry skin, you don’t need to moisturize daily. Niether do you need to rub vitamin C on your skin and there’s NO WAY you need to apply glucoasmine (that molecule is way to big to penetrate your skin and it dosn’t do anything just sitting on the surface.)
What you DO need to do is protect against UV radiation which has a long term affect on the appearance and physical condition of your skin. So a daily moisturizer with SPF 30 is a good precaution.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Diligent use of a a good sunscreen (perhaps combined with an appropriate antioxidant) is the best way to protect your skin from aging effects, including wrinkles. (For more info, check out these Wrinkle Cream Reviews.)
*Ok, we totally made up this one.
Loading ...
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
12 products a day! That sounds insane, but when I think about all my skin care and makeup products, it’s probably around 12 also. Jeez. Personally I didn’t really care about anti-aging products until I started to see wrinkles at age 25, and then I became obsessed. I also didn’t use sunscreen until the wrinkles showed up, and now of course I regret all of those days spent in the sun:(
I am constantly surprised by the teens and twenty-somethings that come to my anti-aging beauty blog. Using retinoids before you have wrinkles is like taking an aspirin to prevent a headache. In fact over use of rich creams and lotions is the leading cause of adult acne. However Beauty Brains is absolutely right that using a daily sunscreen is the best way to prevent signs of skin aging such as dark spots and fine lines. Remember up to 90% of skin aging under age 60 is due to sun damage.
Thanks for confirming what I already suspected, that sunscreen is kind of where it’s at for people who don’t yet have visible sun damage. I wish I’d used more of it as a teen or 20-something. One thing I did get right was ignoring advice that everyone needs a moisturizer. I had oilier skin and did just fine without it (mild, occasional acne–which would get much more problematic every time I tried a moisturizer).
I think when she refers to glucosamine she’s talking about what’s in Olay Definity? N-acetyl glucosamine?
I’m 21 and I use a retinoid, but its for preventing acne.
Re # of products–it’s starting to bug me how many sunscreen products I have (having wised up in my 20′s-30′s and esp my 40′s to needing one). It started in my 20′s and 30′s with just a couple of products for the beach only, and UV sunglasses for everyday. Then in my 40′s (now), I had a long daily commute to work and got major UV exposure on the driver’s side of my face, so I started to use it daily. Now I’ve got one for the face; one for my eye area; a spray for the neck, chest, and arms; and an spf lip balm.
Oh, and I left out my rosacea treatment gel for nighttime, the spf retinol product I mix with my sunscreen every other day, and my cerave night moisturizer…
I think you should start using anti-aging products before you see signs. It is like shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.
However, aging is a natural process and though you can slow aging of the skin you aren’t going to stop it. Not getting any sun exposure is not going to stop you getting wrinkles either. A great example is my mother who has always lived in a northern climate and hated the sun. She has had minimal sun exposure her whole life, but developed significant wrinkles as she aged.
So start young and slow the process down, but don’t expect miracle.
To Steph: Yes, you’re absolutely right. Retinoids are wonderful for treatment of acne. In fact that’s what they were originally developed for. Their anti-aging properties were discovered when women with adult acne noticed that their skin looked firmer and no longer had age spots.
I really wanted to read the wrinkle cream reviews, but the link’s not working can you check/repost it? Thanks!
Having problem with our skin can give us depression, yes it is due to the anxiety that we feel when we see other people staring at you and looking in your dry loose aging skin! Many people specially women who are experiencing this kind of scenario, but don’t worry there are many machine and procedures that can help us to stay away from this stage of our lives. Thanks to technology, for providing us high quality gadgets to improve our appearance and to gain confidence.
Thank goodness someone is mentioning the biggest skin killer of them all the sun! it causes photoaging and the incidence of melanoma is rising owing to extreme exposure especially when you are young Steer clear of it
Just be careful of which sunscreens you use! Don’t use anything with oxybenzone in it, which is in most sunscreens. It has been found to be a carcinogen and possibly an endocrine disruptor. It will make your skin more sensitive to the sun and create free radicals under the skin. Definitely beware of which sunscreens you use, and not to overuse them. Overuse of sunscreens can actually lead to a vitamin D deficiency and in some places has been the indirect cause of bone fractures.
Instead, use something with zinc oxide to protect from the sun…and wait about 10 minutes before putting it on to allow some vitamin D to get in!