Gorgeous Skin In Your 20's, 30's, 40's and Beyond

You may have come to a point where you recently started to truly invest in your skincare with good lifestyle habits like eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising and using non-toxic products. It's never too late to learn something new and start fresh. We've had many discussions with customers about how they wished they had taken better care of their skin when they were younger. Today we're going to share simple tips, product suggestions and a few lifestyle ideas for your healthiest and most beautiful skin starting in your 20's and going into your 40's and beyond. This is a frank post and I hope helpful if you're experiencing any of the issues mentioned.

For The Twentysomethings:

One of the most common mistakes we hear from younger women is not taking off their makeup at night or using a consistent cleansing system. This is one of the most damaging bad habits (next to smoking) that you should stop immediately. This is what happens to skin when day after day you pile on makeup and night after night you fail to remove it. First, your pores become clogged. Washing it all off in the morning isn't enough because while you were sleeping the environmental pollutants sticking to the day's make-up caused major oxidative stress making your skin vulnerable to harmful free radicals. You may not see it the next day, but trust us the ugly effects are looming or you may see it in the form of little white bacteria filled cysts around areas of the eyes, nose and chin. Skin also begins to dry out from a lack of proper hydration and you may notice areas of dry patches. Dry patches are signs of cells not renewing or shedding off, but actually accumulating which eventually leads to loss of elasticity and premature wrinkles. If that sounds bad the worst is yet to come. When you continue to sleep in a full face of makeup, especially toxic makeup laden with heavy metals, mineral oils and parabens you essentially have contributed to the acceleration of your skin's age by decades. Yes, that's right you have made yourself look older simply from not practicing night cleansing. Over time this bad habit will ruin your complexion, tone and cause irreparable damage that no amount of serum or face mask will cure. Avoid that and cleanse the day and your makeup off every night. 

Try our Gentle Enzyme Cleanser with hydrating plant butters to nourish skin and active fruit enzymes to gently exfoliate and remove stubborn makeup. Then hydrate, heal and prevent free radical damage with our superfood moisturizer made up of one simple ingredient loaded with antioxidants and amino acids, our incredible Barbary Fig Seed Oil. We call it the ultimate beauty oil because this heavy hitter does it all for all skin types. It's especially beneficial to sensitive skin or inflamed types, which happens with chronic makeup abuse. The results from treating your skin to Barbary Fig Seed Oil are instant and with longterm use anti-aging, healing and preventative. A winner for any age group. 

For The Thirtysomethings:

In our thirties we are experiencing major life changes like marriage, careers, kids and are under more stress than we were in our carefree twenties. Chronic stress is not only toxic to the wellbeing of your body and mind, but it can also lead to hormonal changes that can lead to skin issues. Some dermatologists are calling this type of skin/neurological connection, "psychodermatology" where your mental state is correlated with certain skin problems and disorders. Sometimes even causing fluctuations in hormone levels. Some stress is episodic and can be managed easier if you're conscious of what triggers your stress. (Deadlines are my triggers or emails piling up) Making a new life change like moving to NYC for a new job may cause your skin to break out or become more oily and we have suggestions to take control, relax and get skin whipped into shape. (If you suffer from chronic stress and have noticed severe changes in your sleeping, eating, weight and skin please call a medical professional to help you rebalance.) 

It sounds like an easy thing to do, relax. Oh we know it's not so easy to do, but seriously sit down for a moment. Find a time to tune everything out and refocus on yourself. I like to call this "getting back to seven" because as a former teacher working with seven year olds was the most eye opening experience I ever had. Seven year olds are confident, compassionate and are keenly aware of who they are and what they want. Seven year olds have dreams and incredible ideas on how to achieve them. Get back to seven and dig for the things that make you happy. I enjoy reading, but don't often have the time to read for my personal enjoyment so I began waking up earlier just to be able to read before getting my busy work day started. Taking time to look good in the morning can set the tone for a successful day. Mist skin with Jardin de Fleurs followed by our Vitamin C gel cream, Modern Radiance Concentrate and Daily Elements Defense for a bright, healthy complexion. This trio calms inflammation, reduces redness and protects skin from free radical damage. Stressed skin is very vulnerable to oxidative stress. 

For The Fortysomethings:

This is a topic in which I can speak both as a skincare expert and as woman experiencing new changes in my skin during my forties. The most common skin concern for this age group is prevention. How to prevent wrinkles, dry skin, sagging, loss of tone and intrinsic aging or anti aging. Plus there are a myriad of concerns no one speaks much on, perimenopause and menopausal skin, which can have you breaking out like a teenager or causing extreme tightness and dryness. 

As we age it's natural to lose youthful volume, feel our skin become thinner, more translucent as well as the recovery period for trauma takes longer to repair. There are several preventative measures we can do to help prevent extrinsic aging, like wearing sunscreen every day, cleansing with gentle products, avoiding harsh ingredients that sting or burn (often retinoids and irritating Vitamin C creams do more damage than good so choose carefully) and making sure to get plenty of rest, exercise and good food into your diet. For many women getting into their forties also causes a hormonal change that can affect the complexion. Less periods can mean you're perimenopausal and a consistent twelve months without a period signifies you're in full menopause. It's like someone has set a ticking age bomb inside of your cervix and suddenly you're feeling what it means to get older. I'll be honest it's an odd thing, not fun and more maddening still no one likes to talk about it. It's as though this part of aging is embarrassing and all of the magazines, blogs and wellness experts are turning their backs on you. I was astonished at how little information even from my doctor there was on taking care of yourself while becoming perimenopausal. There are those terrific bursts of hot flashes that leave you wondering; what the heck just happened to me or asking, "anyone else burning up?" Then the weight gain, strange sleep patterns, nightmares, anxiety, irritability galore and a feeling of sadness that this is happening to you. (Wasn't I just thirteen a few winks ago?)

Speaking from experience I've looked high and low for helpful answers to help me grasp some of the effects of perimenopause without much success. (One doctor even suggested having a baby to help with some issues. A downright counterintuitive piece of medical advice if you ask me.) Eventually, I created a regimen that worked okay for me. It wasn't perfect, but it relieved many of my symptoms. I believe I could've used more guilt free rest and less stress, but being a busy entrepreneur it's kind of hard to manage. The one thing that did help a lot was adding a few products I didn't use prior to my skincare regimen. I definitely need more moisture right now. Here are a few tips I'd like to share if you're in the same boat.

1) Eat more fish and green vegetables. I promise this is important. Your body, brain and skin needs those omegas. Load up on wild salmon and sardines. If you're a vegetarian or a vegan supplement with sacha inch oil, which is not just perfect for your skin (as you know already from using our Daily Elements Defense and Rainforest Hydration Treatment), but the highest known plant source of omegas and protein and tastes absolutely delicious on salads. Consume tons of Vitamin K found in kale, spinach, bok choy...you get the picture. This also helps keep dark circles away, which can become more prominent and combative with thinning tissue and strange sleeping patterns. 

2) Make time for pleasurable things. Catching up with friends, traveling, taking dance classes, romance and sex will boost dopamine levels, which keep you young and your brain active and functioning at a healthy level. Seek sunshine every day and laugh as much as you can. This is a MUST.

3) Drink mineral water and green tea. Switch from plain water to mineral water and replenish the loss of minerals and electrolytes that happens very quickly during perimenopause and menopause. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants which help fight free radicals within the body and rejuvenates skin plus it's a nice timeout queue when you need to slow down.

4) Exercise, exercise, exercise. If you loathe a treadmill or indoor exercise like I do, figure it out and enroll in a samba class, join a hiking group, walking club or take up swimming at your local YMCA, but make sure to keep moving every day. It's not just good for your body, but again those dopamine levels which I swear can disappear if you don't make conscious choices for your mental wellbeing. 

5) Cut yourself some slack. I've let go of some very vain thoughts. Last year while having lunch with my gorgeous twenty two year old niece, a sweet waitress complimented us on how beautiful we were as mother and daughter and I smiled and graciously thanked her. I didn't get offended or felt the need to explain just rolled with it because I'm just more confident than ever. I'll be forty seven this year and I think I look pretty darn good. I do not feel like I need to try to look twenty two, but the best version of myself right now. Getting older is a beautiful part of life, it's graceful and miraculous. So take those damn five inch stilettos (that torture your feet ) off and embrace a new stage of life with confidence. 

6) For your skincare regimen invest in purer products with more active ingredients. Get rid of mostly water or alcohol based products, which either don't absorb at a cellular level or further dries out skin. Truly dry skin can benefit from our Rainforest Hydration Treatment, which is waterless and enriched with omegas from sacha inch oil and moisture retentive plant butters like mango, illipe and enzymatic raw coconut. Dry skin is a typical issue many women experiencing perimenopause and full menopause have difficulty treating. This is a great time to add a facial mist to help lock moisture in and create a microemulsion with your face oil for a concentrated effect that helps active ingredients both absorb and penetrate cells better. I love the wonderful combination of Aria Nighttime Cell Recovery Treatment and Jardin De Fleurs. It's brilliant and leaves my skin feeling dewy and well nourished. Adding pure oils to skin helps with volume and a super potent product like Aria, which contains active enzymes, peptides, antioxidants, plenty of CoQ10 from raw avocado oil can make a world of difference to thin fragile skin. I love my morning glow after an overnight treatment of Aria.

Let us know in the comments if you share skin similar skin concerns or questions about any of the products mentioned for your skin type. We're here to help and guide you towards beautiful, radiant skin at any age.

Xo Victoria