Skincare Tips I Should Have Followed in My 20’s

If My Older Self Could Talk To My Younger Self

By Claudia Castillo, My Beauty Bunny writer and editor.

I’m only in my early 30’s, but I can already look back now and see there were things I could have done differently or just better. I’m not talking life choices, I’m talking about how I took care of my skin. For the most part I have been graced with the luck of looking younger than my age, but I can’t help but wonder if I did things correctly all the time, how much better my complexion could be. There are little things you can do to make sure you skin ages beautifully, just take a look at the list I gathered for you below:

1. SPF all the time. I’m talking daily!  Remember those days when you were a teenager and you would hit the beach with friends, work on a tan and maybe come home with a sunburn? And if you did, meh, it happens? Trust me that it will catch up to you in later years. Sun damage creates wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation that (feels like) it appears overnight.  You should also be applying SPF to your hands, neck and chest on the regular because they are exposed just as much as your face.  Think about when you’re driving and those hands are resting on the steering wheel the entire time. The skin of your chest is thin and delicate, you better believe it needs some extra care.
2. Getting enough sleep.  I was a total night owl before. I honestly look back now and don’t know how I did it day after day. I suppose studying for college presses you to get things done no matter what time of the day, but I shudder to think about staying up to 2am on the regular anymore.  Getting the right amount of sleep varies from person to person, but without it, you don’t look or feel your best. Say hello to dark under eye circles, puffy eyes and/or wrinkles due to your body releasing the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is known to break down collagen which is a major building block of our skin. Not getting enough sleep also slows down production of human growth hormone which thickens the skin. Skip some of the late nights and hit the sack to make up for loss sleep and your skin will thank you.
3. Washing and moisturizing your face at night. I may be in my 30’s, but I’m not dead. I still go out! And I still put on makeup! I also know what it feels like to get home late and wish you could just be carried to bed and clean yourself up in the morning. Big no no. When we allow makeup to sit on our skin overnight we are really asking for breakouts and dull skin in the future.  Makeup will settle deep in the pores blocking or stretching them out overtime with pimples being the cherry on top of that sundae. You also run the risk of itchy or swollen eyes from mascara and eye makeup traveling as you toss and turn, not to mention a pillowcase that gets dirtier 10 times faster.  On those nights where you don’t think you can manage to wash, keep a packet of makeup remover/cleansing wipes to get as much off as possible before hitting the sheets.
4. Don’t pick at your face. I think this is the hardest rule to follow of them all. I have rarely come across a person that hasn’t admitted to popping their own zits even though we all know better. There are so many reasons to keep your hands off your face so I’ll give you a few. For one, even though your hands may look clean, your nails may not be which can spread bacteria all over. Second, the amount of pressure you place on the delicate skin of your face may be breaking blood vessels and causing scarring. If you are messing with a zit that just doesn’t want to erupt, leave it!  You could be pushing the infection deeper into the skin causing more inflammation and only make things look worse that before. If you can stick to this rule, I guarantee you that three months down the road you WILL notice the difference and be thanking the skincare gods you listened.
5. Avoid Smoking. We’ve all be schooled on this for many years and many reasons but I can tell you smoking definitely turns against you and your good looks at one point. Skin becomes drier, wrinkles form more quickly, and less oxygen is getting to that pretty face to fuel natural functioning within cells.  Do I even need to mention carcinogens?  As an ex-smoker myself I can tell you this is a very tough rule to battle, but it is possible. And over the months you will see that your skin looks overall better when you can put the cigs down.
6. Start your skincare or anti-aging routine now.  Getting into a good skincare routine is important to establish as soon as possible.  It doesn’t need to have 10 steps and cost a fortune, but you do need to figure what’s right for your skin.  Is it oily or dry?  Are you prone to redness or pimples?  By carefully examining how your skin reacts to different products you can determine which is the right cleanser, moisturizer and exfoliator that will keep your skin looking great.  And it never hurts to add in an anti-aging serum (think antioxidants or retinol) to keep skin fresh and looking young.

What skincare tips do you have for your fellow readers? Share in the comments below!