Written by: Kelsie Matthews, L.E.
As a young adult in my early 20s, I often get asked why I am so committed to taking care of my skin. “You don’t even have wrinkles yet.” “You’re a baby, you don’t need to do all of that yet.” “Why would you ever get Botox so young?” These are some of the things people wonder when I tell them about different products or treatments I have tried. My explanation is simple—proactivity.
Being in the Aesthetics industry, and working at a Med Spa, I’ve le
arned that it is important to start taking care of your skin before any problems arise. Many people wait until they start to visibly see the signs of aging before deciding to treat them. If you pretreat your skin by adding different products like retinols to your routine, or getting facial treatments such as Hydrafacials, you can delay the aging process of the skin greatly.
What I personally like to do in order to prevent my skin from prematurely aging, is be consistent with my skin care routine using good quality products specifically designed for skin like mine, and do a facial treatment every 4-6 weeks to keep my cell turnover (desquamation) and collagen production as high as possible in order to keep my skin strong. Another important thing to implement into your daily routine is sun protection. Whether that means applying sunscreen, wearing a hat and long sleeves, or staying away from the sun, sun damage is one of the leading aging factors. If you’re curious about which products might be right for you, check out our PA Blaise’s post about the 5 skin care products no one should live without.
Any damage that occurs in your 20s and 30s is amplified in your 40s-60s. Of course we cannot prevent our skin and bodies from aging entirely, but we can at least take all the precautions and prevent it from happening sooner than later. When we are in our 20s and 30s, our cells turnover about every 3-6 weeks. As we get older, around our 50-60s, our cells can take up to 90 days to turnover. What this means, is that our skin is not replacing the old damaged cells on the surface of our skin nearly as fast as it used to. This causes dull, lifeless skin, and deeper lines and wrinkles. Exactly why stimulating desquamation and collagen production while we’re aging vs. once we have aged, is so important.
So, to all you guys and gals in your 20s and 30s, stop the clock while you can. Take the extra 10 minutes in the morning and evening to do your skin care routine, instead of scrolling through Instagram. Go get a facial once in a while, instead of going to brunch. That way when you’re 40 or 50 years old, you still get carded when buying a drink. Stay looking and feeling young as long as you can!