With the goal of getting your skin and complexion looking and functioning at its best, the main considerations are:
- Skincare Routine
- Skin Type
- Special Considerations by Age
Skincare Routine
The 3 main steps of any skincare routine are:
- Cleansing
- Toning
- Moisturizing
Aim to protect your skin during the day, and repair any damage during the night. To simplify your skincare routine look for products that combine steps, like a moisturizing sunscreen.
Daytime Regimen
Step 1: Cleanser
Step 2: Toner
Step 3: Antioxidant Serum
Step 4: Eye Cream
Step 5: Spot Treatment
Step 6: Moisturizer
Step 7: Sunscreen
Nighttime Regimen
Step 1: Cleanser
Step 2: Toners, Essences, Boosters
Step 3: Eye Cream
Step 4: Treatment Serums, Pads, Creams
Step 5: Hydrating Mask or Face Oil
Step 6: Moisturizer or Night Cream
Although immediate results would be amazing, generally aim to use a product over at least 6 weeks, 1-2x/day, to notice a difference.
What’s My Skin Type?
There are generally 4 basic skin types:
- Dry
- Normal
- Oily
- Combination
However, I recently discovered Dr. Leslie Baumann, MD, a cosmetic dermatologist that has developed a skin type determination similar to the Briggs-Myers personality theory to better classify your skin type and the specific problems that ail your skin. Dr. Baumann believed that the skin was more complex than the previously 4 identified skin types and so developed the Baumann Skin Type Indicator, which is a scientifically validated questionnaire to determine which of 16 Baumann Skin types is most applicable to you. There are 4 key attributes that the Baumann Skin Types take into account:
- Dry(D)or Oily(O)- dry skin has decreased sebum production, rough texture, poor light reflection, and tightness after cleansing. Oily skin has adequate or increased sebum production, and less need for a moisturizer.
- Sensitive(S)or Resistant(R)- sensitive skin reacts to skincare products with redness, burning, or acne. Resistant skin rarely experiences negative side effects.
- Pigmented(P) or Non-pigmented(N)- this is the skin’s tendency to develop unwanted skin pigment resulting in uneven skin tone.
- Wrinkle-prone(W) or Tight(T)
Each of the 16 different skin types have different characteristics to consider when choosing the best skin care routine and products. The 16 skin types are described here, on Dr. Leslie Baumann’s blog.
I will use myself as a example:
- Dry
- Sensitive
- Non-pigmented
- Wrinkle-prone
Based on these attributes my skin type is: DSNW, 4.
The description for DSNW according to Dr. Baumann is as follows:
Dry, sensitive, non-pigmented and wrinkled skin is characterized by acne breakouts or facial redness and flushing, or frequent skin rashes and irritation. Your skin’s protective barrier is weak and this makes it more susceptible to skin rashes and dehydration. This skin type has less protective skin pigmentation and results in wrinkles especially if you take on a lot of sun exposure.
This is exactly my skin to a T!!!! I can’t believe I have gone all my life without knowing about this test and being able to see that other people have this skin type.
After identifying your skin type, Dr. Baumann has articles that spell out what you need to know about your skin type.
- For my skin, I need to reduce inflammation, that can lead to aging, and hydrate. Then anti-aging ingredients can slowly be introduced.
I highly recommend using Dr. Leslie Baumann’s research to determine your skin type and then determine what skin care products should be a part of your routine.
16 Baumann Skin Types
General Rules for Oily Skin Types
- Individuals with oily skin don’t need to moisturize daily.
- OSNW should avoid benzoyl peroxide to fight acne.
- OSNT are prone to rosacea and should avoid using timers.
- ORPW should stay away from cream cleansers or cold creams. Opt for gel or foaming cleansers instead.
General Rules for Dry Skin Types
- Dry skin types should stay away from foaming cleansers, ordinary bar soaps, and toners.
- DSPW should avoid foaming cleansers and opt for cleansing oils, cream cleansers, and anti-inflammatory serums and gels.
- DSPT should avoid foaming cleansers that contain detergents or other irritating ingredients.
- DSNW cannot use retinoids.
Special Considerations by Age
20s:
Your 20s are for protecting and preventing skin damage. Establish a skin care routine focused on cleansing, exfoliating, toning, and moisturizing.
- To protect skin, use a daily spf, moisturizer, and nightly antioxidants.
- Use an exfoliating cleanser at least once a week.
- Spot treat blemishes with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide as needed.
- Stock up on soy and kojoc acid to brighten minor pigmentation issues, and shea nut oil and vitamin c to hydrate.
- Niacinamide (vitamin B3) stimulates fibroblasts that make collagen, so it helps with fine lines, evens out skin tone, improves the appearance of large pores, and brightens dull skin.
30s:
Unfortunately, the saying you are what you eat couldn’t be more true. This means to achieve great skin, in addition to skin care products and routines you will also need to cut out sugar and processed foods and swap in kale, Greek yogurt, almonds, blueberries, olive oil and white fish. You may start noticing deeper crows feet, more prominent frown lines, and a little less collagen production. In addition to amping up your anti-aging skin care routine, try to keep stress to a minimum.
- Start fighting the first signs of aging by exfoliating 3-5 times a week to remove dead skin that clogs pores and dulls your complexion.
- Use antioxidant serums with enzymes, AHAs, or mild exfoliators to slough off dead skin cells.
- Continue moisturizing, but use a heavier cream at night and protecting from the sun.
- Use an eye cream to help hydrate and plump skin.
- Consider using resurfacing masks and retinoids a few times a week.
- Stock up on retinoids, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, and glycolic acid, but avoid using too many products.
- Now is a good time to consider the idea of Botox to prevent deepening of dynamic wrinkles. For in-office treatments, consider microdermabrasion, laser toning, fruit acid peels to tighten, smooth, and add a youthful glow.
40s:
Everything appears in your 40s- jowls, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, lessened skin elasticity, and large pores. Menopause causes your hormones to go crazy, which means even more dryness and perioral dermatitis.
In your 40s it is important to add extra moisture to fight fine lines and combat collagen loss with retinoids.
- Use a hydrating serum with time-released ingredients, nightly retinoids, creamy textured moisturizer for day and night use and nightly facial oils prior to your moisturizer.
- Continue using a daily spf.
- Avoid anything that further dries out the skin.
- Consider skin resurfacing with peels and hydrating overnight masks. Lasers for hyperpigmentation and Botox for lines created by repetitive muscle movement.
50s:
This is the age gravity catches up with you and things start to sag. Your skin elasticity and collagen further degrade. Focus on ingredients that firm, hydrate, and fill in lines.
- Target dark spots and uneven skin tone with brightening serums and firming peptides.
- Don’t forget to address the delicate skin of your neck and décolletage.
- Use a facial oil, retinoid, antioxidant rich moisturizer and an spf.
- At night, be more aggressive. Increase your retinoid to nightly and consider a higher strength. Use a rich facial cream and oil.
- Avoid too much surgery. Try non-invasive procedures first like lasers and peels. Volume loss becomes a big issue at this age, so consider dermal fillers like Restylane, Juvederm, Sculptra, and Radiesse.
60s:
All the same issues of your 50s continue into your 60s, just at an increased rate. This is the time that precancerous lesions or skin cancer is most likely to manifest. Vertical lip lines become more noticeable along with significant lip volume loss.
- Continue with a similar facial routine from your 50s but include ingredients like borage seed oil for glowing skin, hyaluronic acid to fill lines, Shea nut butter for deep hydration, retinoids to stimulate collagen, and glycolic acid to speed up cell turnover.
70s+:
In your 70s your primary concerns are dryness and sensitivity. The appearance of photoaging is much more noticeable in the form of sun and liver spots. Skin cancer lesions are still a concern, as is loose skin, decreasing volume, and deep wrinkles.
- Your ideal skincare is gentle with facial oil and moisturizer.
- Look for ingredients with ceramides to moisturize, low-dose AHAs and retinoids to continue cell turnover, and sunscreen.
Researching Best Skincare Products
To go about determining the best products I like to research the different types of products I’m interested in a few ways.
- Beautypedia– Beautypedia follows the latest research to bring you the most reliable reviews on thousands of products. Beautypedia was developed by Paula Begoun who is also the founder of the skincare and cosmetic line Paula’s Choice. Each product is assigned a rating 1-5, 5- superior, 4- excellent, 3- average, 2- below average, and 1- poor. The reviews are based on scientific literature.
- DermStore– reviews skin and beauty products.
- The Derm Review– reviews the best skincare products of the years as well as brand product lines. Price is generally not considered a deterrent.
- Total Beauty– reviews written by skincare product users on a 10 point scale.
- GoodGuide– rates skincare products by ingredient hazards and adequacy of data.
- Skin Deep Cosmetics Database– an in-line database launched in 2004 to help people choose safer products, with fewer hazardous ingredients. Each product is scored based on safety information publicly available toxicity databases.
- Allure and Refinery29– websites with up to date reviews and recommendations on new and current beauty products.
References:
https://www.dermstore.com/blog/in-what-order-do-i-apply-my-skin-care-products-infographic/
http://lesliebaumannmd.com/determining-skin-type-matters/
http://lesliebaumannmd.com/16-baumann-skin-types/
http://lesliebaumannmd.com/baumann-skin-type-quiz/
https://m.sephora.com/skin-care-by-age
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/45678
https://www.health.com/beauty/skincare-by-age
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/g9645581/skin-care-routine-20s-30s-40s/
http://www.oprah.com/style/best-skincare-regimen-skincare-by-age/all
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