At Don Halls Factory chugging my specialty drink because what else do you do when people sing Happy Birthday to you?
I have hit the 30 mark and let me tell you it isn’t anything spectacular. Yet!! I am being very optimistic. I can’t party like it’s 2012 anymore but I already knew that. I’d like to think I’ve been adulting since I moved out of my parents house when I was 19 and made my own car payments. A lot has changed since then and a lot is still the same. Like the fact that I repeatedly hit snooze until the last possible minute. That is the same in 2019 as it was in 2009. But positive changes I have made for the better like buying and cooking with vegetables, drinking more water, no more tanning bed, and regularly washing my face AM and PM.
First, a quick tidbit, when you’re getting up in your 30’s your skin cell turnover slows down a small percentage every year. Your collagen and elastin break down faster and your hormones can be a little crazy with pregnancy or birth control. Ugh, it’s true and it sucks but even if you have perfect skin when a teenager it is possible to develop acne when you’re older (most likely a hormonal issue). You might be noticing more dark spots, more fine lines, and that your skin is getting drier. Prevention is 🔑 to healthy skin aging.
So here are things almost 30 and my fellow 30 somethings should start doing with their skin if they already aren’t!
Wash That Face
Seems like a no brainer but it is hard to get in the habit of face washing AM and PM when you’re not in the routine yet. But let me tell you it’s so so nice to go to bed with a clean fresh face and wake up not worrying about mascara smeared everywhere. Not only that but your skin products do their best work when you sleep. During the day your skin is exposed to outside pollutants that collect on your face as well as makeup and built up dead skin and oil. If you use a face wipe to clean your face you’re not getting a complete cleanse so I suggest using a wipe as a first step to remove makeup and your second cleanse with a cleanser. At night you need to cleanse or double cleanse if you wear makeup that day, put on a good serum, moisturizer, and SPF (obvi only SPF if it’s daytime).
Once you get into the habit of cleansing and removing your makeup at night and cleansing in the morning you’ll be wishing you started it sooner. Cleanse with cool water and use a soft clean cloth to pat dry or I use a cool wet washcloth to wipe the cleanser off my face so that I’m left with damp skin when I apply my serums. Another way to wash your face is by using a facial brush. Read about the facial brush at my shop>> here. Any of these ways work fine just make sure to use cool water and be gentle on your lovely skin! My favorite everyday cleanser that I use and that I have at the shop is this cleanser>> here.
Stop Tanning
Also sounds like a no brainer. I’ll be the first to say I look better with some nice color. But spray tans have come a long way since the infamous orange color they are notoriously known for. UV damage is the number one cause of melanoma and routinely tanning or even ‘getting a base tan’ should be checked off your to do list. Getting a base tan before a vacation is simply that. You’re getting a double tan, double UV exposure, and you’re not protecting your skin. You’re just extending the UV exposure. If you want color for your vacation or special event I suggest getting a spray tan. Schedule your spray tan>> here. For more information about sun and skin health follow @calltimeonmelanoma on Instagram.
Use The Right Ingredients
When turning 30 look for these key ingredients:
Hyaluronic Acid
HA is perfect for any age but you definitely want to make sure it is in your routine by 30. HA holds up to 1000x it’s weight in water. Meaning, it’s a great hydrator. Well hydrated skin means a healthier skin barrier. I recommend this ingredient in a serum or moisturizer product and you might also see it listed as sodium hyaluronate. Want to know the HA serum I have in my shop?, click >>here.
Vitamin C
Your skins miracle worker. You’ll often see vitamin C listed on an ingredient list as ‘ascorbyl’ or ‘ascorbic’ and words before and/or after it. A popular vitamin C ingredient is L-Ascorbic Acid and is a potent antioxidant by fighting free radicals. Vitiamin C is also great for strengthening and synthesizing collagen and elastin and can help diminish hyperpigmentation by being a tyrosinase inhibitor (basically it stops the receptor site that produces overactive production of melanin). Vitamin C is a tricky ingredient because it is actually very unstable and you need to make sure you are getting a well formulated product as it does not last long before the strength of it starts to diminish. Recommend vitamin C use in the morning to help with UV protection as well. Read the ingredients of the vitamin C serum I have in my shop>> here.
Vitamin A
Anytime I mention vitamin A I am usually referring to the family of vitamin A. Retinoids or a form of retinoids like retinol and retinadehyde (a more gentle but more active form of retinol) are extremely beneficial when successfully converted into retinoic acid in the skin. You can find vitamin A in prescription creams or pills like Retin-A or Accutane or in OTC products like Differin gel. Anyway, I could and will write an entire blog about the vitamin A family but not right now. Right now I’m just writing to tell you that it’s one of the most beneficial skin care ingredients for healthy aging and an ingredient perfect for the newly 30 year olds. All retinoids stimulate collagen production, accelerate cell turnover, and mitigate photo damage. However, retinol is know to be quite irritating so….that is why I recommend using it’s cousin, retinaldehyde. Retinaldehyde is less irritating because it only takes one step to get to retinoic acid (the active part of vitamin A) whereas retinol takes two steps. Find out the benefits of the retinaldehyde serum I have in my shop>> here *Only use a retinoid product if you use SPF*
SPF
This could have fit in the right ingredient list but I am putting SPF in its own category because it is that special and important. The best preventative skin care product is SPF (and it is often way cheaper than active serums). SPF 101, there are two types of sunscreen, chemical and physical. Both do their job but I recommend a physical sunscreen, also called mineral sunscreen. You can spot the mineral sunscreens by the ingredient names zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Chemical SPF ingredients would be oxybenzone, avobenzone, or octinoxate. Both types of SPF work to protect your skin from UV exposure but chemical sunscreens are known to be more irritating than mineral ones but both types of SPFs have pros and cons so pick the best SPF that lines up with your skin and your values and go with it. Always pick a sunscreen that is broad spectrum. This means it protects the skin from both UVA (aging rays) and UVB (burning rays).
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, you can email me at hello@hdestheticshop.com