Your Skin as You Age: What It Needs & What To Avoid

As we age, grasping the needs of our skin can seem like a constant challenge due to ongoing biological changes. Just when you think you've got it figured out, time marches on and your skin and appearance take another turn.

This week I want to guide you through the evolving stages of skin through each decade of your life.

I’ll take you through the gradual and natural transitions you can expect along the way, and discuss ways to nurture your skin and what you can avoid to help prepare you for the decades ahead.

This guide will help you maintain a more naturally youthful appearance and align your outer skin health with your inner beauty, so you can feel confident and age gracefully throughout each chapter of your life.

There's a lot going on in a person's life in their 20s, and sticking to a consistent skincare routine doesn't always seem like a top priority.

Lifestyle factors like lack of sleep, sunbathing, stress, and poor nutrition or lifestyle habits, will eventually begin to manifest in the appearance of the skin. Late nights with frequent consumption of alcohol and smoking can also negatively impact the skin's health and appearance.

While you may not have any fine lines or wrinkles yet, introducing preventative measures now means fewer skin aging concerns in the years ahead.

While there are tons of videos on social media giving skincare advice, navigating a ten-step TikTok routine isn’t going to sound appealing when you’re coming home late at night or particularly tired in the morning.

With Trifecta’s quick and easy three-step routine, we put all of the most important ingredients into an effortless system. You can knock out your skincare in just a few minutes, and know that you’re still getting everything your skin really needs, but in a fraction of the time.

Every individual's skin ages at a different rate, influenced by various factors including genetics, sun exposure and lifestyle habits.

If you're not getting enough quality sleep, often feel stressed, and find yourself reaching for iced coffee more often than water, try to make small changes in your lifestyle, like adapting healthy habits to manage stress or swapping your afternoon sugary drink for fruit-infused water.

Just like everything in life, little things add up to big changes over time.

First and foremost–do not spend time in the sun without sunscreen. While you might not be thinking of skin aging while bronzing by the pool now, you will be thankful for that sunscreen later down the road.

It's also crucial to cleanse, no matter how tired you might be. This practice will help remove impurities like dirt and oil, preventing clogged pores and breakouts.

While we’ve been programmed to believe that cleansers with "foaming action" will be the most effective for cleaning and combating oily skin, the truth is, these cleansers tend to use harsh surfactants that can throw off the balance of the skin. This is why using a non-foaming, pH balanced cleanser, like our award-winning Rinse, which is going to soothe and support the skin without stripping it of natural moisture.

By the end of your 20s, the rate at which your body produces collagen begins is already beginning to subtly taper off.

This becomes an important time to start thinking more seriously about choices that will impact the longevity of your skin. Starting an anti-aging skincare routine by age 27 is highly recommended.

Committing to a daily skincare routine early will serve you well in the future. Make this habit part of your lifestyle early, to provide your skin with the foundation it needs to age gracefully for decades to come.

Many people in their 30s have shed the baby fat, are dealing with less hormonal fluctuations, and start to feel more confident and balanced in this decade.

Skin is showing minimal signs of wrinkles, however, during this stage of life, you may begin experiencing the first effects of hyperpigmentation or melasma—which is why it's so important to habitually use sunscreen. 

Skin cell turnover, which is the skin's process of producing new skin cells to replace existing skin cells, naturally slows down as a person ages and you may begin to lose that natural, radiant glow. Collagen fibers, which support skin elasticity and strength, begin slowing down, resulting in more dull, tired-looking skin--in particular, the under-eye area.

The skin under the eyes is sensitive and thinner than other areas of the face, which is why dark circles, puffiness, and wrinkles tend to be more pronounced here.

If the under-eye area is an issue for you, take care in finding products with Retinol that are going to strengthen the skin around the eyes.

Managing multiple creams and moisturizers can be tedious, which is why I formulated Illuminate Anti-Aging Cream—an all-in-one solution that will stimulate natural collagen activity and is gentle enough to be used on the entire face, including the eyes.

It's also packed with all of the ingredients your skin needs to help improve elasticity, trigger skin cell turnover, provide soothing hydration, and should also be used on the neck and décolleté.

Keep your skin hydrated with non-comedogenic moisturizers or naturally hydrating balms. This is going to help keep your skin barrier strong and resilient, protecting it from environmental stressors or toxins that accelerate aging.

Consistency is key, so keeping up with healthy habits is essential. Don’t skip your skincare routine, don’t go out in the sun without sunscreen, and don’t neglect hydration–these are essential daily practices.

Hydration applies both to water consumption, and what you do for your skin. A common misconception is to skip moisturizer if you have oily skin, but the truth is, the right amount of moisturizer will actually help balance your skin and decrease excess oil production and shine, while also making sure your skin stays supple and youthful.

Don’t waste your money on extra eye creams and neck creams. Your skincare routine shouldn't be complex or excessively costly.

Focus on finding products that have effective active ingredients that can cater to the needs of all facial skin, including the eye area.

These are crucial years to start using products with active ingredients. Invest in products that are going to give you long-lasting results and help your skin to get continuously better with time.

Commit to a skincare routine, and stay consistent.

Use a Vitamin C serum, like Quench, and products with botanical skin brighteners, like those found in Trifecta and Polish to help fight sun damage and balance skin tone.

Make sure that you find an anti-aging cream, like Illuminate that is packed full of valuable actives, has been clinically-tested, and is effective for the neck and under-eye area too, so you’re not wasting time and money on empty promises and unnecessary products.

During your 40s, the skin's repair system and collagen production slows down even further, resulting in loss of volume, firmness, and elasticity.

Perimenopausal women will also begin experiencing hormone changes that affect their skin.

Estrogen promotes water retention and plumpness in the skin, so as estrogen production begins to decrease, it's not uncommon for women to experience an increase in dry skin and sensitivity during this stage of their life.

If you haven't yet, it's seriously time to reach for the Retinol. Use products like Trifecta that are formulated with active ingredients, like Retinol, Vitamin C, to and Niacinamide to help increase skin cell turnover and stimulate natural collagen production.

Another way to help increase skin cell turnover is through exfoliation, which is why we created Polish to supplement the Trifecta skincare system. Polish is an “enzymatic exfoliator” which means it helps remove the buildup of dry, dull skin by dissolving away the bonds between the dead skin cells, and then uses gentle granular exfoliation to slough it away.

Exfoliation not only restores a brighter, smoother complexion, but also encourages your skin to produce new cells, giving your skin a fresh and healthy glow.

This can also be achieved through in-office treatments, like laser resurfacing, microdermabrasion, or chemical peels. These treatments will help refresh the skin, and boost collagen.

Stimulating collagen as you come up against hormonal shifts is crucial. Microneedling is another treatment that can help reactivate collagen production in the skin, alongside a daily skincare routine.

Eating a collagen-rich diet, and adding collagen supplements to your routine would be another way to help enhance and restore your body's collagen levels.

As you see more pronounced fine lines and wrinkles, or start to experience volume loss and hollowness that makes you look more tired, you may be considering other means of rejuvenation, like Botox or fillers.

While I am a proponent of using treatments like Botox to reduce repetitive muscle movements, which will help to soften deepening wrinkles, or using filler to subtly restore thinning lips--please, please be cautious. 

Filler can help in small doses, in the temporal region, or in the throughs of the eyes, but if you end up over-compensating and over-filling, you can actually make your face appear heavier, distorted, puffier, and more square, which will actually make you look older.

Here is a video I made about the right and wrong way to use fillers.

Cleansing, hydration, and sun protection are still as important as ever-- and now it's definitely time to add proven anti-aging ingredients, exfoliation, treatments, and collagen boosters into the mix.

Be diligent about using a daily skincare routine that contains active ingredients to improve skin quality and firmness. Adding exfoliation will refine skin tone and texture, and ensure your ingredients are being properly absorbed into the skin.

In addition to Retinol and Vitamin C, incorporate ingredients like Peptides, Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide to maintain moisture and luminosity.

Incorporating collagen-boosting treatments, like resurfacing, peels, or microneedling at this stage will be highly beneficial. Maintain a healthy lifestyle with foods rich in amino acids and vitamin C to help keep your collagen levels high.

You want to be proactive, so you don't see a sharp decline as menopause approaches.

Around this time, post-menopause hormonal shifts can be seen in the skin. Decreased production of estrogen means that the skin becomes thinner, losing its luminosity.

Collagen levels are dropping quicker as cells slow down production, meaning there is less volume, more skin laxity, hollowness, and sagging.

Before we dive in, I want to make one thing very clear: it's never too late to start a skincare routine. 

Some people are under the assumption that there's nothing that can be done once you've reached a certain age, and that's simply not true.

Using the right blend of skincare ingredients, like Retinol, Niacinamide, Hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, and everything else bundled into the KaramMD Trifecta, with daily use of sun protection, will help protect, nourish, and even revive your skin when used consistently over time.

What was important in your 40s should be continued into your 50s: use of in-office treatments will help restore aging skin while stimulating collagen, and healthy lifestyle habits like sleep, hydration, diet, supplements, and exercise will help boost your glow.

If you are starting to see more pigmentation in your skin, make sure you have a Vitamin C serum, like Quench, as a part of your daily routine, and incorporate lighteners like Azelaic acid to help battle dark spots.

Once you hit your 50s, you need to be cautious about continuing filler and Botox treatments at the rate you might be used to.

The structure of your face is changing; skin is losing laxity, muscles are sagging, and therefore how you treat the skin and muscles, and the results from such treatments is going to be different too.

Where Botox may have given you lift in the past, in your 50s, injections can actually have the opposite effect. As your muscles naturally start to drop, eyebrows are now lower than in previous decades, and the skin around your eyes is beginning to sag and appear heavier. So, if you freeze the Occipitofrontalis (forehead) muscles, for example, you won't be able to lift your brows anymore; instead, they will be fixed at this lower point. Consequently, you'll experience limited ability to open your eyes with full expression. Combine this with the presence of that sagging, heavier eyelid skin, now immobilized because you can't lift your brows--it's going to make your eyes appear smaller, tired, and heavier. You need those facial muscles to work and move in your more mature years.

Fillers should also be avoided, because they are simply not going to be able to replace the fat your face has lost up to this point. Using fillers at this stage of life might give you a false impression that you’re going to lift the face to reduce sagging, but, this is not going to improve laxity which is the true culprit behind sagging. No amount of fillers are going to reverse sagging skin. If you attempt to replace the lost volume with filler, you will change your face and wind up looking puffy and appear heavier.

As you keep up the vicious cycle and apply more and more filler, you will begin to look unusual, not like the youthful version of yourself as intended (think Madonna). Overuse of filler at this age can create more weight and sagging and you won’t end up looking like natural and younger, you’ll only worsen your situation.

When you’re aging through your 20s, 30s, and 40s you look fundamentally the same, but once you hit your 50s, the shift in estrogen and collagen loss changes the entire shape and foundation of the facial structure and you can begin looking like a different person.

Be cautious of trying old tricks in this new phase. Start to reduce treatments and focus more on skincare and sun protection.

It's never too late to start a daily routine that nourishes, heals, and revives your skin from the inside out. With consistent use, no matter your age, you will see a positive change in your skin.

In your 60s, 70s, and above, the aging process continues to manifest in deeper wrinkles due to the ongoing loss of collagen and elastin, and more sagging and a general loss of firmness.

Age spots and uneven pigmentation may become more prevalent from cumulative sun exposure over the years, and visible blood vessels may contribute to redness on the face.

The skin's natural renewal process slows down, which results in a duller complexion and thinning of the epidermis, which also makes the skin more fragile. Dry skin and irritation can also become a problem as oil production decreases.

Caring for your skin in your 60s and 70s involves prioritizing hydration and protection.

Use rich, moisturizing creams and nutrient-rich hydrating balms to combat dryness and support the skin's natural barrier. Sun protection remains crucial to prevent further sun damage, so apply sunscreen daily.

Incorporate products containing active ingredients to promote cell renewal, balance skin tone, and to boost hydration. Retinol will help strengthen your skin and increase firmness, Vitamin C will lighten dark spots, Niacinamide will help reduce redness, and Hyaluronic acid will enhance hydration. Make sure you are incorporating all of these elements into your daily routine.

Bi-weekly use of a gentle exfoliant, and incorporating in-office collagen treatments can help improve skin texture and revive dull skin.

Steer clear of excessive sun exposure to prevent further damage and the development of age spots. Also avoid harsh or abrasive skincare products, which can irritate thinning skin. Opt for gentle cleansers that will not dehydrate or disrupt your skin's natural oils.

Loss of laxity is inevitable at this point in life, and that is going to affect your face shape due to pronounced sagging of the skin. If you are considering surgery at any point, stay consistent with a daily skincare routine first to ensure that your skin is healthy and vibrant.

Don't waste your time and money on the surgical route if you are not committed to taking care of your skin before and after the procedure.

Also, facial rejuvenation techniques, like the Vertical Restore, are meant to treat the face and neck as a whole. As you explore your surgical options, do not make the mistake of spot treating certain areas, like the neck alone, without addressing the rest of the face.

You need to treat the face and neck as a whole, along with comprehensive skincare, for a truly beautiful, natural-looking result.

I’ve talked to so many patients throughout my career, and many with age-defying skin who are 60 and above which inspired me to write the article, “How to Have Great Skin in Your 60s and 70s.” 

For those who have maintained youthful-looking skin with fewer signs of aging, I’ve found they all have the same things in common that they’ve done consistently throughout their lives: protecting their skin from the sun, following a healthy diet, living an active lifestyle, getting enough sleep, and applying active ingredients to their skin... every day!

The earlier you can make those habits more than just a routine, but a lifestyle, the better chances you will have at great skin in your mature years.

We've covered a lot of ground here, but the most important thing to take away from all of this is that skincare is a continuum with evolving needs.

No one is exempt from aging, and as we all navigate the evolving stages of this process, there are certain things we can gain from understanding how our skin works and how we can best support it through each decade of our lives.

I am deeply passionate about the topic of anti-aging, which is why I am in the profession I’m in, and ultimately what led me to developing Trifecta, because with everything I have learned, I can honestly say, the key to achieving healthy, youthful skin lies in the commitment to a daily skincare routine and diligent sun protection.