What Is the Best Skin Care Routine for a 50-Year-Old Woman?

If you’ve had a skin care routine most of your life, it’s not the routine that changes but rather the type of product. The process for keeping your skin healthy and protected is the same no matter what your age. However, there are some particular considerations for women who are beginning to enter their mature years. Consider how the following can keep your skin well cared for.

Keep Your Face and Neck Clean

The first step to any skincare regimen is to keep your skin clear of bacteria with the daily use of a gentle skin cleanser. As our skin ages, we become more susceptible to damage and irritation, and cleaners offer the best prevention from irritants and allergens. However, not all cleaners are made equal, and you need to know what you’re looking for. The wrong cleanser can damage your skin’s all-important pH level, which can then make it harder for your skin to regenerate and combat bacteria.

For all cases, but especially when dealing with mature skin, it’s best to find a cleanser that keeps the good, protective skin oils that are natural to the face while still removing all that damaging grease and grime. It’s important to look for a cleanser made of mild chemicals that clean your skin without being too harsh. You may also want to look into finding a good toner that can help you moisturize and prepare for the other steps of the skincare routine.

Exfoliate Once a Week

When you exfoliate your skin, you’re getting all kinds of benefits, from unclogging your pores to boosting your blood circulation and even making your skin look brighter and healthier. Just don’t go overboard on this step, as exfoliating too often can irritate your skin instead – achieving the opposite of what you’re trying to accomplish. Try and stick to exfoliating only a few times a week at most. In fact, it’s preferable that you do this only once a week to ensure you don’t cause unnecessary damage. When used properly, however, a good exfoliator can do wonders for your skin, especially as you get older.

The best exfoliators to use are the ones made with alpha-hydroxy acids, such as lactic acid. These acids are found in other skin-health products as well, such as peelers and toners. These acids reduce damage caused by sunlight, including age spots and roughness.

Moisturize, and Moisturize Often

Once your face and décolletage are clean, you might notice your skin becoming dryer, especially if you used a harsher cleanser. Skin dryness isn’t exclusive to aging, but the aging process does tend to particularly dry out your skin. This is because your skin begins to produce less sebum as you age. While this does lead to less acne, it also means your skin can crack and irritate more easily, leading to worse problems down the road.

Remember not to stop just at the face. Many cleansers specifically make your face healthier, but dry skin can occur everywhere, so moisturize wherever said dry skin pops up. Also, keep in mind that moisturizing without cleaning your skin can trap bacteria under the moisturizer, so make sure you do the cleansing steps first.

Always Wear Your Sunscreen

Use sunscreen every day, even if you’re not regularly spending a lot of time outside in sunny weather. The daily impact of the sun can cause damage. Depending on where you live, this might not be as big of an issue, but living in or visiting hot places like the southern United States makes broad spectrum sunscreen a necessity for skin care.

Even the simple act of wearing SPF 30 sunscreen for three months can result in a 20% decrease in skin damage and wrinkles. It works by absorbing the harmful UV rays before they can damage your skin, which in turn is believed to allow your skin more time to heal naturally, resulting in healthier skin overall. It is best to block the sunlight and let your skin do its thing without interference.

Watch What You Eat

Beyond the use of skin products, there are other things you can do to improve your skin’s health that only require you to practice and pay attention to what you’re doing throughout the day. A good diet, for example, is an essential part of keeping your skin healthy. Try eating more plant-based foods, as these plants are high in various compounds that ultimately play a role in protecting your skin. This means a good, round diet of fruits and vegetables, along with nuts, legumes, and even certain beverages, so long as they’re full of polyphenols. Keep in mind that water is the first moisturizer you need, and drinking plenty of it can protect your skin from the inside out.

Even without the skin-health benefits these plants come packaged with, a natural diet like this is full of good nutrients, so it can’t hurt you regardless. There’s a good chance your favorite foods are already doing their part to help your skin health, so enjoy those foods and look for others that are known for skin rejuvenation.

A few of these include:

• Foods high in vitamin C, like citrus, bell peppers, strawberries, and kiwi.

• Antioxidant rich foods, like tea, chocolate, and grapes.

• Omega-3 rich foods, like fish and chia seeds. Other great options include avocados, walnuts, and other nuts. All are nutrient-dense and do a lot for your complexion.