When it’s time to select skin care products, you should choose one that’s age-appropriate because now, products are classified this way. But what if your skin doesn’t have the same characteristics as a typical one for your age group? It’s possible that your skin is older or younger! So what’s the best way to go?

I decided to write this article because I‘ve often discussed the question with my clients and I’ve come to the conclusion that your skin’s age is  not necessarily the same as your chronological age.…

Sometimes I see clients who are young in age but whose skin is wrinkled and droopy. On the other hand, there are those who are advanced in age but whose skin is smooth and firm. So why use products with extra-powerful ingredients?

 

Here’s how to determine the real age of your skin and choose the appropriate products.

 

Factors which cause premature ageing of the skin:

– Smoking: this gives you a dull complexion and causes wrinkles. Smokers should go for products in the 40+ category if they have a lot of wrinkles. I’ve seen wrinkled smokers in their twenties!

-Yo-yo weight gain and loss: women whose weight has often fluctuated during their life will often have skin that is less firm. So go for products in the 40+ age category which can treat this problem. Anybody, even in their twenties, can have flabby skin. We’re talking about someone who has skin 20 years older than their real age.

– Stress

-Heredity

-Sun exposure: the sun is responsible for 90% of premature ageing signs. So if you like sunbathing, (or even worse, tanning beds), your skin is almost certainly older than you are. If you start using tanning booths in your early twenties, you’ll see your first wrinkles in your mid to late twenties (normally, your first wrinkles usually come in your early thirties). So in your thirties, your skin will look like you’re in your late forties and so on. You’ll also see brown spots appearing and theses are normally typical of a person in her fifties; believe it or not, I’ve seen girls in their twenties with brown spots, so go for a 50+range of products

Factors which give you a younger-looking skin:

-a rigorous skin-care regime

-good diet

-sufficient hydration (drinking enough water)

-genetic factors

 

How can you tell how old your skin is?

Whatever your age (and don’t forget that your skin can be 20 years older or younger than you are), here’s how to make an effective diagnosis of your skin’s real age.

Twenties

Your skin is firm, luminous and plump and has no lines or brown spots.

Thirties

Your skin is still firm, luminous and plump, has a few wrinkles and lines here and there but no brown spots.

Forties

Your skin is beginning to lack firmness (light to medium deterioration) and has more wrinkles and lines without brown spots. It’s still thick but less plump

Fifties

Your skin has definitely lost a lot of firmness and you have more pronounced lines and maybe light brown spots. Your skin is getting thinner (it’s softer and thinner when you pinch it).

Sixties

Your skin is definitely thinner (it lacks density and body). When squeezed, certain areas (eyelids, neck, and cleavage, back of the hands) take longer to come back to their original state (these symptoms begin in your fifties but are really visible in your sixties).  There are pronounced lines and wrinkles, there’s a definite lack of firmness and there are numerous brown spots. What’s more, in your sixties, your skin is drier: it’s pretty rare to have oily skin over 60.

Seventies and over

Your skin will be thin like tissue paper. Not only are there deep lines but also many wrinkles with many brown spots. The lines will be both vertical and horizontal, giving a checkerboard look.

 

To sum up

There’s nothing to be ashamed of in using products that suit our skin’s age rather than our chronological age. It’s true that if we gain a little weight and have to buy a bigger size, that’s a little depressing but it’s better to have a size that fits rather than squeezing into a too-small garment to satisfy our wounded pride. It’s the same thing for our skin. And it could be the opposite, the mother of one of my colleagues is in her mid-forties and she’s just starting to get a few wrinkles so she uses a serum for women in their thirties. Another example, a friend of mine in her early thirties is overweight and has had a lot of weight gain and loss during her life. So her skin lacks firmness and she has started to use products in the 40+ age range. You could of course be perfectly average and have a skin which follows the normal age pattern. In that case, it’s easier to choose the right skin-care products.

 

So, how old is your skin really?