Skin Care @ Your 40′s

All skin care regimes vary as per your age and you need to pick one that suits you best. No matter which one you decide to use for yourself, make sure you stick to it religiously. Let us have a look at what all could benefit your skin at the age of 40 and beyond:

As we age, our skin starts to feel a lot of damage being afflicted upon it. This becomes quite true as we pass the 40 and 50 year mark. The aging signs become quite evident and our slowing down hormones brings down the growth factor by leaps and bounds. Things get worse for women who are subjected to menopause during this period of time. With complete discord set off within the body and no signs of repairing and re-growth in sight, the skin starts to sag and fade with ripening of age.

The underlying cause for this aging differs according to your sex. In women it is usually the reduction in production levels or complete loss of estrogen and progesterone hormones that cause these problems by bringing in a fall in the sebum levels. In men it is mostly related to decline in their testosterone levels. However in both cases the outcome is thinning up and drying out of the skin. The only plus point for men here is that this change in them is not as swift as in women. 

Another major reason for such gradual eroding of your skin might be exposure to excessive inflammation. As we age, our skin is naturally subject to such inflammation. However, not all the time this change is visible. Such inflammation can result eventually in release of harmful free radicals and increased cell damage as a side effect of abnormalities in the immune system cells. At the end, the toll that all this will have on our skin would be:

1. Dry and parched looking skin from drying out of the epidermis.
2. Fine lines and wrinkles from thinning of the dermis.
3. Deeper and permanent motion wrinkles due to weekend skin.
4. Skin abnormalities including blemishes, discoloration, redness, broken capillaries etc.
5. Loss of fat layer adding up to the already existing sagging skin.

As we can see, our aging actually leads to our skin’s inability to be able to rebound. So each time we frown, we are actually adding up to the aging ritual. The lines and wrinkles become quite evident in a short period of time. So how do we slow down this aging process? Although we cannot actually stop it in its track, we can take measures right from the age of 40 to slow down these effects from crawling in upon this. This includes hydrating ourselves with 8 to 10 glasses of water intake each day and using oil-free moisturizers for daily skin care purposes. Other major steps include:

Exfoliating skin:

As we age, our skin refuses to rejuvenate itself as before and this eventually means a thicker and drier epidermis (outer layer of skin). For treating such unruly textures on your skin, you can use the exfoliating routine on a weekly basis. However, remember that exfoliating can be quite irritating to your skin and hence you need to take apt measures in time. It is always better to start off with sugar scrubs or similar mild exfoliating agents and later on graduate to more chemical based products.

Using retinoid:

Proven quite effective in its battle against fine lines and wrinkles, products like Retin-A are a boon to quite a lot of us. Helping you to get rid of these ages of signing quite successfully, these types of products are usually rich in retinoid and Vitamin C derivatives.

Topical Applications:

For women who are nearing their menopause stage or already reeling under it, topical application of estrogen and/or progesterone creams can help in reducing the aging signs like wrinkles and fine lines, improving skin hydration and rejuvenate the epidermis as well. It is however advisable that you undertake this treatment under the supervision of a qualified physician. This is imperative in this case as such topical applications tend to get absorbed into your major blood stream with time.

Curing Pigmentation:

Increased production of melanin – a skin pigment – could lead to increased pigmentation in you, especially after the age of 40. The common aftereffects include age spots and blotched skin. You can seek professional help in this regard and try out topical lightening agents if the problem is too meek.

Botox Treatment:

All those motion wrinkles like crow’s feet, frown lines and scowl lines seem to be imbibed hard into you after the age of 40 and no amount of anti-wrinkle treatment could help you then. In such a case you need to make use of a good Botox treatment. This consists of taking botulinum toxin injections and has been found to be quite effective when compared to chemical peels and laser treatments. Botox has been found to not have much effect for other types of wrinkles.

When to use Second-line Treatment Measures?

If you are looking for some other kind of second-in-line more intensive treatment options, it would be always advisable to consult a physician first. This is considered only when most of the simple at-home creams and topical agents have failed to give you the desired effect. The usual second-line treatment consists of chemical peels, Botox injections, dermal fillers, and lasers amongst others.

(Source: SkinCare How)