Beauty maintenance for 30-somethings

I strive to help people to look their best, regardless of their age. People frequently come to me for skin care advice and ask, “What can I do?” Over the next several months, I will present a series addressing common beauty concerns by the decade. Today, we’re starting with people in their thirties.

Thirty year-olds are investing in their careers in earnest. They’re having families. Generally, their skin is still naturally in good shape. We don’t really need to talk about invasive procedures because the deeper facial support structures are strong. In this decade, skin maintenance is the best place to focus!

1: Update your skin care routine. Everyone knows you should remove makeup, dirt, and oil twice a day for optimal skin health. But your thirties skin may be more sensitive and drier than it was in your twenties. The cleanser that you used in your twenties may no longer be appropriate and you may need a more powerful moisturizer as your skin ages and dries. In addition to addressing these needs, it’s time to consider a retinol-based skin cream. Retinol works in the deeper layers of your skin to regularize collagen and cell turnover. For more information, check out this post from last year.

Stop by and ask about our retinol-based face and eye creams!

2: Stay out of the sun! The sun’s rays may feel wonderful, but they can damage your skin on the cellular level. Sunscreen is a must. If you’re starting to see sun damage like fine wrinkles, textural problems, and pigment irregularities, it may be time to consider a photofacial using IPL (Intense Pulsed Light). Please enjoy this video of yours truly trying out this technology – my wife and I got great results with this treatment!

3: It’s time to consider Botox®. The wrinkling that we see later in life comes from the repeated motions of the underlying muscles over the years (think smiling, frowning, and duck face selfies – just me?). As we relax these muscles with Botox®, we can prevent crows feet, forehead wrinkles, and the dreaded “eleven lines” between your eyebrows. Here is video of one of my clients receiving Botox®.

Beauty maintenance in your thirties is fairly straightforward, but taking proactive steps now can go a long way toward preventing the need for more invasive procedures later. In general, I recommend that all of my thirty-something patients use a retinol-based product and avoid smoking and sun exposure. If you have pre-existing sun damage, that can be reversed. Botox is mainly preventative at this point, but can limit the formation of deeper wrinkle lines. Next time we’ll talk about beauty maintenance for 40-somethings, which requires a few additional steps.