The 10 Must Do’s for Skin Care in Your 30’s

Our skin whisperer and Academic Coordinator Donna Cummins-Campbell has previously shared her expert secrets for skin care in your teens and twenties, but this week it’s all about the thirties! Think tips, tricks and product recommendations to feel good about your skin!

For the thirty somethings follow this regime to get that skin glow you dream off…

Dear 30 Something,

This is the age group where you will really start to see many changes with your skin. Many women notice an increase in signs of ageing and changes with colour of the skin. 

In your early 30’s, signs of ageing may include; crows feet around the eyes, deepening of horizontal lines across the forehead, while in the later years of this age group, pigmentation becomes more noticeable.

If you have had a lot of exposure to the sun without sun protection, your skin will start showing signs of ageing, your skin may feel drier as your oil production may be slowing with the result being the water content of your skin evaporating faster.

With sun exposure comes the production of melanin, you may notice that this is more noticeable in larger areas on your skin.

The following is my suggestion for a skin care regime for the 30 something:

Morning

• Cleanse lightly with a Milk or Cream Cleanser. As your sebum production begins to slow, it is more important not to remove your skins valuable barriers.
• Specialised Serum: Protect the skin from producing excess Melanin with the application of a Serum containing 5%-10% Niacinamide (Vitamin B3).
• Specialised Serum: Add another layer of serum giving the skin antioxidant protection and providing collagen boosting nourishment with Vitamin C. I prefer a lipid soluble form like: Ascorbyl TetraIsopalmitate (VCIP).
• Moisturise with a ceramide-based moisturiser. The skins cell membranes are made up of ceramides which are a component of the skins valuable lipids.  Ceramides are components of the cells that participate in cell turnover. Cell turnover in this age group will start to slow due to normal ageing processes.
• Sun Protection with a broad spectrum, zinc-based sun screen no matter what season it is.

Evening

• Cleanse with the same cleanser you used in the morning, but this time do it twice to remove pollutants, excess perspiration and oil, makeup and sunscreen.
• Clarify the skin with a very gentle AHA Lotion or Serum. This will help maintain a nice smooth texture. I do not recommend over-use of any acids on the skin as long term use has seen many skins become sensitive and damaged. Use only 2-3 times per week.
• Eye Cream containing peptides will help with crows feet you may have started to see around the eyes. A small amount is all you need around the eyes.
• Moisturise with  a Vitamin A based Moisturiser. You may also use a Vitamin A Serum and add a ceramide Moisturiser over the top. Your Skin Care Therapist will be able to prescribe the correct dosage for you. Vitamin A is excellent in treating all skin types particularly ageing. Vitamin A is known as a normalising ingredient as it has the ability to normalise damaged skin cells. Vitamin A will also help with cell turnover which tends to slow with age.
• Believe! Believing in yourself seems like a cliche, however, many women in this age group tend to doubt their abilities. Trying to juggle many roles and usually not having the time to care for themselves is common place. Take time to look after yourself, starting with something that can be done easily and quickly. This will make you feel nurtured and important. Your skin care is important for you to feel you are doing something for you.

Professional skin care treatments in this age group will focus on treating signs of premature ageing and or discolouration of the skin. You may want to invest in a course of treatments to see faster results.

Donna Cummins-Campbell is Academic Coordinator at The French Beauty Academy and shares her expert beauty knowledge with students of our Diploma of Beauty Therapy course. You can find more amazing skin care advice from Donna on her personal blog My Skin Coach