Your 30s Skincare Guide: 10 Tips to slow down aging

Navigating through your thirties can be a mix of achieving personal goals and embracing new responsibilities. During this busy phase, skincare often takes a backseat. However, maintaining a healthy and attractive appearance is crucial, especially as signs of aging like wrinkles and sun damage start to appear. The good news is that effective skincare in your thirties isn’t as daunting as it seems.

In your thirties, you may notice the onset of wrinkles around your eyes and forehead, rough skin texture, and uneven pigmentation - all results of sun exposure and natural aging. This is also when volume loss in the cheeks or under the eyes might give you a tired look, despite feeling energetic. Luckily, both at-home and professional treatments are available to maintain skin elasticity, minimize wrinkles, and keep your skin looking healthy.

The key to maintaining tight and bright skin, free from preventable damage, is to start EARLY. Your thirties are the time to start both anti-aging strategies and begin treatments aimed at correcting and preventing sights of aging already showing. Here are our top 10 things to do in your 30’s to slow down signs of anti-aging.

Top 10 Anti-Aging Strategies for Your 30s

1. Consistent Use of Sunscreen

Every dermatologist will stress the importance of daily sunscreen application. If you have ever seen an older person on the beach with smooth, white skin on their chest and back, but dark leathery skin on their face and arms, the different is purely sun exposure! Sunscreen will continue to be the best defense against UVA/B rays that break down collagen and elastin, leading to sagging, wrinkling, and discoloration, not to mention the risk of skin cancer.

2. Incorporate Retinol or Prescription Retinoids:

These are the gold standards in anti-aging skincare. If you aren’t already using a topical retinol in your active skincare or prescription, stop reading and order some now! Clinically proven to repair sun damage and reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and discoloration, retinoids should be a staple in your daily regimen. Active skincare should contain at least 1% retinol, and ideally in a time released formulation. Learn more about using Retin-A for your first time if you have never used any products with retinoids in them. Our skincare experts express that retinoids are too effective not to be using on a daily basis.

3. Utilize Active Skincare Ingredients

Active skincare is you making sure that the ingredients fit a purpose or goal you have for your skin. Aim for products that actively preserve and produce collagen and maintain even skin pigmentation. Active skincare is divided into three categories: preventative, therapeutic, and specialty. Antioxidants, vitamins, peptides, and plant stem cells fall under preventative care used daily for an extended period and defends you from unnecessary exposure and damage. While retinol, alpha-hydroxy acids, and growth factors are therapeutic, treating already existing damage such as thinning skin or age spots. Specialty skincare has ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, aloe, niacinamide, and cucumber that are effective to treat specific problems like acne or redness.

4. Treat Sun Damage and Pigment Changes

Sun exposure from younger years often manifests as sunspots, dull skin, and early wrinkles in your thirties. Counteract these signs with a combination of retinoids and sunscreen. For more extensive pigmentation like Melasma, prescription Hydroquinone and professional treatments like chemical peels or IPL photorejuvenation can be highly beneficial.

5. Prevent Wrinkles with Botox

Wrinkles like crow’s feet and forehead lines start to become more permanent in your thirties. Early use of Botox or Dysport, which relaxes the muscles that cause these lines, can prevent them from becoming etched into the skin. A professional nurse injector will inject the right amounts of Botox needed to reach your specific goals without making you look frozen.

6. Restore Volume with Fillers

Noticeable volume loss under the eyes, in the cheeks, and lips can give a tired appearance. Collagen fillers like Sculptra and Restylane work to maintain volume and structure as you age and looks much more natural than trying to play catch up later down the road. Sculptra is a long term filler for the whole face, Restylane targets specific areas of the face like cheeks or lips.

7. Manage Acne and Acne Scars

Persistent acne into the thirties needs professional treatment. For acne scars, options like microneedling, chemical peels, and CO2 fractional lasers can significantly reduce their appearance.

8. Adopt a Low-Sugar Diet

High sugar diets contribute to inflammation and premature skin breakdown. Opt for a balanced diet with complex carbohydrates to combat early aging signs.

9. Maintain Stable Weight

Similar to high sugar diets, weight fluctuations associated with dieting and exercise can cause stress on the body and skin. We have all heard of “Yo-Yo” dieting. This quick rise and fall of underlying fat pads can give rise to stretched out skin of the face and neck that doesn’t have time to remain stable. We all want to be healthy and fit, and in doing so it is best to make your fitness journey a slow marathon that will stick for a lifetime.

10. Prioritize Stress Control and Quality Sleep

Adequate sleep promotes human growth hormone release and regeneration, crucial for repairing daily skin damage. Much of the oxidative stress is cleaned up when we sleep which includes the stress in your skin caused by UVA/B rays, pollution and cortisol from the day. It is this natural tissue repair that will help keep your skin retain its supple look and elastic feel. While easy to say and hard to do, working on your sleeping habits and stress levels will go a long ways in all areas of your life!

The Importance of Consistent Skincare

The difference in skin aging due to sun exposure can clearly be seen in people who have protected their skin versus those who haven't. Daily use of high-quality, broad-spectrum sunscreen is the single most effective way to prevent premature aging.

Medical-grade skincare brands like Skinceuticals and SkinBetter offer products that target each area of active ingredients or a combination to give you everything you need in one bottle. These high quality brands design products that work synergistically with each other which is why it is usually best to suck to one brand rather than mixing and matching brands. While slightly more expensive, we find these lines to be well worth the price.

Embracing Your 30s with Confidence

Your thirties are a pivotal time for setting the stage for healthy skin in the years ahead. By adopting these skincare strategies, you can significantly slow down the signs of aging and maintain a vibrant, youthful appearance. Start now, and your skin will thank you later!