30s
THRIVING THIRTIES
What’s going on? Your lifestyle may have mellowed but that doesn’t mean your skin has. ‘This is the age when fine lines and wrinkles will start to appear on the face,’ says Preema. Throwin hormone changes if you have been pregnant and had a family, and other skin issues such as pigmentation and congestion can also appear.
Something else can start to happen in your 30s too, especially if you are a gym bunny or exercise fanatic. ‘Excessive cardiovascular exercise, like running, cycling and endurance training, raise the heart rate and widen blood vessels to get oxygen flowing around the body. But after about 15 minutes, when muscles need more oxygen, blood starts to be diverted from the face, which causes fat pads in the cheeks to be deprived of oxygen and to slowly diminish. This causes facial volume loss, particularly in the cheek area, which then makes your face look prematurely aged – also called Gym Face.’ What to do: At this stage it’s all about getting your skin to retain as much moisture as possible. Why? The more hydrated your skin, the fewer fine lines that will appear and the plumper and fuller it will look. And the ingredient that will help you with this is hyaluronic acid. This very clever ingredient can retain over 1000 times its weight in water. Again a gentle but deeply cleansing cleanser is essential. At this stage your skin will thank you for using a balm or gel consistency which is great for all skin types but contains hydrating ingredients to nourish the skin and is ideal if your skin has become oilier and more congested post pregnancy. Next, a serum filled with hyaluronic acid and antioxidants to counteract against sun damage and the amount of blue light your skin has been exposed to from your laptop, tablet and mobile. A simple facial oil is a great product to have on hand at all times.