I know I am probably the odd one out, but I was truly looking forward to turning 40! Am I alone in this thought? (Seriously, I’d love for you to comment to either validate me, or tell me I’m unusual!) There was something about reaching that physical age that felt like a true milestone for me. I was excited to turn 16 so that I could achieve the action of driving a car. I was elated when I turned 18, to be able to vote in my first election, and it happened to be a Presidential election, and of course my high school graduation year! (Thank you, Mrs. Deal for the amazing, unbiased, political education!) Turning 30 was a very empowering time in my life. I was really hitting my stride in my personal life, and finding my way through motherhood and navigating the truest of friendships. So what exactly was it about turning 40 that had me pumped?! I honestly can’t say, aside from feeling as though “40” was going to bring me a certain level of credibility. And that it has!
Along with this enhanced, confidence, I also found a few additional pieces of evidence that began to emerge. Things such as wisdom streaks (aka, silver strands) were also starting to add a little more dimension to my hair, shall we say? And a deep, vertical wrinkle, that seems to only appear when I am deep in thought, was found in my reflection in the car one day. There were also some pros and cons: I almost never have a breakout anymore, even when I eat what I want or try a new skincare product! But I also notice that I’d like to somehow try and use a magical tape, to sort of lift my brows and forehead a bit. And probably my upper cheeks while I’m at it!
So what is going on? Why the changes? And what can or should I be doing to stay ahead of some of this? Our 40’s will typically also bring changes to our estrogen, specifically. This decrease in estrogen can lead to various changes in the skin, hair, and body, and be more noticeable, as things are happening at a faster pace now. Estrogen helps to keep collagen strong and healthy, supports its production, and provides a softness to the skin. Our 40’s can bring on perimenopause, which is where we will see a more sharp decline in estrogen, and ultimately, a wrinkle or brown spot that seems to have “appeared out of nowhere!” (I promise, those changes were laying in wait, but the fast decline of collagen did make these things appear overnight for you! You are totally correct!) Our skin cannot truly hydrate itself with water, but again, as these hormonal fluctuations are occurring, the job of trying to hold onto water and hydration, becomes too big of a job for our skin! So how do we best address these new concerns and hopefully slow these processes down?
I’m going to make some recommendations within my scope, but I am a firm believer that being set up with all of the right professionals will yield the best results! For sure you should be receiving regular skin checks with a dermatologist, especially if you ever tanned in your entire life! And most of my clients are finding great success with functional medicine doctors, as well. And we should not overlook the importance of the right, healthy diet and exercise, that these professionals can help assist you with further and with more depth than I can! But I’m going to spend just a few minutes sharing what I personally am doing to try and stay ahead of things, if you’d like to keep reading!
My first switch, was to a more gentle cleanser. Something that is creamier, but still rinses clean. I will use a cleanser that creates a gentle foam and more of a deep clean, about 1-2 times per week, but a creamy cleanser every other day is perfect for me! My favorites are the Barrier Balance from Face Reality (which has NO pore clogging ingredients, just in case my acne wants to try something again!) and the Urban Un-Do cleanser from Bioelements a couple times a week! This pollution removing cleanser deep cleans, and balances my skin using malachite clay, so that I am still treating my skin gently.
Next up, bring on the peptides! I can’t get enough of these ultra gentle, little messengers for my skin! I love the Power Peptide toner and then using very skin specific peptides from Viktoria De’Ann, to target my specific concerns! Pepti-Tone is like Botox in a bottle for that deep set wrinkle between my eyes! (And if you opt to have any neuromodulators injected, Pepti-Tone can extend the life of your injections! Learn more about the different choices at the end of this blog post!)
I also started finding that exfoliating acids, which have always been my holy grail, were suddenly too much for my skin to be used regularly at home! Instead, moving my at home, night time serum to a retinol has provided me the best results for my overall, healthy collagen production, without damaging the top layers of my skin, which now occasionally feel sensitive and a little thinner too?!) My Age Activist Clinical Youth Serum rebuilds new collagen, does not dry me out, and gives my skin an amazing smooth and soft texture!
So what about day time treatment, if retinol is taking the night shift while I sleep? Well, my acne prone skin could NEVER handle a Vitamin C before…but I can now! The VC 10 Daily Glow contains powerful vitamin C and E, which helps to create better results when these two are paired together! Vitamin C also supports all the new collagen being produced by my retinol being used at night! And my favorite fun fact, is that Vitamin C helps your SPF work better, without losing power so fast through the day! (Of course, I’m assuming you are still getting that SPF on every day for prevention and protection!)
I hope you can see that I didn’t really ADD a bunch of new products to my line up, but it was more about moving things over to what is going to work best for me with these changes in my skin! But there were some other changes I started making and plan on making soon! And that is around my professional treatments.
I’m now getting a facial every 4-5 weeks, instead of every 10-12 weeks, professionally. I’ll add pro chemical peels 3-4 times a year, for boosted results, without overdoing it. I can handle this, whereas the daily or every other day at home acids were becoming too much. I’m fully expecting that in the colder months, and into my later 40’s, as my estrogen continues to decline, I will see a lot more surface dryness. This will make my face look more “lined,” and can create sensitivities. I’ll let my esthetician decide when she should add in either a Nano Mask or our new Glow Booster, into my already scheduled facials. And if my skin can benefit, I’ll definitely be adding the Rezenerate Upgrade from time to time! That is great for making my skin plump, and filling in around my lips and around my eyes!
If you know me at all, or have been a client of mine for any time at all, you know I LOVE the free tips and tricks also! So here are a few that I know could help! Be sure you are hydrating your body, from the inside out. To best and properly hydrate ourselves, we need to add water, sure! But we also need to add in healthy fats, to help hold that water in place and fuel all of these processes we are working on! Omegas, whether you talk to your doctor about a supplement, or eat plenty of seeds, nuts, and berries, along with things like salmon and avocado, can truly change your skin and body and joints in a very short amount of time! And if you are not using a silk pillowcase, now is the time, my friend! Cotton just robs our skin and hair of all of these great things we are applying and using to correct the problem! Silk or Satin pillowcases are just the icing on the cake!
I hope this helps someone feel empowered to tackle their 40’s, and confident to know what to do as we are changing! If you’d like to learn more about nueromodulators, check out this awesome article from Allure Magazine, too! And as always, be sure to let me know in the comments or send a message my way if you are looking for personalized help from me or my team.
