Your Skin in Your 40s

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

26 Oct 2008 06:51 PM

Your skin is always changing. Dead skin sheds off and is replaced with new cells -- this is pretty much a lifelong process. Around your forties, this cell turnover starts to slow down.

There are several major changes in your skin that happen in the forties, including:

• Slowed cell turnover. This can make your skin look dull -- dead skin cells are hanging around longer than they used to.
• Increased melanin production can cause differences in pigmentation to appear more prominent.
• Tiny broken capillaries in your skin can cause skin to seem red.
• Collagen and elastin -- the stuff that makes your skin firm -- start to break down. This can make creases/wrinkles start to appear more prominent.
• Pores tend to get bigger (a side effect of the loss of collagen).

What can you do about it? There are lots of things you can do to help keep your skin bright, supple, and lovely.

Retinoids -- vitamin A derivatives -- have been shown to do great things for your skin. They can boost collagen production in the body, minimizing pores and softening fine lines. Retinoids can also help speed up cell turnover, so dark spots and dullness fade. Be patient, though -- it can take eight weeks or more to see results with retinoid use. You can get products with up to 1% retinol over the counter and stronger products by prescription. Watch out for some dryness as your skin gets used to the treatment.

Regular exfoliation -- scrubbing away dry, dead skin -- can help smooth and brighten skin, too. A gentle scrub can help stimulate cell production. Try an exfoliating product twice per week for maximum benefit and don't forget the moisturizer afterwards.

One more word of advice: wear your sunscreen! Just one afternoon unprotected in the sun can undo months of work to revitalize your skin.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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