- May 31, 2021
- 9 min read

Skin Care in your 40s. What's happening to your skin as you age and how to treat it.

Beauty alone should never be the goal, but rather the internal and external side effect of self-love and care for one’s health. So when it comes to skin care, we should be striving for good skin health for health’s sake above all else. When we do that, the results are, indeed, beautiful.

"According to Catherine Hannan, MD, Our skin is one of the largest organs of the body. Because of this, caring for your skin can directly affect your overall health. Your skin acts as a protective shield and is most vulnerable to outside elements, as it’s affected by more factors than you may think. And as we age, our skin care needs change and we need to adapt accordingly."

WHAT STARTS TO HAPPEN AROUND AGE 40

1. Estrogen Takes a Hike

This is not good news for your skin. Our hormones change as we age and we start to lose estrogen, as well as testosterone. A steady decline in the levels of estrogen and testosterone in the body can cause accelerated aging of the skin and loss of collagen, says BioTe Medical. That means less firmness, elasticity, and moisture. It can leave you with sunken cheeks and sagging skin. It means dryness. Before you know it, you are quickly turning into that shriveled up plant like the one you forgot to water in your kitchen! To make matters worse, many of you are desperately trying to lose a few extra pounds. That's great! But here's the bad news: as you start to lose some of those unwanted pounds, you might also start to lose some of the fat in your face when you exercise (in addition to some of the fat tissue that you are already losing simply due to age). This is one place you want to keep the fat! But now that you’re older and you’re trying to stay healthy, you’ve been cursed with 'diet face', which makes your face appear more drawn and gaunt looking. Lovely, isn’t it?

LUXURY + EVERYDAY SKINCARE SOLUTIONS

Luxury: Med Spa

Many of the issues with skin health are treatable with the BioTE® method using bio-identical hormone pellet therapy. If you haven’t heard of this, the BioTE® method using hormone pellet therapy is a treatment designed to balance hormones naturally. Hormone pellet therapy can optimize the levels of estrogen and testosterone that drop causing the many signs of aging we see in the skin, including wrinkles and loss of youthful volume in the face. Once your hormones are balanced, you may notice improvement in the look and feel of the skin, not just on the face, but the entire body. It does so much more than just improve the look of your skin and face. You can get back to looking and feeling better about yourself with hormone pellet therapy. Find a BioTe Provider near you.

Everyday: Natural Remedies and OTC

If you don’t want to spend the bucks or you just prefer a more natural way of treatment, you might want to give this is a try: soy, fruits, and veggies.

Adding a supplement that is rich in soy can help your estrogen levels and may bring them back to better levels. And there are many estrogen-rich foods that may help boost your estrogen level. These foods contain phytoestrogen, which is a plant-based estrogen that mimics estrogen once it is processed by the body, says Emily Lunardo for Bel Marra Health. Be on the lookout for fruits and veggies that have natural estrogen content: alfalfa sprouts, flaxseed, cucumber, olives, olive oil, green beans, and apples

2. Sun-kissed, Sun-damaged

This is when sun damage starts to rear its ugly head. Those years of obtaining that beautiful suntan are now coming back to bite you in the form of fine lines, wrinkles and age spots. In fact, sun exposure is the main culprit behind fine and deeper facial wrinkles, freckles, age spots (also known as sun or liver spots), leathery skin texture, dull-colored skin, and enlarged pores, says Hunt Valley Laser and Skin Care Center. So, just when you thought it wouldn’t happen to you, it’s happening.

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Luxury: Med Spa

With Intense Pulse Therapy, you can start to remove the signs of sun damage and restore your youthful appearance! The visible light delivered with Photo Genesis procedure is selectively absorbed by the pigmented spots on your skin. The heating of the pigmented cells causes the therapeutic result, effectively destroying the damaged cells. Virtually any part of your body with sun (a.k.a. “age” or “liver”) spots or freckles can be safely treated.

Everyday: Natural Remedies and OTC

Exfoliate. The buildup of dead skin cells on the outermost layer of skin can make skin appear rough, blotchy, spotty and uneven. Scrubs, Loofah, AHA cleansers and home microdermabrasion kits can remove dead and damaged brown skin cells from your body, leaving skin looking smoother and less damaged.
Eat your veggies. Veggies rich in antioxidants can aid in healing your skin cells and protect you against free radicals.
Treat brown spots with OTC products with bleaching ingredients: kojic acid, bilberry, Vitamin C, or mulberry leaf extract.
Stay hydrated with water and moisturizers. A moisturizer containing AHA or facial serum with hyaluronic acid can plump up the dry skin around the eyes, making the skin instantly appear less tired and wrinkled. Continued usage of these products may help stimulate the production of new collagen, a protein that helps give skin its texture, elasticity, and firmness.

3. Poor Pores

Charlotte's Book, the modern resource for cosmetic health and wellness tell us, "As the years pass, UV rays and other environmental factors cause the skin to lose its elasticity. When this happens, pores clogged with sebum, dirt and dead skin appear to be even larger than before. This is because the skin around each pore is not as firm and collagen-rich as in younger skin. Firm skin essentially girds and supports pores, so it has the effect of making pores appear smaller, while looser, inelastic skin makes pores appear larger or more dilated."

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Comfortably treat excessive redness, enlarged pores, uneven skin texture, and fine lines and wrinkles! Laser Genesis skin therapy is an innovative, technologically advanced way to promote vibrant and healthy-looking skin in men and women. By gently heating the upper dermis well below your skin’s surface, Laser Genesis warms the miniature swollen vessels that create diffuse redness, which are then absorbed by the body over the period of a few weeks. The procedure also stimulates collagen renewal, resulting in tighter pores, smoother skin, and the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles. This method of promoting collagen renewal also smoothes, flattens, and removes the red discoloration of scars.

Everyday: Natural Remedies and OTC

A large number of herbs, fruits and vegetables aid in tightening the enlarged pores. The Home Remedy Shop has a great list of 31 ways to help reduce the appearance of large pores. I won't list them all here, but will give you my favorites:

Tomato. Take 2-3 pods of garlic and ½ a tomato. Grind both the ingredients. Apply a thin layer of this mixture on your face. After 15-20 minutes, rinse off with lukewarm water. Finally, splash the cold water.
Yogurt. Applying a thin layer of yogurt on your skin, just for 10 minutes will do wonders. If you have oily skin, prepare a paste of 1 egg white (whisked thoroughly), 2 aspirin tablets (finely powdered) and 1 teaspoon of yogurt. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Use cool water to rinse off.
Witch Hazel. It's a natural astringent that minimizes enlarged pores without over-drying your skin. It removes excess oil and sloughs off bacteria, debris, and all other impurities. Dip a cotton ball in one teaspoon of witch hazel, and apply on your face. Allow it to dry and then wash off.
Milk of Magnesia. It's basically a solution of magnesium hydroxide that is known for its laxative action. Apply some MOM on your face and leave it for 20 minutes. First wash it off with lukewarm water, and then immediately wash with cold water, in order to close the pores.
Aloe Vera. Last, but not least, aloe vera gel has skin cleansing properties that can seal facial pores. Rub the gel for 5 minutes and leave until it dries. Afterwards, wash your face with cool water. You can also add lemon juice to it. One of my favorite go-to products: Aloe Vera Skin Gel and Herbs.

4. Dreaming of a Good Night

The National Sleep Foundation tells us that changes to our sleep patterns are a normal part of the aging process. As we age, we tend to have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep. And many of us are in the midst of our careers and raising families during this time, which further adds to the exhaustion. Many factors can contribute to this including too much alcohol, stress, or other health-related conditions, When that happens, signs of tiredness and life's excesses can be reflected in your face more than ever before.

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Luxury: Med Spa

Go to a Medical Sleep Away Camp. Partake in a multidisciplinary approach that brings together several diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. Participate in an overnight study known as Polysomnography. Polysomnography is the simultaneous recording of neurologic and physiologic parameters is an overnight test performed on sleeping patients. Opt in for portable monitoring, which is the simultaneous recording of physiologic parameters in an overnight test to evaluate sleep disordered breathing. Utilize various devices such as continuous positive airway devices and adaptive-servo ventilator. If I've already lost you, you can read more about it at the Wellmax Center. If you have always dreamed of going to a true, sleep-away med spa, check out Skin Inc's top ten list of great sleep spas.

Everyday: Natural Remedies and OTC

Power down an hour before bed. In our techy tech world, this is a big one and it's wreaking havoc on the quality of our sleep. “Sleep is not an on-and-off switch,” says sleep expert and clinical psychologist Michael Breus, PhD , author of The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan. “Your body needs time to unwind and ready itself for shuteye.” That’s why Dr. Breus recommends practicing a three-part routine called the “Power-Down Hour.” During the first 20 minutes, complete any chores that absolutely must get done before bedtime. Wash your face, brush your teeth and get dressed for bed during the next 20 minutes. For the last 20 minutes, lie in bed quietly and meditate. Focus on the rhythm of your breathing and shoo away any negative thoughts during this time.

It's important to prepare your body for sleep. Establish a consistent bedtime routine, remove all electronic devices from the bedroom, wear comfortable clothing and set the temperature at a comfortable sleep level. Get a sound machine to help set the mood for sleep and to provide white noise. Drink chamomile. Even if the actual benefits are mild, our bodies begin to adjust to this new routine and will learn to associate chamomile with sleepy time. I also like to use Maty's All Natural Baby Chest Rub. I rub this under my nose and on my chest before bedtime. It's a wonderfully calming and relaxing scent.

5. The Puff

Dr. Nigma Talib, ND has worked out exactly why we suffer from common skin problems like breakouts, puffy eyes and redness, and it all comes down to our diets. The renowned naturopathic expert has identified four common food groups that leave our skin looking less than fresh - 'dairy face', 'wine face', 'sugar face' and 'gluten face'. Further, Jessica Wu, MD, a dermatologist in Los Angeles and author of Feed Your Facesays, “What you eat can affect your hormone balance, cause acne, and create or lessen inflammation, which is associated with skin aging.”

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Luxury: Med Spa

Get yourself some vitamin injections! Feed and nourish your skin directly on-site with this trendy procedure. Lionel Bissoon, a NYC-based mesotherapist says, “When you deposit vitamins directly into the skin with a needle, you’re giving the tissues exactly what they need, where they need it.” Bissoon also said that neither oral nor topical vitamins can offer similar results. Dr. Lionel Bissoon, who is one of the pioneers of facial mesotheraphy, received his Doctorate of Osteopathy from Des Moines University. Further, Dr. Dray, another pioneer of Mesotherapy based out of London, has customized a formula to create the revolutionary Mesolift. This treatment aims to prevent skin aging by stimulating the fibroblasts through administering injections of revitalizing active substances. It consists of a nourishing cocktail of amino acids, vitamins A, B, C, and E, hyaluronic acid, and co-enzymes. Such treatment is recommended for revitalization and hydration of dull, tired skin and to plump sagging tissue. Look forward to fresher and more radiant skin!

Everyday: Natural Remedies and OTC

“There’s a growing body of research showing that diet really does affect your complexion,” says Jessica Wu, MD, a dermatologist in Los Angeles and author of Feed Your Face. “What you eat can affect your hormone balance, cause acne, and create or lessen inflammation, which is associated with skin aging.” Stick to protein rich foods, antioxidant-rich foods like pomegranate and omega-3 fatty acids like walnuts.