Everything You Need To Know About Skincare In Your 40s

In your 40s, you may start to notice differences in your skin. Elethea Luxury Beauty  founder, Nausheen Qureshi  says, “Those brown spots are just that tinge more prominent and lines are slightly more pronounced in this decade. Your skin may feel a little thinner and the texture may not be as smooth feeling as it once was.”

Though there’s no reason for everything to go downhill from here. Nausheen notes, “Just a few changes to your twice daily skincare routine are needed to ensure these changes in the skin are less prominent".

Following on from her skincare tips for your 20s  and for your 30s , Nausheen talks us through what we should know in order to achieve fresh and radiant skin in our 40s…

The Power of Serums

Your usual moisturiser may contain a high concentration of actives, but even used twice daily, it may not deliver enough actives to the skin cells to produce the result you require and to keep wrinkles looking less pronounced. Serums are designed to be extremely lightweight fluids that contain potent levels of important actives, which can be delivered quickly to the layers of skin cells beneath the epidermis.

Serums are either oil-based (with oil soluble active components) or water-based (with water soluble active components). I recommend adding the following to your skincare regime:

1. Peptide Serum - the best peptide serums contain multiple length peptide chains in them. These peptides are delivered into the skin where they signal the production of skin structural proteins collagen and elastin, and some even promote the production of fibrillin and laminin which are more specialised proteins within the skin cells matrix. Remember, peptide engineering is skincare technology at its best, and these actives come at a price. Therefore, if you buy a cheap peptide product, there is a high chance the concentration of peptides it contains is low. Don’t compromise on quality for optimum results.

I recommend  Elethea Youth Capture Serum , £210, which has 100% results in anti-ageing clinical trials, and stimulates the production of collagen, elastin and a host of specialised proteins with a concentrated blend of peptides, oat beta-glucan, vitamin C and tamarind seed extract.

2. Vitamin C Serum - the natural level of vitamin C within the skin decreases as we age. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant, natural skin brightening ingredient helping to reduce brown spots, and it can also work to signal collagen production, but not as effectively on its own as peptides. Vitamin C is very unstable in solution, so be aware of the form of vitamin C in your product and ensure minimal exposure to sunlight and air. Interestingly, Vitamin C applied directly to the face is also a better way of providing your skin cells with this ingredient, as the stability issue means ingesting it is less effective for your skin.

I recommend  Skinceuticals C E Ferulic , £129, which delivers 15% L-ascorbic acid with the addition of ferulic acid and vitamin E to the skin, where it works to protect against UV damage and to help brighten the skin.

3. Hyaluronic Acid Serum or Vitamin E Serum - for an extra moisture boost, and to ensure more water molecules are driven to the skin cells, either supplement your skincare regime with hyaluronic acid serum or a good vitamin E serum. This will help protect the skin cells and promote elasticity and smoothness.

I recommend  Dr Sebagh Supreme Maintenance Serum , £215, which contains high levels of hyaluronic acid to help plump the skin and resveratrol for its antioxidant benefits.

Change Your Cleansing And Exfoliating Regime

Gentle cleansers with alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) will help to retexturise and smooth the skin - these should be used at least once per day. Every couple of days, and more frequently in the winter, you can add another cleanse with an oil-based product or an oil.

Once per week, a more concentrated blend of AHAs or fruit enzymes should be used to exfoliate and resurface the skin via a peel at a professional skincare consultant or at home (of course in this case the product will be less concentrated). I recommend  Cosmedix Pure Enzymes , £35, an at home lactic acid/enzyme treatment that gently exfoliates the skin and unclogs blocked pores to restore smoothness.

Get Smart About Layering Your Skincare Products

The order of use of your products may not seem like something you need to think about but it is very important. Especially when you are using serums, moisturisers, oils, and you are cleansing, oil cleansing and exfoliating. What do you do when? And in what order? Always remember, products with the most water go first onto the skin. For example, in the morning, a gentle cleanse should be followed by a water-based serum, then use a moisturiser containing SPF with a few drops of your facial oil mixed in on top of this.

Also, exfoliation is best performed at night because the skin is more susceptible to UV after having a fine layer of cells peeled off the surface. Always ensure you seal any skin care regime with a robust moisturiser and a few drops of facial oil. This is because you are always disrupting the bilayer that protects the skin when you do anything to it - applying a facial oil or moisturiser will help restore this bilayer to prevent extreme moisture loss and dehydration.

Be Kind To Your Wrinkles

It is my aim to provide my customers with the products they need to age elegantly and healthily. Of course, you will not have the skin you had in your 20s, but skin can still look radiant, supple, smooth and moisturised in your 40s. Aggressive treatments too regularly can cause damage, and scientifically a lot of new technologies have not been around enough for us to test the long term effects on the skin. Approach them with caution, and if you are unsure, ask a skincare expert (you are always welcome to  e-mail me too ). I believe the most important anti-ageing ingredient which should be present in high concentrations in most skincare products, but usually isn’t, is niacinamide. This ingredient has been very effective in my research and is known to maintain levels of fatty acids and it minimises the loss of water for fuller and firmer skin. I specifically formulated  Elethea Intense Hydrating Cream , £150, to hydrate, soothe and promote elasticity to the skin with high levels of niacinamide, and other rich oils and antioxidants. It is also worth getting that extra boost of collagen-signalling from retinoic acid precursors, which can be prescribed to you by your dermatologist.