The adage ‘youth is wasted on the young’ is one we are all too familiar with, but perhaps the saying should be ‘youth is sometimes taken for granted when we are young’. As it should, as we progress through life, our focuses and needs change. If we knew what the cost of “looking young” would be as we grew older, would we take better care to preserve ourselves? Probably not. 

When we are teenagers, we believe we will always be young. Our focuses are more on eliminating that emerging pimple threatening to ruin our social plans, than developing an actual skin care regimen. If we do have products, they are focused on topically addressing our issues and our methods are more responsive. The better method would be to EDUCATE ourselves on the roles our lives and habits play in our appearance from the neck up. In our youth, learning proper hygiene (frequency, routine, and technique) can build or break the foundation we need as we enter the next skin stages. In our 20s,  as we start as adults, our professional and personal lives take priority. While hormonal breakouts continue, we try to mask our issues with makeup. If we don’t take care to learn those initial steps in our teens, we fall prey to bad habits like falling asleep with a full face of makeup and blocked pores. Add-on, the beginning of legal drinking and limited water intake and our 20s is one big lesson taught by Professor Zit.  

As we near our 30s, we begin to acknowledge our mortality a bit more. Our ‘dirty 30’ finds us less influenced by social media influencers and quick-fix facials and beginning to invest more in self-care.  Our income increases and skin goals become more PREVENTIVE than responsive. Prevention of further damage and aging requires developing a regimen that is a balance of products and applications. Introducing treatments such as chemical peels and Dermaplaning, a cosmetic procedure in which the “peach fuzz” on your face is removed with a surgical scalpel which eliminates some skin irregularities and allows products to penetrate the skin deeper, can have a lasting impact.  

Product choices can also promote our overall skin health and medical-grade skincare is a far cry from the drugstore brands of our teens. They contain higher concentrations of active prescription-strength ingredients than what you can buy over the counter. While these products are an investment in ourselves, they don’t have to bankrupt us.  New product lines are emerging to meet the increasing demand in skin care, it can be overwhelming. Should you need some help navigating the product choices available, contact a local esthetician for a customized approach to your skin care needs.  If you’re in the North Atlanta area check out Shameless Aesthetics & tell them we sent you (you’ll get a discount).

Preventive skin care is all about preserving what is already great about your skin. As we age, our bodies’ abilities to make certain natural occurrences such as collagen, decrease. To defend against all the world throws at us, we need to pair the education foundation gained early on with preventative methods and ANTI-AGING treatments. Treatments and procedures span the range of superficial like peptide infusions to the more invasive, such as PRP therapy, all with the focus on reducing the appearance of fine lines/wrinkles, improving skin elasticity, and improving your overall appearance.

Wherever you are in your skincare journey, it’s important to remember, as, in fitness journeys, you are what you eat. What we fuel our bodies with influences our body’s systems. The skin is our largest organ, and though it’s worn on the outside, it is primarily affected by what’s going on inside.  Learning and maintaining healthy eating and drinking habits will go a long way in setting you forward in your pursuit of healthy skin.

Regardless of where we are in life, we are always searching, striving for something else, something different, something more. In our pursuits, it’s easy to miss out on where we are now.  Don’t forget to love and appreciate yourself in all forms, stages, and ages of your life.