I’ve always had a consistent skincare routine since my early 30’s but really had to reassess my entire approach after hitting my 40’s. And now in my late 40’s (just turned 47), I have had to research different products and ingredients to treat my growing concerns. These changing skincare needs are felt by most when they reach their 40’s – things like increased dryness and uneven skin tone to dark spots and fine lines. To tackle these issues, it’s best to focus on a few consistent, well-chosen products to help keep skin hydrated, comfortable, and healthy-looking without making the routine overly complicated. The goal is to support the skin as it changes, not to chase perfection or reverse aging. It’s ok to want to look your best while balancing the privilege that comes with aging.
For more posts on mature skincare, here are some blog posts to read:
Skincare Products For Mature Skin
Skin Cycling Routine
Nighttime Skincare Routine
Skin Care Routine For Women Over 40
A skincare routine in your 40’s can focus on a variety of things based on your needs but some common guidelines that can help you get started are to focus on hydration, supporting the skin barrier, addressing uneven skin tone, and protecting against sun damage. There are a few essential steps for both your morning and evening routine that are key to creating an effective skincare routine. In the morning it’s important to cleanse, hydrate and protect. In the evening, the focus is a bit more reparative with key steps focused on cleansing, hydrating, treating and repairing. Adding on steps to these essentials is a personal preference that you can make based on your lifestyle and skincare goals but it’s good to have a road map of where to start. Staying consistent and choosing products suited to your skin type matter more than using a large number of products.
How Does Skin Change With Age?
There are certain ways that the skin changes as we age. These changes can vary from person to person and age alone does not determine which products you may need.
Dryness
My skin type was mostly oily and combination through much of my entire life until I reached my mid 40’s. I noticed a distinct shift in my skin type which became much drier. This is extremely common because our oil production begins to decrease, our skin barrier can breakdown and there is often a hormonal shift.
Changes in Skin Texture
As we age, our cellular turnover decreases which can cause a multitude of issues for the skin – a main one being a change in skin texture.
Dark Spots
Dark spots are one of the toughest things to treat as we age. Sun damage can take decades to appear so while you may have not spent any time in the sun for many years, you could see spots pop up that were from sun exposure years in your youth. Occasionally dark spots can be caused by genetics or other factors but often it is a build up of sun exposure over a lifetime.
Fine Lines
While the other issues mentioned can be a concern, noticing the development of fine lines and wrinkles tends to be the biggest issue people want to target with their skincare. Expression lines around the eyes, mouth and forehead usually pop up first since our faces are constantly moving.
What Is The Best Skin Care For Women Over 40
When building a skin care routine for yourself, either morning or evening, it’s important to use those essential steps as a guideline. For the morning, ensure you are cleansing (even if it’s just with warm water), moisturizing and protecting. In the evening, the skin goes into a natural repair and regeneration process while you sleep so your evening routine will be a bit different. This is why active ingredients are often better suited for nighttime use. An effective nighttime routine can help improve skin tone, fine lines, and signs of aging over time. You can still use active ingredients in your morning skincare routine but for anything stronger and targeted for specific concerns, it’s best to use those products in the evening. The essential steps in your evening routine should be centered around cleansing, hydrating, treating and moisturizing.
Cleansing
In the morning, cleansing can either be with a cleanser or with warm water. Some skin types may not require cleansing in the morning so do whatever feels best for your skin. I personally like to use a gentle hydrating gel cleanser in the morning though when my skin is feeling extra dry, I will skip this step and just use some warm water to cleanse my face.
Some cleansers that I personally love for the daytime: Experiment Beauty Plasma Wash (discount code: MAREE15), Dieux Baptism Gel Cleanser and the OneSkin Prep Facial Cleanser (discount code: MAREE15)
In the evening, cleansing is an essential step to ensure you are removing any makeup, sunscreen, dirt and sweat from the skin. The best products to use for this step are cleansing balms or cleansing oils. Once you have removed all your makeup, etc, go in with a second cleanser that works for your skin type. If you are finding that your skin is getting drier, a hydrating gel or milk cleanser is what you should be using.
Here are the cleansers I recommend to remove your makeup: Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm (discount code: MAREE15), Elemis Cleansing Balm (discount code: MAREE20), Remedy Skin Derm Dissolve Cleansing Balm and the Fresh Soy Jelly Cleansing Balm.
Here are a few options for a second cleanse based on formulations that I use and love (many are similar to my daytime recommendations): Experiment Beauty Plasma Wash (discount code: MAREE15), Dieux Baptism Gel Cleanser, OneSkin Prep Facial Cleanser (discount code: MAREE15) and Farmacy Juicy Gel Cleanser.
Hydrating
Hydration is key for mature skin because we lose moisture in our skin as we age. Our natural oils decrease which results in skin that is drier and sometimes more dull and lackluster. You can add hydration back into the skin in a variety of ways. A great option is to use facial mists throughout your skincare routine. You can spritz before or after each step to add a boost of hydration.
Another great trick for helping increase your skin’s hydration is by using hydrating toners or essences after you cleanse. Use one or layer a few (often called “skin flooding”) to help infuse the skin with moisture and increase the absorption of the serums and moisturizers you will use after. Finally, seeking out serums that are dedicated to helping add hydration or hold onto moisture are essential to use to help combat dryness. You can choose one of these options or all depending on how dry or dehydrated your skin feels.
Here are a few facial mists that I love and use regularly: Cocokind Calming Magnesium Mist, Biodance Collagen Peptide Serum Mist and Rhode Glazing Mist.
For recommendations on hydrating toners and essences to add to your routine, here are some that I love and use: TirTir Milk Skin Toner, Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Hydrating Tonic (discount code: Maree) and Sarah Creal Moisture Source.
There are a few serums that I swear by for helping with dehydrated skin: Experiment Beauty Super Saturated Serum (discount code: MAREE15) and Remedy Moisture Advanced Hydrating Serum.
Targeted Treatments
Using targeted treatments and specific active ingredients in your skin care routine are necessary due to the changes our skin goes through. Three key ingredients to add to your routine are retinol to help speed up cellular turnover, peptides which help firm and plump and then an exfoliant to help remove dead skin cells. Retinol is best to start with once a week using it an night and work your way up to daily. You can add a peptide serum into your routine daily either morning or night depending on what you prefer.
Exfoliation is dependent on how much your skin can tolerate but always err on the side of caution at first. Try using an exfoliating pad two nights a week (skipping retinol on those nights just to ensure there is no reaction) and then maybe an exfoliating peel once a month. That is currently my personal routine which has worked well for me.
Here are some retinol treatments that I use and recommend:
Mother Science Retinol Synergist (discount code: MAREESYE), Medik8 Crystal Retinal and Dieux Firm Revival HydroRetinal Serum.
Here are some peptide serums that I use and recommend:
Educated Mess Freeze Frame (discount code: MAREE15), Medik8 Liquid Peptides, INNBEAUTY Project Elastic Cream and OneSkin OS-01 Face Supplement (discount code: MAREE15).
Here are some of my most used exfoliating treatments:
Summer Fridays Gentle Reset Daily Exfoliating Pads and U Beauty Resurfacing Flash Peel (discount code: MAREE20).
Moisturizing
Both your morning and evening skin care routines need to include a moisturizer. Something that helps nourish the skin but in a formulation or texture that works best for your skin type. Your moisturizer should be the second to last step of your morning skincare routine since your sunscreen should be the final product you apply before makeup. In the evening, your moisturizer can be your final step. If you skin type tends to lean more oily or combination, it’s important to still use a moisturizer but look for one with a lightweight texture. For dry skin types, choose a moisturizer with a richer texture to help combat the dryness.
I have a handful of moisturizers that I regularly repurchase and recommend for those over 40 with dry skin: Dieux Instant Angel, Experiment Beauty Molecular Mesh (discount code: MAREE15) and INNBEAUTY Project Extreme Cream.
For those with oily or combination skin types, here are a few moisturizers that I recommend: Cocokind Electrolyte Water Cream, Dieux Air Angel and Tatcha Dewy Milk Moisturizer.
Daily Sun Protection
Using sunscreen every day is essential for any age but crucial for those over 40. Especially if you are using products to help treat other concerns, you need to ensure your skin is protected because the sun can reverse all your efforts rather quickly. Also, it’s worth noting that having SPF in your foundation or skin tint is not usually enough so it’s better to be on the safe side and apply a base sunscreen before your complexion products.
Here are my most used and recommended sunscreens that I love for those over 40: Tatcha The Milky Sunscreen SPF 50, Versed Good Defense SPF 50 and Anua Zero Cast SPF 50.
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