The key to looking younger for longer is actually surprisingly simple: a focused skincare regimen. Forget indiscriminately smoothing on serum and hoping for the best – if you target the areas that age the most rapidly, your face will thank you for it.
“The eyes, then the lips, are the two areas we tend to see signs of premature ageing first,” says Emma Hobson, education manager for the International Dermal Institute and Dermalogica. The lips are particularly prone: “Not only is the skin around the lips super-fine (about four layers compared to 16 on the rest of the face), they lack the same protective outer layer,” Hobson notes. Read on for how best to protect the facial zones most at risk of ageing.
Zone 1: Lips
As we age, the already-fragile skin around our lips becomes even thinner – plus our pouts lose volume. “The lips lack natural oils and the protective pigment (melanin) found in our skin, hence sun damage is the number one cause of lip ageing,” says Hobson. UV rays also accelerate collagen breakdown in the skin.
The second problem comes from within: “Saliva has a tendency to cause constant dehydration as the moisture evaporates, which also dries out the natural oils from the skin around the lips,” explains Hobson.
How to stop it:
“To restore the lips, it helps to think of them as a sponge,” says Hobson. “When exposed to moisture, they increase in volume; when dehydrated, they decrease in volume.” Ensure yours are consistently pumped up by applying a protective lp treatment with SPF before you leave the house each morning, combined with a targeted lip treatment product at night.
“A nightly lip treatment can help maximise lip moisture at night, when our cells are in regeneration mode,” says Hobson. “This is when skin cell renewal, a critical aspect of the skin repair process, speeds up and the body’s natural cell regeneration rate nearly doubles.” Try the new Dermalogica Nightly Lip Treatment for fuller lips by morning – no painful fillers required.
Zone 2: Eyes
It’s tempting to think of eye cream as essential only for women in a slightly more advanced stage of life, but if you’re in your 20s, the time to start is now. Prevention truly is better than the cure, particularly when it comes to your delicate eye contour.
“The skin around your eyes is so fine and delicate, with less natural support,” says Hobson. “This makes the eyes more vulnerable to the environment, especially UV damage which causes premature ageing.”
How to stop it:
Introduce an eye cream into your daily beauty routine and you won’t look back. If you’re in your 20s or have sensitive skin, seek out a lightweight cream or gel to do the job; from then on, you can afford heavier formulations to lock in moisture. Look for a product you can use day and night – as an added bonus, you’ll find your under-eye concealer virtually glides on.
Zone 3: Forehead
Your forehead is the next area of the face to go – and sadly, it’s one of the more obvious. While “experience lines” and frown lines are a part of life – all that eyebrow raising has consequences – you can always soften their effect with a dedicated skincare regimen.
How to stop it:
Used twice daily – morning and night – a hydrating serum will boost your forehead’s moisture levels. Look to formulas with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, of which one gram can hold six litres of water (yes, really), to smooth skin and plump up fine lines. Next, seal in your serum’s active ingredients by applying a moisturiser on top.
Hobson also recommends facial massage to ward off premature ageing. “By increasing local blood flow and reducing facial stress held in the muscles, facial massage helps to improve muscle and skin tone, restore and rejuvenate the skin,” she explains. It’s use isn’t limited to the forehead – a gentle touch around the eyes and lips will have the exact same effect (we love the built-in massage applicator on the Dermalogica Nightly Lip Treatment for this purpose).
