Skincare in your 20s
Your 20s are a time of YOLO experiences when you want to look your best for Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook and Insta. But the 20-something years are also a time when your skin throws you under the bus with breakouts, blackheads, dermatitis and other problems that don’t do a lot for your confidence.
So what’s the best plan for skincare, if you want to be at your photogenic-best all the time? There’s no miracle cure for unstable skin; the only solution is committing to a healthy lifestyle (for at least 80% of the time) and sticking with a rock-solid skincare routine that isn’t packed full of dodgy chemicals.
If you’re between 20 and 30, here are our golden rules for BBA (being beautiful always):
Double cleanse every night
Marnie B. Nussbaum, MD, a NYC-based dermatologist, says that hormone levels actually peak in your third decade, leading to a tendency to develop lower jawline acne. At the same time, cellular turnover is decreasing. What does that mean? It means you need to pay extra attention to cleansing, especially before bed.
In the evening your face needs more than a quick wash or a once-over with a cleansing wipe. It needs a double cleanse, a routine that’s highly revered by K-beauty and just about every skincare diva on the planet. Here’s how it goes:
- - Tie your hair back and massage an oil-based cleanser or some sweet almond oil all over your face. It will dissolve everything, including eye makeup. Remove with a soft washcloth and warm water.
- - Follow with another cleanse, this time with a natural foaming cleanser. This will remove any vestiges of the oil-based cleanser.
- - Always finish with toner and moisturiser.
If you consistently get cleansing right, you’ll avoid a lot of skin problems that are linked to a build-up of oil, makeup, perspiration and pollutants.
Single cleanse in the morning
While some say you don’t need to use cleanser in the morning, and that just plain water is enough, we recommend a light cleanse with a water-based cleanser. It’s probably been 10 hours or so since you did your double-cleanse, so you definitely need to wipe the slate clean before you start applying makeup.
Exfoliate and/or mask
Decide whether to exfoliate twice a week or exfoliate once and mask once. Either is acceptable. Anything more than this can lead to a wear-out factor, resulting in irritated, inflamed skin.
Get into the sunscreen habit
In your 20s you have the opportunity to get the world’s number one anti-ageing strategy tattooed on your brain. Sunscreen, every day. Daily exposure to UV is the primary reason skin ages, so if you get into the habit of daily screening now, you’ll be one good-looking chick at age 80.
Go natural with your skincare
With your whole life in front of you, now’s the time to lay some great foundations that will minimise signs of ageing in the years to come. One of those foundations is natural skincare. You don’t have to be a vegan hipster to believe in the benefits of a 100% natural regime; going natural is for everyone with skin (and that makes all of us, we’re thinking).
A core reason for switching to natural is avoiding problem ingredients. Skincare brands that are 100% natural, like Okana, avoid these questionable substances:
- - Parabens - methylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, isobutylparaben, ethylparaben, polyparaben and isobutylparaben. These are added to non-natural beauty and skincare products to prevent growth of bacteria and mould, i.e. extend shelf life. The problem with parabens is that they mimic oestrogen in the human body, which is linked to a multitude of health problems. [1]
- - Phthalates (fragrance) - DEP, BBzP, DBP and DEHP. These are added to skincare products to make them smell nice. They have no benefits whatsoever and are linked to asthma, obesity, ADHD, type 2 diabetes, reduced sperm count, breast cancer, reproductive malformation, infertility, low IQ, neurodevelopmental issues, behavioural issues, autism spectrum disorders, altered reproductive development and male fertility issues. [2]
- - Ethoxylated agents - polyethylene glycols (PEGs), ceteareths, oleth and sulfates. These are known to produce contaminants that are linked to breast cancer and other cancers.[3]
- - Petroleum products – mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin. These are often used in lip balms and face creams. The jury’s still out regarding the safety of these ingredients, so we think it’s best to steer away from them.
- - Triclosan – an antibacterial and antifungal chemical agent. In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled it was ‘likely to be doing more harm than good’.[4]
- - Oxybenzone, aka benzophenone-3, is a sunscreen ingredient that filters UVB and short-wave UVA. It’s found naturally in some flowering plants, but most of it is commercially produced from benzoyl chloride with 3-hydroxyanisole. Oxybenzone is on our radar because it’s the most common allergen found in sunscreens. [5]
Clean up your lifestyle
This is not a directive to become a saint. It’s really about doing the right thing by your body 80% of the time. Basically, the weekends are for fun; the week is for eating well and exercising. We’ve written a whole blog about cleaning living for naturally clear skin.
References
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/feb/10/phthalates-plastics-chemicals-research-analysis
[3] http://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/ethoxylated-ingredients/
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