Ugh, I just returned from a traumatic visit to Urban Outfitters.
It was my first genuine I-feel-old experience. Forget stuff not fitting
right or being too revealing. You know you're a geriatric customer when
90 percent of the clothes look confusing to you. I tried to
play it cool, but my mind was racing through panicked questions: "Baggy
pleather with an elasticized ankle—wait, really?", and "What's that
sheer mesh panel doing there?" and "Where's the bottom half of this
shirt?" Plus, all the flannel got me thinking how it's weird that I've
been around long enough for a fashion era I participated in (grunge) to
be "back." Meanwhile, I was only even in the store to return a mini
backpack I bought for my toddler daughter, and I felt all the
13-year-olds in line with me (school had just let out) totally knew it.
ANYWAY—all this got me thinking about how at home my former twentysomething self once felt at Urban (I would have been all over the half shirts, so I'm thankful they did not exist), but also about how much wiser I am now about certain things. If I could give my younger self just one life-changing lecture, it would be about skin care. Here are the three things I'd started doing for my skin a decade ago.
1. Apply a prescription retinoid before bed. Or at least a great OTC product with retinol in it. The world of skin care can be overwhelming and confusing, but what we know for sure is that retinoids are the most scientifically proven-effective anti-aging ingredients to date. I dabbled in Retin-A in my 20s but always gave up because of the initial irritation. Now I realize that I can just apply it every other night and still see noticeable improvement in the evenness and smoothness of my skin.
2. Pile on the sunscreen like I meant it. This too I dabbled in. I told myself that the SPF 15 sunscreen in my moisturizer was adequate protection, even when I was out in full sun. And I often was lax while on vacation, pretending to forget to apply sunscreen and let myself get a little old-fashioned "glow." The last time I ever did this was at age 29 during a trip to Martha's Vineyard; I noticed that instead of getting my usual nice even bronze, my face got darker and frecklier in patchy zones. It looked awful and was the most visible sign I'd ever seen of how time and the sun were changing my face/looks. Needless to say, this scared me straight and I not only triple-layer my sunscreen at the beach but also wear a hat and bring an umbrella!
3. Add the serum step. In my 20s, I felt like I was already going above and beyond for (occasionally) bothering to apply eye cream in addition to moisturizer. But these days, I can't imagine putting on moisturizer or night cream without first applying a serum packed with antioxidant goodies. Such a missed opportunity that would be! Right now I'm using Skinceuticals Retexturizing Activator, but I try lots of different formulas (I figuring mixing it up increases the odds of giving my skin plenty of good stuff).
Oh, and of course I always use eye cream now. I used to buy them but then start to slack and skip this step. That was before I tried a really great formula. Now that I have, there is no going back. I can't believe what a visible difference my Murad Instant Radiance Eye Cream makes within like 5 minutes of application. My little lines instantly soften and look hardly noticeable. When I run out of this stuff, I panic. I can't believe I went so many years thinking my regular face cream was doing the trick in the eye area.
I can only imagine how much better my skin would look if I'd been doing my current skin care routine for an additional decade or so!
What do you wish you could travel back in time and tell your younger self about skin care? (And if you're way too young to answer this question, shush, my cranky old self doesn't want to hear about it.)
ANYWAY—all this got me thinking about how at home my former twentysomething self once felt at Urban (I would have been all over the half shirts, so I'm thankful they did not exist), but also about how much wiser I am now about certain things. If I could give my younger self just one life-changing lecture, it would be about skin care. Here are the three things I'd started doing for my skin a decade ago.
1. Apply a prescription retinoid before bed. Or at least a great OTC product with retinol in it. The world of skin care can be overwhelming and confusing, but what we know for sure is that retinoids are the most scientifically proven-effective anti-aging ingredients to date. I dabbled in Retin-A in my 20s but always gave up because of the initial irritation. Now I realize that I can just apply it every other night and still see noticeable improvement in the evenness and smoothness of my skin.
2. Pile on the sunscreen like I meant it. This too I dabbled in. I told myself that the SPF 15 sunscreen in my moisturizer was adequate protection, even when I was out in full sun. And I often was lax while on vacation, pretending to forget to apply sunscreen and let myself get a little old-fashioned "glow." The last time I ever did this was at age 29 during a trip to Martha's Vineyard; I noticed that instead of getting my usual nice even bronze, my face got darker and frecklier in patchy zones. It looked awful and was the most visible sign I'd ever seen of how time and the sun were changing my face/looks. Needless to say, this scared me straight and I not only triple-layer my sunscreen at the beach but also wear a hat and bring an umbrella!
3. Add the serum step. In my 20s, I felt like I was already going above and beyond for (occasionally) bothering to apply eye cream in addition to moisturizer. But these days, I can't imagine putting on moisturizer or night cream without first applying a serum packed with antioxidant goodies. Such a missed opportunity that would be! Right now I'm using Skinceuticals Retexturizing Activator, but I try lots of different formulas (I figuring mixing it up increases the odds of giving my skin plenty of good stuff).
Oh, and of course I always use eye cream now. I used to buy them but then start to slack and skip this step. That was before I tried a really great formula. Now that I have, there is no going back. I can't believe what a visible difference my Murad Instant Radiance Eye Cream makes within like 5 minutes of application. My little lines instantly soften and look hardly noticeable. When I run out of this stuff, I panic. I can't believe I went so many years thinking my regular face cream was doing the trick in the eye area.
I can only imagine how much better my skin would look if I'd been doing my current skin care routine for an additional decade or so!
What do you wish you could travel back in time and tell your younger self about skin care? (And if you're way too young to answer this question, shush, my cranky old self doesn't want to hear about it.)
source:www.glamour.com
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