5 Steps to Build the Best Anti Aging Skin Care Routine

What is "anti aging" anyway? Just this phrase alone is a set up to fail if you ask me. Since no one seems to be asking 56 year olds these days, I decided to answer this question anyway— with the pragmatic honesty you have come to expect from me.

Skin ages. From the moment we are born, we are aging. In addition to the reality of time, there are multiple factors for why our skin ages.

Why does our skin age in the first place?

Here are a few culprits:

Sun is definitely one of the main factors.
Smoking. (yes marijuana counts as smoking too:)
Dehydration. (too much sugar, soda, coffee, alcohol and not enough water)
Not washing our faces before bed.
Using too many harsh ingredients on our skin, too many lotions and potions and not enough understanding that they can wreak havoc when overused.
Not moisturizing properly.
Eating crap.
AND GENETICS- (Irish, Scottish, English skin is usually more prone to premature aging skin versus Mediterranean, Hispanic, Black skin).

Teens and Twenties

If you are in your teens or twenties, you have a lot more time to work on preventive premature aging by developing a great routine and avoiding some of the items in the list.

Wash your face every night with a good cleanser, use a good moisturizer and a sunscreen every day. Keep your skin super hydrated with products containing hyaluronic acid and you are on the way to doing your skin some great skin care.

Thirties and Forties

In your thirties and forties, you should be seeing the results of your good routine, but don’t panic if you have never had one. It is never too late to start a solid routine. You may need to add a serum and a more advanced moisturizer to your solid routine to get as much bang as you can out of your skin care.

Fifties and Sixties and Beyond

As you head towards your fifties and sixties, these five steps will play a major role in giving your skin the luminosity and brightness it needs so it doesn’t look like it is aging skin. But your skin is aging, so what we are trying to do is give your skin as much help as it can so it doesn’t look like it is aging. Perhaps we should call it FAKE OUT aging.

5 strong steps to build the best routine so your skin doesn’t look like it is aging.

1. WASH YOUR FACE EVERY SINGLE NIGHT

Or when you get home from your day, 100% of the time. This makes the biggest difference in your skin. Get off all the dirt from the day so everything you put on your skin after doesn’t have to work so hard to plow through the dirt you didn’t wash off. Use a good cleanser for this.

2. EXFOLIATE A FEW TIMES A WEEK

I highly recommend Hydrabright Pro 5 Liquid Exfoliant. This prepares the skin for the serum and dissolves dead skin. It also stimulates cell turnover so your skin looks more luminous and brighter- the two best words to describe healthy looking skin.

3. HYDRATE WITH A GOOD TONER

Toners can tighten and hydrate and prepare the skin for the next very important step. Phyto-active Toning Mist by Glo Skin Beauty or Activating Water Essence by Jurlique.

Related: What Does a Skin Toner Do?

4. APPLY A SERUM

Not all serums are created equal, but the best all around serum for most skins these days is Bio-Renew EGF Drops. The formula restores cell growth to bring back that healthy glow.

5. CHOOSE THE BEST MOISTURIZER

AM: Use a moisturizer with an SPF. Dynamic Skin Recovery 50 is an all in one moisturizer by old school Dermalogica. Or use Oil Free 40 by Glo if you don’t want something heavy.

PM: Use something with some extra moisture to give your sleeping skin something to dream about. Phyto Active Conditioning Oil Drops or Restorative Cream will get the job done. If you don’t like the weight, try Phyto Active Light.

If you want to make it easy on yourself, just purchase an easy starter kit and before you know it you will be on your way to the best skin possible whatever age you are at.

Not sure which kit you need? Take this quiz to choose the right anti-aging kit for you.