The Best Skin-Care Routines for Your 30s, 40s, and 50s

Expect a lot of changes to your skin in your forties. “In our forties, collagen and elastin breakdown accelerates, leading to noticeable skin laxity; hyperpigmentation or uneven tone often becomes more prominent due to accumulated sun exposure; and hormonal changes of perimenopause cause drier skin and a duller complexion,” Corbett says.

Even the structure of your face starts changing in your forties as fat pads decline and facial bones are reabsorbed. “With less sturdy structural support, our skin appears to sag and tends to hang in the jowls, brows, and nasolabial folds (creases in your skin extending from both sides of your nose to the corners of your mouth, also called smile lines or laugh lines),” Corbett explains.

The best skin-care products if you’re in your forties include:

• Cleanser
• Sunscreen
• Retinol or peptide serums
• Vitamin C serum
• Alpha-hydroxy acid serums
• Dark-spot-reducing serums
• Thick, cream-based moisturizer

This is also the decade that many begin antiaging treatments and procedures such as dermal fillers to address structural changes, neurotoxins to address wrinkles, and microneedling, biostimulators, or radiofrequency treatments to stimulate collagen production, Corbett says.

Morning

Corbett recommends this daily skin-care routine for fortysomethings:

1. Cleanse Again, go for a gentle cleanser. “I recommend a simple drugstore cleanser without any active ingredients to give you a fresh palette for the rest of your routine,” Corbett says.
2. Apply a Vitamin C Serum “Antioxidants are essential to protect skin from environmental stressors throughout the day and boost the protective effects of sunscreen,” Corbett explains.
3. Moisturize The best moisturizer will be fragrance-free and contain glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides to lock in moisture and protect the skin barrier throughout the day, Corbett notes.
4. Slather on Sunscreen Try a tinted mineral sunscreen, which has physical sunscreens (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) along with iron oxides that protect skin from visible light, which can lead to pigmentation.

Night

Here’s what your ideal nighttime skin-care routine in your forties should look like.

1. Wash With an Oil-Based Cleanser “Oil-based cleansers are best at gently dissolving makeup and leftover sunscreen,” Corbett says. You can also separately use a makeup remover if needed. Go for fragrance-free because it’s gentler on the skin.
2. Apply Retinol or Peptides Retinol will regulate skin cell turnover to smooth out uneven skin tone and texture and stimulate production of collagen and elastin, Corbett says. If you’ve tried retinol and can’t tolerate it, try a peptide-containing serum instead. Peptides, which are anti-inflammatory amino acids, can address signs of aging, dullness and dryness, and discoloration.
3. Address Skin Tone Issues on Non-Retinol Nights Rather than overloading the skin with products each night, which can cause irritation and decrease product effectiveness, use non-retinol nights to apply a pigment-correcting serum or an alpha hydroxy acid to address skin tone, Corbett suggests. An alpha hydroxy acid like glycolic acid can brighten the skin and reduce pigmentation.
4. Moisturize With a Thick, Cream-Based Moisturizer You may have gotten away with a light moisturizer in your thirties, but you’ll want to adopt more of a moisturizing routine for aging skin during this decade. Go for a rich, hydrating texture in your forties to combat the dryness you may be experiencing, Corbett says. A cream has a higher oil content than lotion or gel, so it offers more hydration.