How I got my best skin in my 50s with a simple routine
The name of the game for me with skincare in my 50s is to focus on natural skin hydration and health by following a simple but strategic routine.
To me this is the best route to your skin looking plumper, smoother and even toned for longer without major clinical intervention.
The biggest change I’ve made in the last year is I’ve stopped washing my face with anything that even resembles soap.
I’m doing this as part of a wider routine that’s designed to encourage the natural oil production of my skin and to support its microbiome.
Obviously too much oil can play havoc with our skin when we’re younger but as we age it can naturally become drier so we want to help it along as much as we can.
PM ROUTINE
At night I cleanse with a gentle, unfragranced and natural oil-based balm from a skincare start-up called Harborist and I use it to breakdown my make-up, rinse and then use a cloth to make sure all my make-up is removed.
Around two nights a week I use a retinoid. For years on and off I have used retinaldehyde – also known as retinal – which I find gentle, and the least drying of the retinoids I’ve tried, so that’s my go-to.
My mainstay is Geek & Gorgeous – it’s an uncomplicated unfragranced formula and fairly priced too but I do alternate just so I can try out new things and I’m happily using a retinal based formula from Niche Beauty at the moment called A-Retinoate which is also reasonably priced.
You’ll find a carousel with all featured products below for anyone interested in individual items.
I continue to use retinoids because of their action on fine lines and for keeping skin clear and even toned, but I use them sparingly because of their drying effect on skin.
Lastly at night I apply Renew Pure Radiance Oil from True Botanicals. I only use a few drops because it’s pricey at $110 for a 30ml bottle and a little goes a long way so I make it last several months.
It’s non-comedogenic so it doesn’t block pores and it’s packed full of natural plant-based omega fatty acids and antioxidants.
If I apply this at night I wake up with a nice shiny face : )
Then, instead of a skin patch, I use castor oil – that big trending ingredient of the moment – as a natural occlusive on drier areas like around my eyes to seal in the moisture. Vaseline would also do a similar job if you find castor oil irritating.
Growth factors
For three months at a time I cycle with Calecim’s Multiaction Cream. It’s been really good for balancing my skin and improving its health giving me calmer, less sensitized skin. It contains growth factors and that’s why I cycle it because some doctors have expressed safety concerns around their use in skincare and so I’m just being cautious.
AM ROUTINE
In the mornings I just rinse my skin in the shower. And here’s what I think a key test of skin health is.
By only rinsing my skin in the mornings – and having done that for a few months now – I find these days when I get out of the shower and my skin dries it doesn’t feel tight at all, whereas before my skin always felt really dry and I couldn’t wait to moisturize.
So if your skin feels tight after showering you might want to consider potentially cutting back on actives as I’ve done to give it a bit more slack and the chance to self hydrate and self nourish.
Beyond that in the mornings I just apply a fermented oil from Maysama which is hyper gentle, unfragranced and, again, packed with omega fatty acids and antioxidants.
The fact that the oil is fermented means it’s readily absorbed into the skin and so it hydrates but you can still apply make-up over it without it running. It’s reasonably priced at half the price of the True Botanicals oil and you could use this at night too.
Sun protection
For a sunscreen I mainly use Bluelene’s Sun Fix moisturizer.
It contains the physical sunscreen zinc oxide and the anti-aging ingredient methylene blue which has been found to slow cell aging and protect the skin from sun damage.
The official SPF is 21 but that’s because methylene blue is not recognized yet as a sunscreen by the FDA.
But I love this because it sits really nicely on my skin, provides a bit of added moisture, isn’t irritating and I think does a good job with sun protection.
And that’s pretty much it for skincare. I aim for a mix between averagely priced products with a couple of more expensive ones that I would call hero products.
Anti-aging devices and treatments
In terms of devices, I’m still using the ZIIP Halo microcurrent device to help with muscle toning and to boost bloodflow to the skin and therefore the skin cells.
I use it every other night, alternating with the Nira Pro laser which I use on my brow area, the edges of my upper eye lids, along the jaw and around the sides of my mouth.
I started using it on my face again after my recent interview with Nira founder David Bean in which I guizzed him with audience questions for an hour.
By the end of it I felt I fully understood how the device works. It’s simply targeting water and only water in the surface layers of our skin to stimulate collagen production, reaching less than a millimeter, so it’s not going deep at all.
But I use it every other day because David Bean told me that their own studies showed people who only used the Nira at 50% of the recommended daily frequency still got results – a little known fact!
I find it too drying to use daily so every other day works for me and I also intend to build in breaks. Results are supposed to continue for up to 3 months after 12 weeks of use.
Scaling back actives and devices while still getting the benefits
And you’ll see that throughout my routine I’m limiting frequency of use with stronger actives and technology to get the benefits while minimizing any downsides and allowing my skin to recover and do its own thing.
I do not believe we have to use actives and technology daily to get results and I think we can often over do it if we maintain those frequencies.
The frequency and concentrations we should use of both heat and actives also depend on our individual skin types. Some folks can tolerate high-strength retinoids on a daily basis, for instance, while others like me find that just too drying.
So it comes back to that post-shower skin test. Is your skin naturally hydrated after a shower? If it feels tight maybe something’s not right!
Red light
Red light is still a big deal for me. I use a panel from Maysama so I can cover face, neck and decolletage in one go and it also has a pulsed light option which gives you all the benefits but makes sure you don’t overdo it with prolonged exposure.
I use it for around 6 minutes four mornings a week and sit doing my facial exercises while I’m at it.
So if my panel is on constant light mode I’m generally moving position while I do my exercises and then I put it on pulsed for a couple of minutes, covering my goggles with my hands because I find the flickering really full on even with the goggles – and that is a definite downside of pulsed light.
Most experts would say if you have a red light mask at home that it’s fine to use it for up to 10 minutes without worrying too much about over exposure. Unfortunately, as with so many things in skincare we don’t know for sure what too much looks like so let your own skin guide you.
In terms of clinical procedures, I don’t do much – usually Botox between my brows roughly every 9/10 months, and I have booked in to do a course of three more microneedling facials using the Calecim exosomes serum which I reviewed a couple of months back.
And that brings me to the end of my skincare round-up. I wouldn’t describe it as minimalist, but it’s deliberately designed to avoid overkill.
For those looking to cut back on skincare spending too, check out my article on the low cost steps to boosting your skin health.