Your skin changes across a lifetime, therefore what’s best for beautifying in your 20s is different to your 30s and beyond.
We split the decades of our lives up into blocks of life stages, which also applies generally to our skin. Young skin is flexible, plump, strong and supple, so it doesn’t require anti-wrinkle treatments, with more pressing concerns being skin clarity and antiageing preventative measures.
It’s now fairly standard for people in their 20s to start their antiageing preventatives (anti-wrinkle injections and other procedures). There are important timing factors to consider to make the most of the elements in which your skin is already overachieving and provide support as needed.
Skipping the collagen boosters in favour of clarifying
Why bother stimulating collagen and elastin when your skin is already making this in abundance? Instead, focus on keeping skin clear, fresh and making the changes you’d like to see in structure, for example, evening out a bumpy nose or uneven chin or jaw.
Collagen boosting is often required as you move into your 30’s and 40’s, certainly not in your 20’s. The most important thing at this age is to look after your skin – cleansing, clarifying and using factor 50 sunscreen every day. These things are the keys to good skin health for the future.
Focus on the basics you can control
While everyone’s biology is unique, certain lifestyle elements can impact the skin, sometimes significantly. For example, one major factor we might not consider in our 20s is access to funds for basic things like healthy food and a good moisturiser.
Instead, our 20s tend to be a time for low-budget fun and prioritising spending on enjoyment and essentials, making do with what you have in other areas of life.
When it comes to health in our 20s, we might hyperfocus on certain areas, such as our weight. As a result, we may fail to recognise clues our body is giving us about what’s happening inside until it affects how we look outside.
After living with family then moving out into a sharehouse, many people will develop niggling health concerns, including skin problems, that are simply a result of not eating properly, partying and stress.
The first signs of not taking proper care of ourselves could be breakouts, dull skin, bags under our eyes and the development of dryness, blotches, redness, and other minor skin irritations. Enter stage left, scouring the internet for home remedies and fighting skin spot fires, when the problem all along was coming from the inside, not the outside.
Thus, the first step to keeping your skin healthy in your 20s is putting some effort into understanding how to eat well and get all your nutrients, even on a tight budget. If you’re not getting your nutrients, your skin will show it. There are plenty of apps to help you work out where you’re getting plenty of nutrients and where you’re missing out. Use them to your advantage.
If you have underlying health conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) or metabolic disorders, taking care of your diet becomes even more important.
Spending money in all the right places
Choosing where to put your funds, which may not yet be in great abundance, can be a tricky process. Cosmetic treatments do not come cheap, so working out how to get the most bang for your buck is a worthwhile time spent.
One of the best ways to set yourself up is to have a skin consultation and discuss your health history, your expectations and your budget. They can advise which treatment strategies might best serve you for the coming year or so. If, for example, you have an underlying health condition that is thwarting your skin efforts, you can get the medical help that you need for management, often with some rebate from Medicare.
A proper skin treatment plan will help you focus on the elements that will make the most difference and avoid wasting time and money on treatments that are simply not appropriate for your body or skin.
Set yourself up with a solid skincare routine for your 20s
Use good-quality products on your skin, and you’ll reap the rewards by having healthier skin. Have great skin habits, for example, cleanse and moisturise morning and night, don’t wear make-up to bed, change your pillowcase regularly, and see a doctor for any skin problems when they first appear, rather than waiting until they get worse.
Investing in facial structure
If you are looking to augment certain features of your face, such as the nose, eyelids, jawline, cheeks or chin, your 20s is a great time to dive in and see how you like it. Dermal filler treatments are temporary and last several months (e.g. lips) to 18 months (e.g. nose). Some other treatments result in permanent changes, such as double chin liposuction or eyelid surgery.
Treatments include:
- Non-surgical nose job (rhinoplasty) using dermal filler
- Lip filler to enhance thin or uneven lips
- Jawline enhancement filler
- Cheek filler
- Chin injections to modify contours or reduce muscle contractions and dimples (‘witchy chin’)
- Double chin liposuction
Dermatologist-recommended skincare treatments for your 20s
- China Doll carbon facial – clarifying treatment with a little smokey excitement
- Skin needling for acne scars – great skin refresher, fantastic for acne scars (with several treatments)
- Chemical peels – skin refresher, remove topmost dry skin cells
- Laser facials – clear off dry skin cells, clarify the complexion
Skincare for your 20s in Melbourne
If you’re feeling confused about the most useful treatments for you, we’ve mapped out five of our favourite beginner treatments.
Feel free to book in with one of our expert practitioners at ENRICH Clinic in Melbourne to talk over your skin concerns. We will develop a personalised recommendation and treatment plan to keep your skin looking great into the future.
ENRICH Clinic
