7 Skin Mistakes You’re Making In Your 20s

Most women agree that the youthful 20s are the best years of their lives. It’s a time when you have some direction in life, but it is also a fast-paced time where you’re working long hours aggressively building a career, as well as pulling many late nights and impossibly early mornings to fit in time with friends and family. You’re secure about how you look and wrinkles, age spots and sagging skin are the last thing on your mind. That’s something you’ve got to worry about a decade down the line, right?

Wrong. The ageing process starts in your 20s, and unless you don’t start caring for your skin right away you’re going to feel the long-term effects of that in your 40s. A good skin care regime will save you the agony of reversing all that damage later. Here are seven common skin mistakes we’re all guilty of committing and how you can stop.

 

 

Fine lines are the first signs of ageing, so it’s wise to invest time, money and thought in building a good skin care regime that will keep them at bay for as long as possible. The bare minimum would be a gentle cleansing foam, a light moisturising cream for the day, sunscreen, and a thicker, luxuriant moisturiser for the night.

 

 

The skin around your eyes in way thinner than facial skin, which is why fine lines around the eyes are usually the first to appear. Specialist eye creams hydrate, nourish and moisturise delicate skin, so get into the habit of a nightly eye care after you hit your 25th birthday.

 

 

I’m not going to waste time waxing eloquent about the benefits of daily sunscreen application. We all know how the sun’s rays can harm our skin and accelerate ageing, spots and even cause skin cancer. However, the sunscreen you slapped on hastily in the morning will not be as effective two hours later. Whether you are indoors or outdoors, you need to reapply sunscreen every three hours for it work efficiently.

 

 

Puberty comes with its own set of challenges, and it takes a while for your body to adjust and adapt to the changes — acne being one of them. Adult acne, on the other hand, is a by-product of stress and hormones and is a very different animal. It is usually cystic and goes deeper, and needs to be treated by an expert rather than over-the-counter topical agents.

 

 

One word: Scars. Good luck trying to get rid of those as you age. Also, picking at zits will only push the bacteria deeper or make it spread, leading to even more breakouts.

 

 

The fine imprint of facial oils and product on a phone screen are very off-putting. What’s more, mobile phones, keyboards and spectacles are all breeding grounds for bacteria. Sanitise these surfaces with an alcohol wipe regularly.

 

 

Using cleansers that foam excessively or exfoliating more than twice a week does more harm than good. You don’t want to scrub your skin raw by peeling off healthy layers and making it vulnerable to bacteria. Obsessive cleansing can lead to red, inflamed, acne-ridden skin. So be gentle, be wise.