Top 5 treatments you need in your 30s

Posted Tuesday July 9th, 2019

In ACNE, BEAUTY PROBLEMS, DOCTOR SAYS, FACE, PIGMENTATION, SCARS, SKIN, WRINKLES

I have to admit I loved being in my 30s. It was so much more fun than being in my 20s: my career was doing better so I was earning more which led to me doing more of what I loved and having the opportunity to finally embrace who I am and to stop nitpicking at my “flaws”. In a psychological sense, I was having the time of my life!

But physically, I also had to admit my body wasn’t what it used to be. It seemed I needed more sleep, hangovers were tougher and longer, and my skin, oh my skin! Lines, dryness, undereye circles, acne…. They all suddenly seemed to appear overnight. Was it a phase that comes with being 30+ or was it just happening to me?

I checked in with Dr Low Chai Ling, medical director of SW1 Clinic. Surely with almost 20 years of experience, she would be the best person to give me skin and skincare advise. True enough here’s what she had to say about my skin… and not just MY skin but skin for those in their 30s.

Skin may appear dull

You won’t notice it but skin cell turnover starts slowing down as early as when you’re in your 20s. When you are in your 30s, cell turnover takes about 28-35 days versus a younger you as a child, where turnover is in 14-day cycles. What this means that is that dead cells get accumulated on the surface of the skin for a longer period of time, which also inadvertently interferes with light reflection, giving a dull and lacklustre appearance.

What you can do: Get rid of these dead skin cells yourself, by exfoliating at least twice a week. Not only does it help skin look more radiant, it also helps other skincare products to be absorbed better and more deeply into the skin and working better for you!

Don’t be surprised if skin is dry

Many people may not know it but another side effect of slow skin cell turnover is that the top layer of skin has a more difficult time staying moisturised naturally. It doesn’t help too that as you get older, production of hyaluronic acid in your skin slows down, affecting the level of hydration in your skin.

What you can do: Restore your skin’s moisture with a good hydrating cream. We love Luminizing II Replenishing and Moisturizing Cream for its ability to hydrate skin without clogging pores. Skin is left fresh and dewy without being greasy.

Your face doesn’t look as full as it used to

Remember what we mentioned about slow cell turnover as we get older? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that also impacts on how fast your skin recovers from inflammation. Important proteins such as collagen and elastin that are responsible for a plump and firm skin, now breakdown faster and less is made. Don’t be surprised to see more wrinkles on your forehead and around your eyes, and even laugh lines are now more prominent. In addition to this, the loss of estrogen causes a decrease in volume and bone mass, which makes us look more sallow, and with a more uneven facial contour.

What you can do: Consider investing in a premium non-invasive skin rejuvenation and tightening procedure, known as Thermage, which uses radiofrequency waves to penetrate deep into the skin to stimulate your body’s natural renewal of collagen. You get to achieve skin tightening and improved facial contouring all at once.

Thermage is FDA approved and works well to treat facial wrinkles and is also the only system that is FDA-approved for non-invasive treatment of the eyelids.

Dark spots appear suddenly and don’t fade as fast as they used to

By now, you would have clocked up enough time under the sun and suddenly start to notice dark spots popping up on your face. You may also notice acne scars taking a longer time to heal and fade compared to before (yes, blame it on slow cell turnover again!). You may feel that your skin looks dull and not as clear as it once it.

What you can do: Lasers! Lasers are well loved for their ability to rejuvenate and restore skin health, giving skin an enviable glow. Choose from a myriad of skin programs at SW1 Clinic, each promising to restore your skin health depending on your concerns. A hot favourite has got to be the Porcelain Skin Program that helps to treat pigmentation using Pico Pigment Laser and LED Red therapy to erase signs of photo-damage and skin aging.

You get acne for the first time

Just when you thought your days of adolescent acne was well behind you, you notice zits coming up again. Adult acne is real. It happens because female hormones kick in at high gear during this period. Be it birth control pills, pregnancy or even stress of simply “adult-ing” can cause hormonal fluctuations.

What you can do: Unfortunately adult acne can be harder to treat as skin is more resilient by now compared to your younger days. The Purity Program comes highly recommended as a multi-pronged treatment that deep cleanses your skin to unclog pores while improving the appearance of acne scars, without further irritating your skin.