5 Reasons To Get Serious With Skin Care In Your 20s

Twenties is the age of independence, new experiences, and stressful jobs. And usually, this is the age where time flies like a breeze and you’re caught up in a whirlwind of all kinds of things– wherein, in the current of it all, we tend to lose sight of things that could help us in the long run. One of which is an obvious factor that we need more paying attention to, and you’ll thank this article once you’ve realized the gravity of its importance: skin care.

Hence, get that mentality of ‘good genes equals good skin’ out of your head, and read these five reasons why you need to pay serious attention to your skin at your 20s:

5 Reasons to get serious about Skin Care in your 20s:

1. Investing now means rewards tomorrow. Bill Gates once said that “the first five years have so much to do with how the next 80 turnout.” For skin maintenance, this quote should be a mantra. If you start paying attention now, you are saving yourself from possible issues in the future. In fact, another saying goes, “prevention is better than cure,” which means if you are well-aware of how your skin works, what it needs, and what factors affect it (like environmental effects), then you’re keeping yourself in check from any future dermatological complications. At the age of 20, we begin to engage in a more stressful lifestyle. Our careers eat up much of our time– affecting our diet and sleep. And according to Refinery29: lack of sleep causes adrenal glands to produce too much cortisol, which in turn makes sebaceous glands produce more oil. And too much oil on the skin can cause clogging on pores resulting to acne breakouts. We don’t want that now, do we?

2. Hormones begin settling down. At the age of 22-25, Refinery29 also says that all those hormonal shifts from the puberty stage will begin to level out– eventually decreasing breakouts. But because each individual is different, our body chemicals will vary. Some get breakouts on their 20s instead of their teen years– and that’s perfectly normal. Although it should be noted that while hormonal fluctuations will be less drastic compared to teen years, women will still be victims of fluctuations caused by their menstrual periods. As women reach their 20s, menstrual cycles and arousal patterns are ironed out, says Popxo. But despite this, the dipping of progesterone and estrogen levels before periods, and increase of testosterone will still be causing pimple outbreaks. Medical director of Advanced Aesthetics and Integrative Medical Center in Oregon Dr. Naina Sachdev tells Gulf News: “Declining hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone can result in loss of collagen and skin elasticity, cause a thinning of the skin, making it more prone to dehydration.” The solution: correct moisturizing for your skin type– in other words, an effective skin care routine.

3. Wrinkles: your next enemy. Being in your 20s, your skin may look its optimum youthfulness. You’re in the stage of maturing but in a glowing fashion. While it’s far from appearing on your skin just yet, wrinkles and smile lines are going to come out sooner or later. The main cause of this dilemma? Sun exposure. Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi, a Board Certified Dermatologist and Co-director of a Dermatologic Laser Surgery Institute in Washington, tells Bustle: “The sun you get from daily activities in our 20s will affect the skin for years to come.” Skin cancer is actually starting to become more common nowadays– with the trend of tanning, coupled with poor nutritional habits, etcetera etcetera. It’s all a matter of overexposure under the sun and poor UV protection. This can all be avoided by proper skin care maintenance of course. Many beauty blogs will tell you that SPF is a capital essential– and it’s best to get one with SPF 30+ and with broad UV spectrum.

4. Collagen and aging. According to Dr. Spiegl’s website, Collagen and elastin will become disconnected once aging takes place. These two are responsible for that youthful look. It’s a natural process– which means there’s no stopping it. But there are measures that you can take in order to avoid extreme effects of its disconnecting. Things like a healthy lifestyle and stopping smoking contribute significantly to prevent further damage to collagen. Plus, there are helpful skin care routines that could help out in slowing down premature aging.

5. You should look good. Man or woman, everyone has the privilege to look their primest. But it takes awareness and that one push to start making a difference. With a skin care that is suitable for your skin type, you can enhance the texture of your skin. Practices like exfoliation and toning can actually scrub away dead skin cells and deep-cleanses your pores. All in all, skin care is a must at this point in your life. It’s a sign of adulting, maturing, and that you care genuinely for your skin. Don’t forget that it’s the largest organ in your body– and that it’s an external organ. Looking healthy and feeling healthy contributes not only to your physical aspects but to your overall wellbeing. You’ll feel more confident in yourself– and you’ll love yourself more. And when you do, you’re encouraged to take care of yourself better.