Skincare Over 40: Why Your Routine Matters More Than Ever
Let’s get one thing straight, aging is not the problem… neglect is.
After 40, your skin isn’t being “difficult” , it’s just asking for different support. Hormones shift, collagen slows down, and cell turnover hits the brakes. That glow you used to get from splashing water on your face? She’s gone, she’s.
Skincare over 40 isn’t about chasing youth. It’s about protecting what you have, correcting what’s changing, and treating your skin with the respect it deserves. And that’s why a real routine matters. Not 12 random products. Not whatever TikTok is screaming about this week. Instead think: smart, intentional routine where every step has a job.
Let’s talk about the why behind the most important players.
CLEANSER
Your Reset Button
If your skin is over 40, harsh cleansers are not your friend. Stripping your skin just tells it to produce more oil and more inflammation.
Why it matters:
Cleansing removes makeup, SPF, pollution, and bacteria so your treatment products can actually work. Think of it as prepping the canvas. Gentle. Hydrating. No squeaky-clean nonsense.
VITAMIN C
Your Brightening Bodyguard
Vitamin C is not optional after 40, it’s essential.
Why it matters:
It’s your daytime defense system. If you want that “rested” look without actually resting? Vitamin C does the heavy lifting.
Brightens dull skin
Helps fade dark spots/ hyperpigmentation
Boosts collagen production
Protects against environmental damage (everyday LIFE !)
SERUM
Your Problem Solver
Serums are where real treatment happens. They’re more concentrated and penetrate deeper than creams.
Why serums matter:
This is where you customize your routine. Your serum should match your skin’s needs, not your best friend’s.
They target specific concerns like:
Fine lines
Dark spots
Loss of firmness
Dehydration
HYALURONIC ACID
Your Skin’s Drink of Water
Hyaluronic acid doesn’t exfoliate. It doesn’t resurface. It hydrates deeply and plumps the skin from within.
Why it matters after 40:
As we age, our skin holds less moisture. That’s when lines look deeper and skin looks tired.
Hyaluronic Acid:
Plumps the skin
Softens fine lines
Makes everything else work better
Hydrated skin = younger-looking skin. Period.
RETINOL
The Gold Standard
This one has a reputation, and she earned it. It’s not about peeling your face off. It’s about training your skin to act younger. Slow and steady wins here. Retinol is a long game, and it pays off. There are different options for sensitive skin here. Work your way into a more concentrated formula as time goes on.
Why retinol is so important:
Speeds up cell turnover
Softens wrinkles
Improves texture
Helps with acne and pigmentation
MOISTURIZER
The Shell
If serums are the treatment, moisturizer is the lock.
Why moisturizer matters:
Without it, your active ingredients evaporate instead of performing.
Moisturizer is what makes your routine feel like self-care instead of chemistry class.
Prevents moisture loss
Strengthens the skin barrier
Keeps skin comfortable and balanced
EYE SERUM
The Specialist
The skin around your eyes is 4 times thinner then the rest of your face which causes it to be drier and leads to showing aging first.
Why eye serum exists:
Targets fine lines
Helps with puffiness
Supports delicate skin
Think of it as precision skincare. It’s not extra — it’s strategic.
EYE CREAM
The Protector
Eye serum treats.
Eye cream protects.
Why you need both:
Eye cream seals in hydration and shields that fragile area from makeup, dryness, and creasing.
If your concealer settles into lines, this step is your new best friend.
The Real Reason You Need a Routine, Especially After 40
Skincare over 40 is about consistency, not perfection. You’re not trying to erase your life.
You’re maintaining your skin the way you maintain your hair, your body, and your style.
A routine:
· Keeps skin healthier
· Slows visible aging
· Improves texture and tone
· Makes makeup look better
· Builds confidence bare-faced
Your skin is changing because you are changing, that’s not a flaw, that’s a season. The goal isn’t to look 25, the goal is to look like the best version of the age you are right now. Healthy. Glowing. Taken care of. That starts with doing your skincare, not out of fear of aging, but out of respect for yourself. Because grown women don’t skip skincare. We curate it.
And confidence? That’s the best anti-aging product there is.
The First Step... Clean your Skin
My night time routine is such an important part of my day and cleansing is the first step. Today I share my newest cleanser obsession, Face Bath by Skin Edit 360.
Why cleanse? Cleansing is necessary in keeping your skin healthy. Cleansing helps penetrate anti-aging and hydrating products into your skin, leaving it looking more radiant and helps treatments work properly.
About Face Bath- Aloe base in a foamy cleanser won’t strip your skin dry. Mangosteen is an antioxidant rich superfood. Yogurt helps keep the skin surface protected & balanced. Smells like a dream. Left my skin clean but soft.
Face Bath by Skin Edit 360 is sold exclusively at Cali Skin Spa. Owner, Kami, has a beautifully curated selection of skincare products to help any skin condition. Support her business by clicking the link below and shop from her business.
Sunscreen- UVA and UVA
Let’s really try to understand why we need to protect our skin from those nasty rays. Sunscreen helps protect the skin from the sun's ultraviolet radiation (UV). SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is a measure of how well a sunscreen will protect the skin from UVB rays. Ok, lets break this down a little… If you don’t wear sunscreen and it takes 20 minutes for your skin to start turning red, then if you were to use an SPF 15 sunscreen, then you should prevent burning 15 times longer, that is 5 hours of not burning.
SPF 15 blocks 93 % of UVB rays.
SPF 30 blocks 97 % of UVB rays.
SPF 50 blocks 98 % of UVB rays.
What are UV rays and why do we need protection from it?
There are two types of ultraviolet radiation (UV Rays) that cause damage to the skin, prematurely aging and increase the risk of cancer, UVA and UVB.
UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply and are associated with lines, wrinkles, leathering, sun spots, sagging and other scary effects of aging. UVA rays are responsible for the signs of aging because they are longer wave lengths. UVA rays are able to penetrate as deep as the basal layer of the dermis, affecting the keratinocytes, contributing to and maybe even initiating the development of skin cancers. UVA rays are always around us, no matter the season or the weather, including the rainy Seattle weather I live in.
UVB rays are responsible for causing most skin cancers and those nasty sunburns. UVB rays are shorter in wave length and are not always the same strength year round. They are stronger in the summer months and why we feel like we get burned more during those months! But that doesn't mean we don’t protect all year long.
If sunscreens only protect against UVB, how do we protect against UVA?
That’s were Broad Spectrum Sunscreen comes in, this is our UVA and UVB protection. The United States does not require sunscreens to offer any UVA protection, so if you worry about keeping your skin looking young, then Broad Spectrum would be your best bet.
Ok, so, what have we learned? We NEED to protect our skin all year long to keep it looking young and safe from skin cancer. This is pretty much a DUHH, why wouldn’t I want to look young and beautiful longer?!
Here are some other VERY important tips to follow:
Everyone over 6 months should wear sun protection.
Always put your children in the shade. That is they best protection against harmful rays.
Apply the suggested amount onto your skin. That means 1 full ounce for a body application. If you don’t, then it will NOT effectively protect your skin. This is NOT the time to skimp!
Your work windows generally filter our UVB rays, so while you sit there in your office, those pesky UVA rays are causing harm.
Just because your foundation has SPF, doesn’t mean that you are protected during the entire day. Generally, foundation with SPF wears off within 2 hours. So, REAPPLY!
Speaking of reapplication, each bottle notes the minutes that it will protect your skin. Apply at least 30 minutes before exposing skin to the elements. That gives it the needed time to soak into you skin.
I know this is a lot of information to take in and I also know this is just the tip of the sun protection iceberg, but this little bit of information will help you understand the importance to protecting our beautiful skin. We only have one face, so lets really take care of it as best as we can.
Now, I want to know, what is your favorite sun protector? Leave a comment and share with other readers!
Sunscreen- PA System
By Shelby Vermillion
Protection Grade of UVA rays:
Asian brands of sunscreen, especially Japanese sunscreen brands use the Protection Grade of UVA (PA) system to measure the sun protection factor (SPF) of a sunscreen. This Japanese measurement ranking which is now widely used, is based on the Persistent Pigment Darkening (PPD) reaction reading at 2-4 hours of sun exposure. Protective grade of sunscreen is often leveled as PA+, PA++, PA+++ with the more plus sign the more protection from UVA rays.
According to the Japanese Cosmetic Industry Association UVA protection factor for each grading of PA are listed below:
• PA+ means the sunscreen can provide UVA protection with factor of Persistent Pigment Darkening (PPD) between two to four. It can provide the protection of medium UV radiation.
• Sunscreen labeled with PA++ can provide moderate protection against UVA rays with a factor of PPD between four and eight. It is ideal for normal skin individual exposed to medium UV radiation.
• PA+++ is designed for normal skin that expose to very strong UV radiation. It provides good UVA protection with a factor of PPD of more than 8. It is the highest grade of UVA protection currently available.
Some European and American companies are starting to adapt the PA system, but if they don't you at least must get BROAD SPECTRUM sunscreen which protects from both UVA and UVB rays. If it doesn't say broad spectrum it is only protecting against burning rays, not the aging rays which cause wrinkles and sagging.
Companies and cities are really starting to embrace sunscreen. Places like Boston and Miami have free sunscreen dispensers at the beach. You can can get a "spray" SPF session where it goes on just like a spray tan. People are going more tech, downloading apps to remind them to reapply at the beach or wearing electronic bracelets to remind them. Drinkable sunscreen may even be on the horizon!
Don't forget:
•Pale is in, more women are seeing no tan as beautiful.
•Sunscreen use is particularly low among men. Remind the men in your life how important it is to wear sunscreen! Also remember to apply to the neck and chest, not just the face!
•Each year in the United States nearly 5 million people are diagnosed with skin cancer. Don't be a statistic!
Finding The Right Cleanser
by Shelby Vermillion
Oh so many to choose from! But how do you decide? With many people it comes down to texture. Some prefer foam, whereas others prefer a lotion or oil. What if you could find the best cleanser for your skin type though? And maybe even get one with a texture that you love.
As a basic rule of thumb, acne-prone or oily skin types are better suited for foam or gel cleansers. Try to look for ones that aren’t going to be too stripping or full of sulfates, which are harsh detergents. Yes, we want to keep the oil at bay, but if we dry out the skin too much there will be even more problems to come.
I have oily skin (which I have come to love) but sensitive skin as well. Anything too strong or active and my skin starts to turn red and becomes irritated. Other people with oily skin types have discussed this frustration with me as well. One of the things I have found that works the best is to have more than one cleanser. Yes more than one! How fun is that? You can use one in the morning and then a different one at night. I typically do a gel in the AM to keep me less oily throughout the day and then use a cleansing lotion at night because they really do a good job at removing all the dirt, grime and make up from the day. Plus, I get to give my skin a break from the active gel cleanser. This seems to have really striked a balance with my skin, and I love it. On days where I feel more oily, I’ll use the gel twice a day and if I’m dry or irritated, I will skip the gel cleanser and use the lotion both morning and night. Every day you can customize your regimen to suit your skin’s needs.
If you wear a lot of make up or have very dry skin, you can use an oil cleanser or a cream cleanser, which is thicker than a lotion cleanser. Some cleansers even have conditioning properties to soothe dry or irritated skin, while others have exfoliants to encourage cell turnover on a regular basis. I promise once you find the right one, you’ll see a world of difference in your skin!
Mimi says... Sometimes the best way to find the perfect fit to to just try lots of different ones! If you are in need of a new cleanser, let me know! I will send you a personalized care package filled with different textures.
Layering Your Skincare: A Cheat Sheet
With all of the skincare products that we use on a daily basis, here is a quick tool to remind you of how to layer your products:
Hope this cheat sheet helps! You might not use every product listed, but this is still how you layer them. The general rule is: liquidiest (is that a word?) to heaviest in texture.
Ok, go forth and keep your skin young!
Girls Guide to Good Skin
Our skin sometimes does as it pleases. I just hate when I wake up and look in the mirror and see little red things or tiny lines living on my face. There are times when you can't help it, but there are also steps we can take to keep our skin clean, hydrated and looking young. Here are some of our favorite tips:
Shelby Says
- Wash your make up brushes weekly.
- If you use towellets to wash the face, splash with water afterwards to remove any residue.
- Wash your face every night, 365 days a year, 5 pm is better than never.
- Change hand towels every 2-3 days and pillow cases once a week. It’s amazing what can collect on those things. Plus, think about who else uses your hand towels!
- Use a clean wash clothes every time for the face (if you do). Old soap, skin and make up make quite the bacteria cocktail!
- Frequently wash head bands/hats or anything else where those germies can hide.
- Lastly, don’t touch your face and disinfect your phone every day. Do I even have to go into how dirty those things get?
It takes a lot of work being clean, but clean girls have good skin.
Mimi Says
- Get at least 8 hours of sleep (I get about 10 hours)
.- No smoking. It's just gross and really bad for your skin.
- Smile! Stress and unhappiness cause wrinkles (11's) and break outs. So, don't worry (it's not worth a wrinkle), be happy!
- Never sleep with makeup on. Even if you come home at 3 am after a night of fun...
- Don't ever, ever, ever, pick anything on your face. It causes scars and could get infected. No matter how tempting it is, just don't.
- Drink lots and lots of water. When you have drank enough, drink three more cups! Water hydrates the skin from the inside AND flushes out toxins.
Yes, I know there are days where we just can't do it all. Remember we only get one face, so we have to take care of it as best we can. We want to know what are some of your favorite rules to good skin?
Serums: What's the point?
By Shelby Vermillion
Serums are powerful, targeted treatments for your skin. I always start a consultation by asking people what their main priority or focus is when it comes to their face. Most times, this is where a serum can really help. For instance, if someone is concerned with redness or large pores, there is a serum for that. If someone is concerned with sagging or fine lines, there is a serum specifically targeted for those concerns. You’ll get faster results from your skincare when including a serum in your regimen.
Another way of putting it is that I describe serums as vitamins. You take your vitamins on a daily basis to give you complete nutrition. They’re not your food that you have to have for survival, but they are that extra boost you give yourself for your most optimal state. This is how a serum works with the rest of your skin care. It is your vitamin that you are taking, to give you that complete care and peak the results of your skincare.
Disclaimer: people ask me all the time if they can just skip their moisturizer since serums are the most concentrated and active. The answer is yes and no... but mostly no. There are some exceptions out there that can provide enough moisture for the skin and it also depends on the skin type. In general though, serums go down to the deeper layers where most concerns start. This is a good thing, but usually not enough of a lipid barrier for all of your skin. Your moisturizer on the other hand is going to be more near the surface layers, sealing in all of the moisture and making a protective seal.
(When someone comes to me and they don’t really have any skin care, I always start with the basics, which includes a cleanser and moisturizer. Then I prioritize the serum as it will work as effectively unless you have your foundational pieces already in place).
Back to serums: all in all serums are an excellent way to jumpstart your skin and get fast results. Don't know which serum will work best for your skin and skin routine, leave a comment and we will help you find the perfect fit!