With so many advancements in skincare and skin treatments, there's a multitude of ways we can look to preserve the health of our skin and prevent premature skin ageing.

However, true skin health requires a holistic approach that takes into consideration all of the changes and damage that can impact the appearance of our skin, including our lifestyle choices.

Lines, wrinkles, texture and tone changes are all part of the natural skin ageing process. But smooth, glowing skin is achievable at any age!

story highlights

the fundamentals of healthy skin

It's easy to overlook skincare basics and focus on the hard-hitting treatments, such as injectables. But this approach is only treating one aspect of how our skin looks, neglecting the skin itself. Our skin may be line free, but dark spots, redness and dryness can still be present. It's only worth investing in these types of servies if you're also investing in the scaffolding and quality of your skin.

What we do every day has a huge impact on the long-term appearancce of our skin. Daily skincare essentials, such as cleansing, moisturising and applying sunscreen daily, help keep skin clear, smooth and healthy.

In fact, sunscreen is your number one defence against accelerated skin ageing. Wearing it every day and following correct application advice is one of the best things you can do to keep your skin looking its best.

Using a daytime moisturiser with added SPF makes it easy to ensure that you don't miss this critical step. Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF50 is a hydrating, 2-in-1 moisturiser and sunscreen that also contains firming actives and protective antioxidants. Alternatively, if you experience uneven skin tone, PowerBright Moisturiser SPF50 is another 2-in-1 option that hydrates, protects and helps fade dark spots.

how the skin changes as we age

Like with most things, ageing leads to slowing down. For our skin, there are some key processes that slow down that result in changes in the skin's firmness, texture, strength and colouring. This includes a slowing down of cell turnover, collagen production, lipid production, plus an imbalance in pigment production.

Our skin is pre-programmed for these changes to take place over time. We can use products and have treatments that can help directly address these changes, lessening their visible impact.

But did you know that up to 50% of visible signs of skin ageing can also come, not from genetics, but from our environment? Factors such as climate, UV exposure, pollution, sleep, diet, and stress can all accelerate skin ageing too. So, it's equally important to safeguard against the age accelerating triggers in our environment.

We always knew that our environment and lifestyle choices generate more lines and wrinkles, but what we now know is that our exposome - everything in your life other than genetics - plays a part in how our genes are expressed, and therefore, how our skin ages.

Phyto Nature formulas combat the negative effects of our environment and lifestyle by addressing the damage that leads to premature skin ageing. These innovative, firming and lifting formulas utilise rare and premium actives to reawaken the nature of younger-looking skin, reduce visible signs of skin ageing, and defend against future damage.

our top lifestyle tips for long-term healthy skin:

• Get enough sleep (7-8 hours per night).
• Drink more water. Yes, the 8 glasses a day recommendation is imperative!
• Minimise overprocessed food, which can lead to dull skin
• Use SPF daily - even when it's cloudy. Sunscreen use is key in protecting skin from environmental pollution and harmful UV rays, which can lead to hyperpigmentation, dark spots, fine lines and wrinkles.

exfoliation for glowing skin

As we age, our skin can lose its glow because the natural cell-turnover process slows down. This can cause dull, dead skin cells to cling to our skin's surface for longer. By removing dry, dull debris and revealing the softer, smoother skin underneath, exfoliation helps bring our inner glow back to the surface.

Exfoliation can also help to remove age accelerating pollution from the skin, plus encourage sun induced dark spots to be lifted from the skin.

What's more, exfoliating also helps targeted treatments and moisturisers better penetrate the skin; reduces breakout-causing congestion; helps smooth rough, callused areas; and helps prevent ingrown hairs.

Liquid Peelfoliant is a powerful chemical (Hydroxy Acid based) exfoliant that dramatically evens skin tone and reduces the appearance of wrinkles and pores. On the other hand, MultiVitamin Thermafoliant is a warming physical and chemical exfoliant that's ideal for rough, dull skin. For sensitive skin's Daily Milkfoliant provides a gentle buffing whilst reducing redness.

Professional chemical peels provide advanced exfoliation, treating more layers of the skin. Many of the peels on the market today promote results with minimal downtime, so you don't need to book a week off work to hide and recover! PRO Power Peel is a custom peel that can treat the appearance of lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and breakouts.

rebooting collagen production

Collagen is a cruicial protein that provides structure and elasticity, playing a key role in maintaining skin firmness and elasticity. Think of it as the skin's scaffolding. As we age, collagen production naturally decreases, leading to wrinkles and "sagging" of the skin. From the age of 30, we begin to lose 1% of collagen a year. Look out for Peptides in your skincare. These specialised ingredients have the ability to communicate with cells deep in your skin that are responsible for producing collagen and essentially, give them a power boost, so that they make more of it!

Alongside natural collagen degredation, which accounts for approximately 505 of our skins ageing, we face relentless "collagen thieves". These culprits are activated through sun exposure, smoking, pollution, stress, even our diet, and all accelerate the breakdown of collagen, emphasising the importance of solutions beyond collagen creams. Protective skincare measures such as SPF and antioxidant-rich formulas, alongside a mindful lifestyle are critical for maintaining healthy collagen.

Pro-Collagen Banking Serum is a powerful serum that promotes, protects and preserves skin's collagen today - so you have more for tomorrow. It's designed to plump the skin and preserve skin's collagen, helping to defend against some of the key "collagen thieves", that degrate this essential protein. Packed with a potent blend of cutting-edge Peptides and Amino Acids, this serum promotes, protects and preserves skin's collagen, supporting visibly plumper, more luminous, and hydrated skin.

Microneedling (or skin needling and collagen induction therapy) is another way to incorporate collagen stimulation into your skincare tool kit. This is a minimally invasive, results-driven treatment that utilises the skin's natural wound healing process, to improve skin firmness and texture. Ultra-fine needles create tiny punctures in the skin, to create a controlled injury at a specific depth. These channels trigger the body's natural wound healing process. This activates the production of collagen and elastin, to help rebuild the skin's structure, giving long-lasting results. It's a great alternative to injectables or can be used alongside them for a superior approach to managing lines and wrinkles. To speak to a qualified Dermalogica Skin Therapist about Microneedling, visit our Store Locator..

replenishing dry skin

You may have noticed that as you've gotten older, your skin feels drier. this is due to reduced oil (or lipid) production as we age. It can sometimes leave the skin feeling rough, irritated and itchy.

The good news is that it's pretty straightforward to combat this loss of oil. For example, you can change up your cleanser to something creamier, such as Intensive Moisture Cleanser. This light, creamy formula both cleanses skin and restores lost lipids that defend against dryness.

Using a richer moisturiser is another way to address skin dryness. Super Rich Repair is a heavy-weight moisturiser that helps to replenish the skin's natural moisture levels overnight, whilst improving skin resilience and tone. For an extra nourishing dose, use a restorative masque in your routine such as MultiVitamin Power Recovery Masque. It's laded with high concentrations of Vitamins A, C and E, and Linoleic Acid, which strengthen and restore dry, dull and stressed skin.

balancing skin tone

Something else you may have noticed, is that over time, your skin tone has changed and may even be patchy or have concentrated areas of dark spots (hyperpigmentation). There are several reasons as to why this happens.

Firstly, the cells that make pigment, or skin colour, start to retire from the age of 30 - this results in a wishy-washy, uneven skin tone.

The other, and significant factor, is environmental, damage, particularly extensive UV and pollution exposure catching up with us. These environmental triggers cause the cells that produce pigment to go into overdrive to protect the skin. The result is dark spots, or hyperpigmentation.

Uneven skin tone can have a significant effect on the perceived health of our skin. In fact, one study showed that an unbalanced skin tone can make a person look more than 12 years older!

PowerBright is a collection of formulas that focuses on clinically proven, brightening ingredients that fade dark spots around the clock. Unlike traditional solutions that use harsh chemicals that can damage the skin and worsen dark spots, PowerBright delivers results without compromise.

Vitamin C is also an excellent ingredient for helping balance skin tone and dullness, find an ultra-stable Vitamin C in our BioLumin-C Collection.

The moral of the story is that skin is a multifaceted, ever-changing organ that requires a holistic approach to promote long-term health. By understanding how the skin functions, how it changes and how our lifestyle can cause damage, we can make the best skincare, treatment and lifestyle choices, to keep our skin in its best shape at every age!

For personalised advice on your skin,chat live with one of our Professional Skin Therapists.