Your skin is continuously changing, but after you hit your 50’s and 60’s, you may notice that your skin seems drier, thinner, and more crepey. It sags and loses suppleness. You may also develop age spots, and your skin may look blotchier, especially around the face and on your hands. While everyone’s skin ages as they get older, it ages faster in women after menopause. The skin’s delicate balance is disrupted by the decline of certain hormones, which is why the signs of aging are more visible in women around 60 years of age. The deterioration of two of the skin’s essential properties are also responsible for these signs of aging:
Loss of elasticity. Elastin fibers maintain the elasticity of the skin tissue. As you get older, though, these fibers weaken, causing the skin to become less supple.
Loss of firmness. The amount of collagen fibers in the skin decreases over time, which means sagging skin.
These transformations to your skin are inevitable. It’s not only age, but other factors such as pollution, diet, sun exposure, climate, stress, etc., may all play a part. With all these changes, the skin’s ability to hold onto moisture decreases. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t do something to improve how your skin looks.
Bathing: If you’re used to long immersions in hot water, say hello to wrinkles and fine lines. One thing you should do right away is to change the temperature of the water. Hot water strips the skin of its natural oils, which will increase skin dryness. Use lukewarm water, and don’t spend too much time in the water. You’ll help your skin and save water at the same time. Use a soft cloth to wash your skin instead of a bath brush. As soon as you get out of the water, pat yourself dry. Lightly. Leave some moisture residue on your body, and apply some moisturizer or baby oil right away. Apply a good quality moisturizer throughout the day to keep your skin moist and supple.
Bathe to relieve dry skin. Some simple changes to your bath time can reduce (or alleviate) dry, itchy skin and prevent dry, itchy from becoming a serious problem. Here’s what you can do:
- Wash with a gentle, fragrance-free, moisturizing bar soap, cleanser, or body wash. Doing so will help soothe rather than dry your skin. Moisturizing ingredients that can help reduce dryness include glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and lanolin.
- Use warm (not hot) water. Hot water strips skin of its natural oils, which can increase skin dryness.
- Use a soft cloth to wash your skin. A buff puff or bath brush can irritate your skin.
- Keep your bath or shower short. You may find that you don’t need to bathe every day. When you bathe, keep it short. Take a 5- to 10-minute bath or shower.
- Pat water gently from your skin after bathing, but leave a bit of water on your skin. Having some water on your skin when you apply moisturizer (next step) helps hydrate your skin.
- Apply a creamy, fragrance-free moisturizer formulated for dry skin within 3 minutes of bathing and throughout the day. Moisturizing helps ease the dryness and restore your skin’s protective barrier. When your skin feels very dry, dermatologists recommend using an ointment instead of a cream. An ointment does a better job of holding water in your skin than does a cream.
CLIMATE / HYDRATION: When you subject your skin to constant air conditioning and a heater, you run the risk of drying out your skin. Keep the humidity in your house between 45 to 65%. Use a hydrometer to measure the moisture. Help your skin by exfoliating. Around 60 years of age, it’s essential to exfoliate the skin gently to stimulate its capacity to regenerate itself. Exfoliating also helps to rid the skin of dead cells, so your complexion looks more radiant. The application of a face mask should always follow exfoliation. This will help deliver intensive, anti-aging hydration to help the skin’s density and keep your skin well balanced.
Use a humidifier when the air feels dry. Heating and air conditioning can strip humidity from the air. Dry air can make your skin feel dry and itchy.
Keeping indoor humidity between 45% and 60% can reduce dry, itchy skin. You can easily measure the humidity in the air with a hydrometer, which you can buy at a hardware or home-improvement store.
Wear gloves while doing housework and gardening. Working around your house and in your garden can expose your skin to harsh chemicals, sunlight, and other things that can irritate and dry your skin.
When you wear gloves, you also reduce your risk of injuring your skin.
Protect your skin from the sun. If you’re seeing more wrinkles, age spots, bruises, and blotches of discolored skin, you may wonder if you still need to protect your skin from the sun.
You do! At this stage in your life, sun protection still offers many benefits. It helps to prevent new age spots and blotchy skin. It can reduce dry, thinning skin. It also reduces your risk of developing skin cancer.
To protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays, dermatologists recommend that you:
- Seek shade when outdoors. Seek shade when appropriate, remembering that the sun’s rays are the strongest between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
- Wear clothing that protects your skin from the sun. Wear a lightweight and long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses with UV protection when possible. For more effective protection, select clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) number on the label.
- Apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. You want to apply this to all skin that clothing won’t cover while you’re outside.
Go fragrance free. Fragrance can irritate your skin. To help heal dry, itchy skin and prevent it from coming back, stop using perfumes, colognes, and skin care products that contain fragrance.
Products that are fragrance free say “fragrance free” on the package.
Examine your skin for signs of skin cancer. Around 50 years of age, your risk of developing skin cancer and pre-cancerous growths increases. As the years pass, this risk rises.
When skin cancer is found early and removed, that’s often the only treatment you’ll needed. If the cancer spreads, treatment becomes more difficult.
Learning how to examine your skin for signs of skin cancer can help you to find skin cancer early.
If you notice a spot that is different from others, or that changes, itches, or bleeds, you should make an appointment to see a board-certified dermatologist.
What are the skin’s needs after the age of 60?
A skincare product designed for mature skin, for age 60 and over, will address the following concerns:
• Hydrate and nourish – The skin needs to be deeply rehydrated with the right active ingredients in order to restore the hydrolipidic film, provide better protection against external aggressors, and prevent dryness.
• Stimulate natural collagen production, to firm tissues and act on sagging. This helps to plump the skin and improve elasticity.
• Stimulate the natural production of elastin fibers, to restore suppleness and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
• Even out pigmentation and improve skin microcirculation, to diminish white or dark spots and even out skin tone.
Mature skin : your after-60 beauty routine
Not-so-young skin can be fragile and extra sensitive, so it needs lots of pampering. We take a look at the ideal beauty routine to help keep your skin radiant, even when you’re 60!
Natural and organic skincare
The biological profile of natural cosmetic active ingredients (botanical oils, floral waters, trace elements, vitamins, etc.) gives them an excellent affinity with the skin. Organic skincare formulas are better absorbed by the skin and interact with it better, which makes them very effective.