The Grooming Manual
When Should You Start Using Anti-Aging Products?
Men have been searching for ways to stop - or reverse - the aging process for centuries. As long as there have been people, there have been people who never want to get older.
And yet, here we are, still aging and still searching for a Fountain of Youth. Does that mean you should give up?
No!
Yes, aging is a natural part of life and impossible to stop completely. But with a results-driven anti-aging skincare routine, you can keep your skin looking young and smooth for many years to come.
What if you're still a young man and don't have many - or any - wrinkles… yet? Is it too soon to worry about your skin?
Or maybe you're well into middle age and have fine lines creeping across your face. Is it too late for you?
Really, the question here is this:
When should you start using anti-aging products?
The answer can be a bit nuanced, depending on the current state of your skin, your skincare and anti-aging goals, and how you want to approach the whole matter.
Here's how to decide when you should start using anti-aging products and how to craft an anti-aging skincare routine that best fits your needs.
What Are the Benefits of Anti-Aging Products?
Anti-aging products are skincare products specifically designed to treat the common visible signs of aging. These include:
- Wrinkles
- Fine lines
- Sagging skin
- Under-eye bags and puffiness
- Crow's feet
- Age spots
- Uneven skin tone
Anti-aging products are made with ingredients that address the underlying causes of these issues. For example, many products aim to boost collagen and elastin production. These two proteins are the basic building blocks of your skin. As you age, you progressively produce less of both and thus your skin becomes less firm, more wrinkled, and saggier.
Another common cause of visible aging is long term UV exposure. The sun's intense rays damage your skin and eventually lead to discoloration - what we call age spots. Anti-aging products with vitamin C, MSM, and similar ingredients work to diminish the appearance of age spots and restore a consistent skin tone.
Identify Your Anti-Aging Goals
Before you determine when to start using anti-aging products, first identify your personal anti-aging goals. Some of these may include:
- Smoothing skin texture
- Diminishing the appearance of wrinkles
- Evening skin tone
- Minimizing age spots
- Preventing fine lines from forming
Since every man has unique skin and life experience, you don't age exactly like anyone else. Your skin's appearance is a combination of genetics and physical reactions to your lived experiences, so your needs and goals related to anti-aging must be specific to you.
Prevention vs. Correction
Most guys have anti-aging goals that can fit into two categories: prevention and correction.
Prevention
Preventative anti-aging means using anti-aging products before you have notable wrinkles, fine lines, and age spots. The goal is to nourish and strengthen your skin so that wrinkles are less likely to form and take longer to become visible.
Correction
Corrective anti-aging is done in reaction to already present wrinkles, crow's feet, and sagging. In this case, you will be using anti-aging products after signs of aging are already present with the goal of diminishing their appearance. You may not be able to erase these features of your skin completely, but with a good skincare routine you can significantly reduce their severity.
When to Start Anti-Aging Skincare
Now is always the best time to start an anti-aging skincare routine. The earlier you start, the longer you will delay the appearance of visible signs of aging.
Your skin starts producing reduced levels of collagen and elastin starting in your mid to late 20's. This is also the time that hyaluronic acid levels in your skin begin to drop. As soon as age 30, you're already in the danger zone for wrinkle formation.
Risk Factors for Early Aging
Just because you turned 30 doesn't mean that you will suddenly be covered in deep, canyon-like wrinkles all across your face. The process of aging looks different for each man and has a lot to do with genetics and your lifestyle choices.
If you have any of these risk factors for early aging, you should start an anti-aging skincare routine as soon as possible - and if you can, adjust your lifestyle to slow the aging process.
- Smoking
- Unprotected sun exposure
- Alcohol consumption
- Not enough sleep
- Chronic stress
- Sedentary lifestyle
- High sugar diet
Daily Skincare vs. Anti-Aging
Your daily skincare routine may not be the same as your anti-aging skincare regimen. It all depends on your needs and goals.
Daily Skincare
A simple daily skincare routine can include as little or as much as you want. We recommend that guys start with the most basic combination - face wash and face moisturizer. An example of a simple daily skincare routine is:
Clarifying Gel Face Wash - Use face wash each morning and each evening to eliminate dirt, bacteria, and other debris without causing dryness or irritation.
Daily Essential Face Moisturizer - Follow up with moisturizer immediately after washing your face each morning and evening. This locks in moisture, prevents dryness, and strengthens your skin's natural barrier.
Anti-Aging
An anti-aging skincare routine complements and enhances your basic skincare regimen. Instead of swapping skincare for anti-aging, find ways to combine both of these important efforts to achieve ideal results. An example of a mixed skincare and anti-aging morning routine is:
Purifying Charcoal Face Wash - Start by using this gentle face wash that leverages non-lathering ingredients to cleanse your skin without causing irritation.
Reviving Day Serum - After washing and drying your face, apply a few drops of serum. This concentrated, fast acting product delivers essential moisture and nourishment to your skin cells to reduce wrinkles.
Resurfacing Anti-Aging Cream - Finish up your morning routine by applying anti-aging cream. Make sure you're cleansed your skin and applied serum before using it. This powerful anti-aging product locks in moisture, promotes collagen production, and corrects age spots.
Benefits of Starting Early with Anti-Aging Products
If you're still young or haven't noticed many wrinkles yet, you may feel that there's no reason to start an anti-aging routine now. But there are actually many benefits to getting started with an anti-aging skincare routine before wrinkles have taken hold and deepened.
Firmer Skin
Underlying issues that aren't immediately apparent contribute to skin wrinkling. Just because your skin looks alright from the outside doesn't mean that it's in top shape. Using anti-aging products early will help keep the underlying skin tissue from weakening and thus becoming wrinkled.
Fewer Wrinkles
Whether you have wrinkles now or not, starting to use anti-aging products will reduce the overall number and appearance of your wrinkles - both now and in the future. Skin that has been treated right will resist the aging process for longer, resulting in youthful skin that lasts many years to come.
Youthful Appearance
Bright, smooth, firm skin is directly associated with youth. And whether it's fair or not, there's no denying the confidence, competitive edge, and societal advantage that come with having great skin well into middle age.
Sun Protection
When your anti-aging skincare routine includes an SPF product - and it should - you get the additional benefit of reduced UV damage. This is important since UV exposure is a leading cause of skin cancer.
Add sun protection to your daily skincare routine with our Daily Defense Face Moisturizer with SPF 20. Swap it for your morning moisturizer on days that you will be spending time outdoors and in the sun. Its natural, zinc oxide SPF formula won't harm your skin or raise long term health concerns. Plus, it nourishes your skin with green tea extract and vitamin E.
Start with These Anti-Aging Products
Once you understand the benefits of anti-aging products and know what your skincare goals are, you're ready to build your own anti-aging routine. Here are some of the essential products we recommend you start with and how to use them.
Anti-Aging Cream
Anti-aging cream is a thicker, more nourishing product than a typical moisturizer. Its advanced ingredients promote collagen production, muscle contraction, and smooth skin texture.
Our Resurfacing Anti-Aging Cream is designed for daytime use. Its key ingredients of vitamin C, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), and borage oil offer maximum moisture, balanced skin tone, smoothness, and reduced signs of UV damage.
For nighttime use, we recommend our Revitalizing Anti-Aging Cream. It helps tighten and firm the skin for reduced sagging and wrinkles with DMAE (dimethylethanolamine), MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), and hyaluronic acid.
How to Apply Anti-Aging Cream on Face
For the best results, use anti-aging cream after cleansing your skin and applying any serums. Don't drown your skin in anti-aging cream - you only need to apply enough to lightly coat your skin. Allow it to absorb completely before applying other products.
Anti-Aging Eye Cream
Dark circles, under-eye bags, and puffiness all are massive contributors to making you look older. Because the skin under and around the eyes is especially thin and sensitive, this is also one of the areas where you're likely to see your earliest wrinkles.
Combat that by using our Restoring Eye Cream. It's made with protein peptides, hyaluronic acid, and caffeine to hydrate, reduce wrinkles, and promote circulation.
How to Apply Anti-Aging Eye Cream
You only need about a pea-size amount of eye cream spread around each eye. Lightly tap the cream onto the skin under and around your eyes. Do not apply it to your eyelids.
Use your eye cream after cleansing, using serum, and putting on anti-aging cream. Allow it to dry completely before continuing with your skincare routine.
How to Expand Your Anti-Aging Skincare Routine
Once you've started with anti-aging products, you'll have an idea of how they work with your skin. You may want to expand your regimen to better address your concerns and get improved results. If so, these products can help.
Keep in mind that you don't have to use them all, especially if you're new to anti-aging or don't have many visible signs of aging yet. Instead, incorporate one or two of these products into your existing anti-aging routine. Take note of the results, then adjust as needed.
Anti-Aging Serum
Serums are advanced, highly concentrated anti-aging products that penetrate deep into your skin and absorb fast. Instead of sitting on top of your skin and coating it - like creams and lotions do - serums target the deeper layers of your skin tissue.
For daytime use, we recommend our Reviving Day Serum. It's designed to increase collagen production for fewer visible wrinkles. To achieve this, its advanced formula contains protein peptides, concentrated aloe vera, and hyaluronic acid.
To promote overnight skin rejuvenation, use our Repairing Night Serum. Add this to your routine to fight inflammation, repair damaged skin cells, and improve skin elasticity. Its key ingredients are plant stem cells, vitamin C, and MSM (methylsulfonylmethane).
For enhanced anti-aging results around the eyes, use our Restoring Eye Serum Treatment. Its focus is on reducing wrinkling and sagging around and beneath the eyes thanks to its star ingredients: hyaluronic acid, protein peptides, and vitamin C.
How to Apply Anti-Aging Serum
Apply your anti-aging serum immediately after washing your face. You only need a few drops to coat your skin. Serums absorb quickly, so be aware of where you've used it and be sure to cover your entire face. Allow it to absorb and dry completely before containing your skincare routine.
Anti-Aging Boosters
Boosters offer you the unique opportunity to customize not just your anti-aging routine but the actual products you use as well. They are raw serums of one particular ingredient. Apply a drop or two together with your other anti-aging products to create a personalized, one-of-a-kind formula just for you.
We offer three different anti-aging boosters:
- Protein Peptides Booster - restores collagen production and skin firmness
- Hyaluronic Acid Booster - maximizes skin moisture and reduces wrinkles
- Vitamin C Booster - targets age spots and corrects skin tone irregularities
How to Apply Anti-Aging Boosters
To use an anti-aging booster, combine 1-2 drops of the booster to your other anti-aging products. Then, mix the two together and apply as you normally would.
Here's how to use a booster with your anti-aging cream:
- Put about a quarter-size amount of anti-aging cream in your hand.
- Add a couple drops of booster to it.
- Mix them together.
- Apply as you normally would your anti-aging cream.
Another option is to mix the booster directly into your container of anti-aging cream. Either way works to get you enhanced, personalized results.
What Is the Future of Anti-Aging Skincare?
The future of anti-aging skincare is promising since researchers continue to find new ingredients and methods for slowing the aging process. While they haven't quite located the mythical Fountain of Youth, they have come a long way in understanding how wrinkles are formed and what can slow them down.
Whether you're looking to prevent future wrinkles or anxious to reverse the signs of aging you already live with, an anti-aging skincare routine will help. Now is the best time to start your anti-aging routine! The sooner you do, the sooner you will enjoy the skin-smoothing results it has to offer.
