I’m guilty of a makeup mistake I make as I get older: I realized my skin was starting to look wrinkled
THE older you get, the more conscious you need to be about your adult makeup routine.
It may take some getting used to, but reducing the signs of aging is more than worth the skin-saving change.
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FACE IT
Amanda McIntosh, founder of Take My Face Off, knows it can be tough at first, but she’s confident the tweaks will put the anti-aging power more on your side.
“I see a lot of people who don’t change their makeup routine as their skin ages. I’m guilty of this too!” she told The US Sun.
She shared her tricks to turn back the hands of time and target problem areas for people 35 and older.
If you aren’t already using a moisturizer, you better start soon.
“Especially if you have oily skin, it helps your skin retain moisture — the watery moisture, not the oily moisture,” she said.
“Moisturizers and makeup last longer and look better if you start with a good toner because your skin’s hydration level stays consistent throughout the day,” she continues.
If you find that your makeup shifts throughout the day, it’s probably because your skin’s hydration levels are changing. The right product can help keep your makeup in place.
“Hydrating toners lock in moisture and help it stay in longer,” she says.
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McIntosh herself is a fan of Haruharu Wonder’s Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner.
She also doesn’t want you to get too comfortable with your concealer routine.
SKIN-SAVING SWITCH
It’s not always easy to take the necessary steps to fool Father Time, but she was willing to make the sacrifice that would save her skin.
“You should switch foundations and concealers as you get older. Move away from matte products, including powder,” she said.
“That was difficult for me because I have oily skin and some skin texture issues that I always try to hide,” she continued.
“But ultimately I realized it was better to show some texture than to have the matte products make my skin look more wrinkled and settle into the lines around my eyes.”
For an even more dramatic result, she recommends limiting the powder around the eyes.
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“Unless you’re a real baby, you get wrinkles on your skin when you laugh or talk,” she said.
While she doesn’t typically wear concealer, she applies it sparingly and uses only one type of brush when she does choose to do so.
The simple steps she needs to follow to do this are to apply some product to the back of her hand and use a soft concealer brush with loose bristles.
Then you can brush the areas you want to treat with “light strokes”.
There was a method to her makeup madness after all.
“This works because you apply less and it sits lightly on your skin. It’s less likely to settle into creases, where it will just make you look worse,” she said.
THE SUN IS SHINING, SPF IS IN THE BAG
Her number one rule for reversing the aging process is: never forget to wear sunscreen.
Even if you work indoors all day, don’t think you’re safe from the damaging effects of the sun.
While you probably already have a stash of SPF in your bag, she shared a lesser-known trick.
“What some people don’t know is don’t wait until you have age spots to take care of your neck and the backs of your hands,” she said.
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For added protection against aging, it’s important to cover the parts of your body that are exposed when you wear a V-neck, especially the back of your neck and the upper part of your chest.
“Moisturizer and sunscreen are essential. Retinol is also good if your skin can handle it,” she continued.
“Use at least as much moisturizer on your neck as you do on your face,” she added.
LESS IS MORE
McIntosh, who never leaves the house without her own sunscreen, also warns against overdoing it with the product.
“I know a lot of people who overuse vitamin C, exfoliating acids like AHAs, and retinol. They use multiple of these chemical irritants instead of just choosing one,” she said.
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“Home remedies should not make your skin red and inflamed. Overuse of these products accelerates the aging process and makes your skin too sensitive to the sun,” she continued.
If she had to choose just one of these products, she would go with retinol, as it has the most “clinical evidence” behind it.
“Find a concentration that doesn’t irritate your skin and use it consistently. And then double the amount of sunscreen,” she said.
McIntosh’s brand is known for its mitts, a soft and effective washcloth that is the ideal way to remove all the makeup she advises us to use as we age.
Mitty’s are built to last for years and come in a variety of sizes, colors and shapes.
It even fits on a hand or finger, just like a mitten, and cleanses the skin.
