When over 40, you can't go back to the skin you had in your twenties, but there is a lot you can do to head in that direction.
The biggest problem areas are typically the places that get the most exposure to the elements or the ones that have the most sensitive skin.
Big exposure areas are your hands, neck, and face.
The top sensitive areas that need a little extra care are your elbows, knees, and lips.
We can't stop the process of aging, but we sure can do a few things to look our best and truly age gracefully.
Try and work these extra tips into your daily routine.
Hands - I talk a lot about eyes and lips - but your hands give away your age more than you'd like to admit.
You can improve the look and feel of your hands by adding a few steps to your daily routine.
Protect when you can and moisturize.
Personally, I hate to wear gloves when I clean and wash dishes...
but my hands do pay the price for it.
Moisturize, especially after cleaning and at bed time.
For severe dryness, try wearing the beauty gloves while you sleep with a quality moisturizer.
If you struggle with age spots, wrinkles, or a loss of elasticity, try a hand treatment with Vitamin C which provides visible spot-reducing and firming benefits.
Face - Start with the basic routine for your face - wash, moisturize and protect.
Wash your face twice a day and follow with a light moisturizer for your skin type - this is especially important at night before you go to sleep.
Every time you go out, don't forget the sun protection.
Protecting your face from additional sun damage is your first line of defense against aging.
Elbows and knees - Elbows and knees can dry easily, feeling rough and even chaffing and hurting.
And no one likes rough flaky elbows - it's just not sexy.
Microdermabrasion and a strong moisturizing balm that doesn't rub off easily can make a big improvement.
If you treat your elbows and knees just once a day, you'll see a huge difference within the week - no matter what season it is.
Neck - The soft, supple skin in your neck area can be much more susceptible than you'd like to gravity, weight gain and aging.
First and foremost, don't forget to extend your facial care routine to your chin, neck, and collarbone areas.
It's the platysma, your major neck muscle, which causes the neck issues because it is not attached to any bone and has no oil glands.
Environmental factors, such as UV rays, can cause more age related damage on your neck than anywhere else because of this.
Remember to protect your neck with sunscreen as you would the rest of your skin and use a product with retinal and peptides to improve elasticity.
Lips - Don't forget your lips.
And don't mix your lips in with all your face creams - especially if you are using something for acne or aging.
Your lips are very sensitive and need extra care.
With just a few minutes a day, you can lose the flaky dry skin and make significant improvements to the look and feel of your lips.
First, use a lip microdermabrasion to get rid of the dead skin cells and dry flakes.
Once or twice a week should be enough to improve the look and feel, but more importantly expose the live skin layers of your lips to absorb moisture.
The microdermabrasion will also reduce lipstick bleeding.
Apply a lip serum with peptides and antioxidants every evening.
These will help you to retain moisture and reduce dryness.
To keep all your skin in top shape, get into a skin regimen for your whole body.
Drink lots of water, moisturize (especially right after your shower) and protect with a SPF 15 or higher sunblock every time you go out.
You can take it one step further by including a body exfoliator once or twice a month.
No need to go to pricey salons; you can exfoliate while you are in the shower and follow up with a good moisturizer.
The exfoliation process will remove dead skin cells, bring a shine back to your skin, and allow your skin to better absorb moisture.