Aisling on beauty: Be comfortable in your skin as you age

For the sake of providing some kind of indicator of what we mean when we talk about mature skin, we’ll say it’s from the age of 50 on. Of course, as with all things to do with the human body, some people’s skin will begin to act in a mature fashion (sensibly wanting to start a pension and staying in its slippers on weeknights) much earlier. Its immature counterpart seems to get away with partying till dawn and debauchery for much longer without a wrinkle. However, it all catches up with us in the end.

Contrary to popular opinion, genetics only has a small part to play in skin ageing; 20 per cent of how your skin looks is genetic while the other 80 per cent is down to how you and life have treated it. Sun damage, general health, hormones, smoking and environmental issues have a huge part to play in healthy-looking skin.

Look away now

Reading the list of things that happen to mature skin is enough to make you want to stick your head in the oven, so we’ll just briefly gloss over this part. Look away now if you don’t want to hear about it.

The list includes loss of collagen and elastin, plus bigger pores, dryness, sagging, loss of firmness and plumpness, jowls, crepe neck and crepey eyes.

Well you know what we say to that? Bah. And we also say: Helen Mirren.

Inside every woman is a beautiful, sexier-with-every- year-that-passes Helen Mirren. Treat yourself by paying good attention to your skincare routine and spend lots of time on yourself, because let’s face it, you deserve it after reading that list.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having mature skin, and quite frankly we’re tired of “anti-ageing” products being advertised by 25-year-old models. In fact the beauty industry loves you because you’re more likely to spend on expensive creams and make-up. Thankfully now they have also begun to realise that women want a more realistic representation of how good their skin can actually look.

Water loss

At birth our skin cells are composed of about 75 per cent water, which declines to about 50 per cent as we grow older, and this is the reason more mature skin can look saggy and draggy: it’s programmed to dehydrate naturally. We’ve all heard the mantra about rehydrating from within with eight glasses of water a day, but the jury is still out on how effective that is. The skin of the neck and hands and under the eyes is especially thin, with less fat padding underneath them, and no amount of water imbibing is going to really affect them.

So we need to get some water back into those skin cells, even if only temporarily: moisturise to the max so that skin gleams, firm up those jowls and make the skin look smoother and pores appear smaller. All of this is possible.

But there is one thing you must do first. It’s time to brave the depths of the bathroom cabinet. Are you still using that skin cream you used in your 30s and wondering why it doesn’t “work” any more? Your skin has changed and your products may have to change to keep up. It might be time for a few old jars of gloop to hit the bin, and there is no time like the present to assess what lurks within.

Do it. Do it now. Only then can you come back and read the rest.

Finished? Have you ruthlessly culled all those dusty jars that have price stickers in Irish punts or (heaven forbid) Switzers tags on them? Don’t worry if you did; we’re fairly sure both of our mothers still have jars of revolting “skin food” that have been around since before we were born.

Top ingredients

Let’s have a look at the top ingredients that should be in your skincare.

Obviously you will need a good SPF. Alpha hydroxy acids. such as glycolics and lactic acid, work by dissolving dead skin cells and lifting them off the skin. Using a good AHA will make your skin stronger and fresher.

Retinol, a form of vitamin A, is straight up probably the best ingredient for mature skin, as it can actually reverse the signs of ageing, resurface the skin, boost collagen production and and blast age spots into oblivion. The retinol products available over the counter are much weaker than those used by professionals, as this ingredient can irritate the hell out of your skin at a high concentration. Go to a dermatologist if you’d like to use a higher-strength version.

Water attracters such as hyaluronic acid and glycerine are brilliant and will instantly plump up skin. Instant gratification; we like that very much indeed.

Vitamin extracts in skincare are excellent ingredients. We’ve already seen how vitamin A works in retinol, and vitamin B3 in niacinamide and the antioxidants C and E are pretty powerful too. Add co-enzyme Q-10 and ferulic acid to the mix and you’ve got yourself some of the best ingredients to keep skin performing well.

• This is an edited extract from About Face by Aisling McDermott with Laura Kennedy, published by Gill & Macmillan. The book is in shops now