When fine lines and wrinkles appear the first response is often to go on the offensive and combat any signs that pop up. This usually includes aggressive products that prioritize attacking the symptoms, rather than skin health. No matter your age, healthy skin should always come first.

When skin is healthy, it’s naturally radiant and glowy, even if fine lines and wrinkles are present. It’s also better equipped to withstand oxidative stress and environmental damage that can lead to the signs of aging. This approach focuses on skin longevity, rather than anti-aging.

What Is Skin Longevity?

Skin longevity is investing in your skin for the long term. It’s not about quick fixes or fast fads. It’s about choosing quality ingredients and habits that nourish your skin in the best way possible to support it as it ages.

Building healthy habits when it comes to our skin is important, and that goes beyond a skincare routine–how we navigate diet, stress, and other factors is important, too.

How Do You Promote Skin Longevity?

1. Keep Inflammation Down Through Cleansing and Hydrating The Skin

Daily pollution accumulates on the skin, which can cause inflammation and damage that results in premature loss of collagen and elastin. Cleansing skin really well is your first line of defense against this free radical damage. Aim to cleanse for at least 30-60 seconds at night to remove the day’s grime. Plus, you’ll get the full benefits of the active ingredients that may be in your cleanser.

Choose a gentle cream or oil cleanser as your first cleanse to fully remove makeup, sunscreen and pollution. Follow up with a non-drying gel or foam cleanser to ensure everything has been removed. An exfoliating tool makes the entire process more effective.

Try using: Aloe Milk Cleanser, Face Foam, Bamboo Sponge

Chronic dehydration can lead to chronic inflammation, which is damaging to the skin’s defense system and its ability to protect itself. Boost the skin’s hydration levels using a serum that contains both humectant ingredients, like hyaluronic acid, and antioxidants, like vitamin C, to protect against inflammation and environmental damage. Serums are always best used with a moisturizer or oil over top to seal everything in.

Try using: Supermoon Serum

2. Support a Strong Skin Barrier:

Inflammation, redness, flaking, and dryness are all signs that the skin’s barrier is compromised, which commonly happens with age. Skin becomes thinner and dryer, especially in women after menopause when estrogen declines. Oil production decreases and skin loses the ability to hold onto water effectively.

Aging skin benefits from products that will help reinforce the protective barrier like moisturizers that contain ceramides and oils rich in fatty acids. Probiotic skincare is also incredibly helpful to use in order to supplement the skin’s microbiome which is an additional defense against pathogens and environmental stressors. These ingredients will help the overall integrity of the skin and prevent unwanted moisture loss.

Try using: Skin Stuff Face + Eye Cream or Berry Rich Face + Eye Cream

3. Get Skin Moving with Facial Massage:

Using good skincare isn’t the only thing you can do to promote skin longevity. In fact, some well-loved techniques involve facial massage, including facial yoga and tools like gua sha. Moving your skin on a daily basis through facial massage helps to stimulate circulation, bringing blood flow to the skin, increasing oxygen and nutrients, and promoting cellular renewal. Use a lipid-rich oil with your facial massage to help support a healthy skin barrier and protect the skin from moisture loss.

Try using: Jade Moon Serum

Lastly, show kindness to your skin for all that it’s done. Use your products and habits as a way to support and protect your skin no matter your age.

Graydon Skincare is dedicated to normalizing aging and supporting skin longevity with clinically proven skincare that unites the plant power of nature with biotech innovation. Our mission is to give people good skin days. Every day. As you age. And at every stage.