Introducing parents to skincare? Few tips on mature skin and skincare-related gift ideas for parents

Back in the day, our moms used to introduce us to skincare. Nowadays, it's the other way around - younger people have better access to information, and they can influence their parents to make some changes. Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about adult skin. I mostly focus on younger skin in my posts, so today let's focus on mature skin and what to search for when you're trying to find skincare for your parents, family members or friends. What's the main difference between young and mature skin? - Although the scheme of skin layers is the same for every human, there are some changes. I won't focus today on how the skin is made, but I want to share some facts about mature skin that might be useful for you while selecting skincare for mature skin. - Mature skin is about 30% thinner than baby skin. Epidermis is getting thinner, there's also a decrease in adipose tissue (fat) that's located in the hypodermis. - We can divide aging into three different groups: intrinsic skin aging - it's a process determined by our genes and changes inside the body like changes in hormones; extrinsic skin aging - which is caused by external factors like UV radiation; aging caused by facial expression - We can spot differences in skin elasticity, skin is losing its volume. Wrinkles and fine lines are getting more visible. - Decrease in the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. The quality of collagen and elastin is also decreasing. - The skin barrier gets weaker - You can spot more visible changes in the pigmentation of your skin - especially on the face and hands. The main problems I spot with mature skin I was lucky enough to mostly practice as an esthetician/cosmetologist on mature skin. So here are a few skin conditions I mostly had to deal with: - adult acne - this type of acne might be related to hormones so it's good to visit a dermatologist, and endocrinologist first. - telangiectasias or spider veins - visible red veins, mostly around the nose. Depending on the level of advance you might need the help of an esthetician to remove the veins or proper skincare based on vitamin C, chestnut, arnica and similar ingredients - age spots - visible pigmentation, products based on ingredients like vitamin C, azelaic acid, retinol, kojic acid or arbutin - rosacea - we usually spot visible redness in this condition, arnica, chestnut, green tea, vitamin C, resveratrol and lactobionic acid might be helpful in this case. What we should remember while selecting products? While selecting products for mature skin, we should remember that every skin is different - it might be different to the same ingredients and that introducing new skincare products shouldn't be fast. Especially if you introduce your parents or grandparents - my mom is always annoyed with the amount of product I tell her to use just because something is new to her and she needs a slow start (for example with retinol, but that's good). What ingredients to look up to for mature skin? - Ceramides & cholesterol - since mature skin has problems with the lipid barrier, adding these ingredients has a positive effect on protecting adult skin and making it healthier - Squalane - this ingredient is similar to our sebum, similar to jojoba oil. You can massage your skin with this oil or just use it at the top of your evening skincare routine - Red Ginseng - it is one of the most common hanbang (Traditional Korean Medicine) ingredients. It's rich in antioxidants and ginsenosides, it has anti-inflammatory properties. - Retinal - yes, not retinol, but retinal. Why? It works great on wrinkles, and the retinal is more delicate to the skin even if it's more powerful. - Collagen & Hyaluronic Acid - although I would say that you should eat food rich in collagen and use hyaluronic acid only if your skin likes it. Collagen has huge molecules so it works more like a film on the surface of the skin, while hyaluronic acid - it's a personal preference if you enjoy using this ingredient or not. - Antioxidants - such as vitamin C, ectoin, coenzyme q10, glutathione, vitamin E, resveratrol, niacinamide, superoxide dismutase and more. Antioxidants help the skin fight free radicals. Korean skincare for mature skin Here are some products for mature skin that my mom and I tried and I would recommend them. - S.Nature Squalane Moisturizing Cream - Atopalm MLE Cream - Dr G. Red Blemish Clear Soothing Cream - AHC Eye Creams - Primera Youth Radiance Vitanol Serum - Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream Classic Ex & Serum Ex - SU: M37 Secret Essence Advanced Sync Program - Sooryehan The Black Serum And what does your skincare routine look like? What are the main struggles with your skin? Ps. I almost forgot - no matter if you're teenager or adult, sunscreen is really helpful to protect skin from negative effects of UV radiation on the skin.