It is amazing how your skin changes throughout your lifetime. Your skin will experience many cycles that may or may not mirror your life choices. Knowing how to treat your skin at the moment is the key to your sanity and vanity.

As a baby, your skin cells turn over quickly. The cells replace themselves about every 15 days. This is why baby skin is pore-less, soft and supple. The only obvious skin conditions for babies are dehydration (not enough water) and those issues diagnosed by a physician like eczema, dermatitis, and so on.

For the most part, it is easy to care for baby and toddler skin. During bath time, use a gentle and tear-free cleanser to wash their face. After the bath, apply moisturizer from forehead to feet. When medically permitted by your pediatrician, apply sun screen and/or keep the baby out of the sun.

As a toddler, skin care is similar to that of the baby. Toddlers move around more and dirt seems to accumulate in strange areas. It is important to use a cleanser and wash cloth to get into those hard to reach areas and ensure they are clean. After bath time, moisturize your toddler from head to toe and when allowed by your pediatrician use sunscreen and avoid sun exposure whenever possible.

Just when you're used to soft, flawless skin, the adolescent years creep in. In an ideal world, your adolescent should treat their skin as if it is acne prone (a few break outs here and there). This way they are promoting their skin cells to turn over and slow down the oil flow. Normal exfoliation allows the dead cells to slough off, allowing oil to lubricate the surface of the skin, instead of clogging it. Ideal skin care at this stage should consist of:

AM

• Cleanse using Clarisonic Mia
• Use Beta Hydroxy cleanser
• Oil absorbing SPF
• Acne spot treatment, if necessary

PM

• Cleanse using Clarisonic Mia
• Use Beta Hydroxy cleanser
• Night time clearing gel
• Acne spot treatment, if necessary

During your 20’s and early 30’s, skin usually behaves. It somehow survives on no sleep, too much alcohol and sleeping in your make-up. This is where you should begin anti-aging skin care, but are usually too busy. Ideal skincare at this age should consist of:

AM

• Cleanse using milky cleanser + Clarisonic Pro
• Eye cream
• SPF

PM

• Cleanse using AHA cleanser + Clarisonic
• AHA/BHA cleansing pad
• Eye cream
• Retinol cream

At the very least use your Clarisonic Pro + SPF30 (AM) + Retinol (PM)

Then age 35 comes screaming around the corner and everything changes! This seems to be the magic number, the number that stares back at you in the mirror and says: Ugh, what happened? Suddenly you consider words like Botox, anti-aging cream and facials. Your cellular turn over becomes sluggish and the visible result is fine lines, crows feet and large pores. Ideal skincare at this age:

AM

• Cleanse with AHA/BHA cleanser + Clarisonic
• Spray toner onto your skin
• Apply Matis Cream
• Apply eye cream
• Apply SPF

PM

• Cleanse with AHA/BHA cleanser + Clarisonic
• Spray Toner onto your skin
• Apply anti-aging cream, preferably prescription
• Apply eye cream

The skin care routine for age 35+ stays the same until about age 50. Around this time there is a significant drop off in the moisture level of the skin. It is important to continue anti-aging to the best of your ability.  Make sure you moisturize! I talk about the gas tank being on a ¼ tank. Being dry is like operating on ¼ tank of gas. Make sure that you fill your tank completely. I suggest sitting down with your favorite moisturizer and simply re-applying until the skin rejects the moisture. You’ll know that you moisturized thoroughly when it no longer absorbs into the skin.

For the most part, this is how skin care should work through the various ages and stages of your life. Of course, there are exceptions: menopause, pregnancy and other health issues can be factors. It is important to stay calm and seek professional advise for skin changes. If you follow the skin recommendations above, you should be in good shape. You’ll be the envy of any of your friends that started practicing healthy skin habits too late in life.

Author:  Angela L. Robles, Esthetician at Dr Lin Direct and Blogger at Michael Lin MD