Great-grandma didn’t need a bathroom cabinet full of skincare, just nature’s best-kept secrets. Skincare for mature skin should lean into nature while considering sensitivity, dryness, and hormone changes.

In our 40s, our skin changes for two reasons: hormonal shifts and nutrient loss. As we age, our bodies become less efficient at metabolizing nutrients. So, there are fewer minerals, fatty acids, collagen, and vitamins to build bouncy skin. Especially for women, hormonal shifts impact our skin, too. Decreases in estrogen lead to drier skin, or even combination skin, as our complexion adjusts to menopause. Don’t worry, both of these changes are completely natural. Your beauty routine might need a few adjustments, though.

 

How to Take Care of Your Skin in Your 40s

Your complexion is changing — and that’s okay. Give it deep hydration, cell-regenerative products, and fewer chemicals for best results.

 

• Choose products that make your routine easy

There’s nothing more motivating than results. If you need a push to keep up with your skincare routine, find products that give you an instant glow. It’s true, significant results will take a few weeks (at least 4–6). But you’ll notice the little things like hydration and less sensitivity pretty quickly. Trust these results and harness them to help you stay accountable.

 

• Stop using heavy cleansers

In your 40s, estrogen drops, which means there’s less moisture in your skin. A foaming cleanser will further strip moisture from your skin and leave your skin feeling stiff. Instead, cleanse once a day with a hydrating cleanser, like an oil cleanser.

 

• Don’t use toxic makeup

It’s never too late to put down the toxic chemicals. Actually, this is the best time to deep-clean your makeup bag. Microplastics, alcohol, and fragrance will undo the effects of even the best skincare routine. These ingredients dry out your skin and make fine lines and wrinkles worse.

 

Ingredient Dos and Don’ts for Mature Skin

As you age, your skin forces you to be aware of what’s in your beauty products. If sensitive skin and chronic dry patches are forcing you to check your ingredient labels, take that as a sign to trust nature, not chemical labs.

Do use…

• Bakuchiol. It’s also called nature’s retinol. In studies, bakuchiol has shown the same anti-aging effects as retinol, but without the sensitivity, chemical burn, and other risks.
  

 

• Natural vitamin A. Most anti-aging products use an artificial version of vitamin A. Since this is made in a lab, not in nature, it’s not as bioavailable to the skin. Instead, find a product that naturally contains vitamin A, which is safer and easier to absorb.

 

• Conjugated linoleic acid. This is a fatty acid that’s found in grass-fed tallow. It’s especially helpful for dry and sensitive skin, since it helps restore the skin barrier and reduce inflammation.

 

• Whole-food vitamin C. Antioxidants are the most important tool for cell health, and whole-food vitamin C has a ton of them. These antioxidants protect against the free radical damage that leads to wrinkles and fine lines.

 

• AHA fruit acids. Their official name is “alpha-hydroxy acid,” and they encourage cell turnover with exfoliating properties. Think of it as a mild chemical peel, but the natural version.

 

Don’t use…

• Synthetic retinol. Yes, retinol really does encourage cell turnover. But it was only approved by the FDA in 1971 for skincare use, and was recently regulated in the EU. Our concern with topical retinol is that it’s synthetically made and tends to disrupt the skin barrier.
  

 

• Fractionated ingredients. In skincare, many compounds are synthetically isolated. For instance, if we tried to take vitamin A from tallow balm, we’d lose the protective fatty acids and nutrients that make that vitamin A safe and skin-calming. If a skincare label brags about a certain fatty acid or lipid, make sure it’s naturally occurring.

 

• Chemical sunscreen. Heavy sun exposure can lead to premature aging, but this isn’t a good reason to slather on chemical sunscreens. In studies, these toxic chemicals (like oxybenzone) entered the bloodstream and remained in the body for days after use. Wear a hat and use a safe mineral sunscreen instead.

 

• Botox. Put simply, your body deserves better than Botox. And you deserve to age gracefully without feeling pressured to change your face. Think about Botox like this: it’s so toxic that it prevents your muscles from moving for a few months. 

 

• Synthetic fragrance. Fragrance is the “canary in the coal mine” for ingredient labels. Brands don’t have to disclose what’s included in their fragrance, and it could be a cocktail of up to 3,000+ unidentified chemicals. For people with sensitive skin, fragrance is considered a high risk.

 

Skincare for Mature Skin: How to Build Your Routine

When you build a skincare routine for mature skin, consistency is key. Prioritize products you love and a regimen that’s easy to keep up with. For just the basics, we recommend a good cleanser, serum, and moisturizer.

Morning

• Cleanse your face with water and a gentle soap, like the Activated Charcoal Face Bar
• Prep your skin with a Facial Tonic that opens pores and freshens the skin barrier
• Nourish using a light Glow Serum you can glide under makeup
• Protect against sun damage with a tallow-based Sun Balm

 

Evening

• Deep-cleanse with something moisturizing, like the Seabuckthorn Cleansing Oil
• Nourish with an anti-aging serum, like the Reparative Serum
• Lock in moisture with a nutrient-dense Tallow Face Balm

 

Build Your Custom Set of Skincare for Mature Skin

The right ingredients do the heavy lifting to keep your skin fresh and glowing at any stage of life. We hope you’re feeling more confident about building your new skincare routine. If so, we’d like to offer you 10% off any custom skincare bundle, to give your new regimen a jumpstart.

Honor Your Mature Skin

Build Your Skincare Bundle for 10% Off