We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share their secrets to keeping their skin looking youthful and glowing – mainly for women over 25 years old. Here are the best tips!
1. Apply facial creams upwards instead of rubbing it down. It reduces sagging overtime.
2. Get your eyes checked! I had the worst forehead lines that wouldn't respond to any serums, creams, or tools that I tried. Turns out that I needed a very minor prescription.
3. I’m in my mid-20s and just recently cleared up my acne only to be left with acne scars on my cheeks, the ice-pick kind. My biggest secret is COLLAGEN POWDER.
4. I’ve been using witch hazel rose water toner every day when I wake up and every night before bed. It has done wonders to keep my skin bright and hydrated.
5. It's time to start taking care of that neck. Anything you do in your skin care routine for your face should now also be done to the neck (cleanse, moisturize, sunscreen, etc.).
6. Use sunscreen, but the right sunscreen for your skin. For years I couldn't commit to using it because even special face sunscreens just left my face mega oily. When I found out sunscreens for oily skin existed it changed everything.
7. Go with a dewy, less matte foundation. It gives a youthful look.
8. Retinol helps fade acne scarring, builds collagen, and calms down redness.
9. Tea tree exfoliating pads help shrink pores and are great for all skin types. They also smell amazing.
10. Eye cream. Every woman in her mid-to-late 20s should have one in her routine. The Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye is my favorite!
11. Stop stripping your skin. Use oil or cream cleanser at night and micellar water in the morning only.
12. It Cosmetics CC Cream is a GAME CHANGER. It makes your skin better, doubles as a moisturizer, and has medium-full coverage.
13. For me, the "secret" to having clear, glowing skin is my diet. I've gone through a decade of trying products left and right, but no matter what I put on my face, if there's gluten and dairy in my diet, I'm breaking out like I'm in high school again. Figure out what you're sensitive to, cut that out, and add in more fresh fruits and vegetables!
14. Don't forget to exfoliate! You’ll be surprised at how much dead skin can build up and exaggerate your wrinkles.
15. Overnight masks are also your best friend. Just because you’re sleeping doesn’t mean you can’t be improving your skin.
16. If retinol doesn’t work for you, try oral collagen! Verisol collagen powder was shown in a study to have the same results as topical retinol.
17. Use a vitamin C serum every morning to brighten your skin and prevent lines, wrinkles and discoloration.
18. I've started treating myself to facials and derma-planing which seriously makes me look so youthful! I love it!
19. Drink a lot of water! My fiancé hates water and had terrible bacne and I started making him drink a liter per day and his back cleared up so fast!
20. Cut back on the booze. It dries out your skin.
21. Moisturize! My younger sister was having a lot of skin irritation, bumps, and small pimples at age 27-28 and not moisturizing. So, we got her on a little regimen and in about two weeks she sent me a selfie and said how much less reactive her skin was and the bumps and pimples had cleared.
22. Learn to embrace your skin and face for what you are and what it is! Have freckles? Flaunt them because you earned them from living in the moment. Have laugh lines? That means you’ve laughed a lot. A few lines building up around the forehead? This means you’ve been thinking and using your brain. Don’t be ashamed of the things your body has earned from being alive.
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.