Scrolling through Instagram, I chanced upon a no filter photo of Paulina Porizkova; she of the breathtaking cover of a 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated. It was refreshing to see a public personality with her face so naked, lines, wrinkles, and all. Realizing that she was all of 56 years, however, I quickly went into panic mode. In two years I will be 56, would my skin be in the same state as hers?

As it turns out, Paulina has been incredibly stressed out in recent years, and as we all know stress of any kind is bad for the skin. Nevertheless, I rushed towards a highly respected dermatologist friend, who has gorgeous looking skin so you know she knows what she’s talking about, for advice on caring for skin over 50.

“We are all guilty of not protecting our skin from the sun while we were still young. This will definitely take its toll on our skin as we age,” says Dr. Bernadette Sayoc-Ugalde.

Most of her patients over 50 are usually concerned about skin that’s less firm, both on the face and body, uneven skin tone, fine lines and wrinkles, dry and dull skin, and last but not least, the loss of that youthful, healthy glow. Sigh.

Alas, those concerns are sort of inevitable. We can’t all be like Jennifer Lopez with her marvelous skin – and you’ve got to admit that even she does not have that youthful luster which we all took for granted in our twenties.

On to the business of skin care…

Bernie said something that I love dearly: “First and foremost, to take care of our skin let us not forget that we need to support our skin from within. If we take care of our skin only from the outside, we will not be able to fully hold the hands of time. We only win half the battle if we focus only on topical regimen.”

Taking care of skin from within has a number of components: sleep, hydration, exercise, and supplements. A good disposition doesn’t hurt either.

“Sleep is very essential in keeping our skin at its peak glow. Sleep at least eight hours or more if you have the chance to do so.”

“Hydrate well. Drink more than eight glasses of eight ounces of water a day. Water will hydrate your skin from within, and make skin plumper and decrease appearance of fine lines.”

“Exercise. Do a bit of the aerobic kind that increases your heart rate and increases circulation that can supply nutrients to all parts of your body, including your skin, which is the largest organ of the body. You will notice a more rosy tone on your skin even as it matures, making you look younger.”

“Oral supplements such as Vitamin C, collagen, Vitamin E are good to have.” 

Lastly, Bernie recommends: “Smile often.”

Oh, and if you’re a smoker, better quit now as smoking decreases oxygenation, which may lead to you having fine lines and dry skin. Not a good look.

As for your skin care regimen, here is Bernie’s recommendation:

• Wash with mild cleansers, which don’t strip off too much moisture from skin.
• Exfoliate at least once a week.
• You may use moisturizer. If skin is dry, go for hyaluronic acid cream.
• Go for retinol or tretinoin creams at night and sunblock in the morning.
• Consider collagen powder which you can make into drinks or skin treatments that stimulate collagen production.

In summary, Bernie uses the analogy of a house when you get into skin care. You don’t just look at the aesthetics (topical), you must also concentrate on the foundation (body systems).

So there, good luck to us!

Yoga photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels. Mask and skin care product photo by cottonbro from Pexels. Cream photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels. Water photo by Charlotte May from Pexels. Dumbbells photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels