A Complete Guide to Skincare In Your 50s & Beyond

A birthday always offers an opportunity to reflect on our life and the choices that brought us here. At the turn of the decade especially, when the passage of time feels more pronounced, the urge to examine your life, down to the routines that make up the day, is irresistible. If you’re wondering if now is a good time to update your skincare, the answer is: Very likely.

Why? Because the needs of your skin change. Most women begin experiencing menopause by the age of 55, and the attendant changes in the body manifest all over, including in the skin. One study from India on how menopause affects the skin recognized a dropoff in collagen metabolism. Owing to this change, postmenopausal skin can appear less elastic or supple than it used to be. Even men who don’t experience menopause will see a kind of transition in their skin at this time. If your 40s are characterized by the beginning of your skin maturing, the process may be well under way by the time you are 50.

This guide will help you understand the finer points of how to care for mature skin in your 50s and beyond, as well as how to adapt it to your personal skin goals. 

Be sun-smart

Protecting your skin from the sun is something you should be doing every day, whether you’re 8 or 88 years old. The reason for doing so becomes more urgent with age. UV radiation, caused primarily by sun overexposure, can have deleterious effects on every layer of the skin, from the outer layer where it causes burns to the inner living layers where it can attack cells and genes directly. UV exposure from the sun is also the primary cause of skin cancer. Most skin cancer cases are diagnosed in people aged 65 and older. Men older than 50 have a much higher incidence of melanoma than women, and men are twice as likely than women to die of melanoma at any age.

These statistics are not intended to frighten, but to demonstrate the importance of defending skin against UV radiation. This happens by exercising proper sun hygiene, which starts with a good sunscreen. (We’ll have some recommendations later, but the best sunscreen for your skin is the one you’ll use every day—choose wisely but pragmatically.)

Good sun hygiene doesn’t end there, though: You can also strengthen your sun protection with Ultraviolet Protection Factor accessories or clothes, and by staying indoors when exposure is harsh. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends a three-pronged defense for seniors: One: Stay out of tanning beds. Two: Use protection whenever you’re in the sun. Three: Get your skin checked by a dermatologist. 

Don’t neglect the neck

Often, the target of our creams and balms is the skin on our face. But if you haven’t started already, your 50s are a good time to start thinking below the chin.

After all, the skin on our neck and decolletage—that large plane of skin between our jaw and breast bones—is subject to aging just like the rest of our skin. In fact, a dermatologist recently explained to The New York Times how the skin on the neck ages faster than any other place on the body, citing how “poor posture, insufficient skin care, sun exposure, and the natural weakening and decline of your neck muscles” can all speed up the process.

Not only should the neck and decolletage be cleansed and moisturized, but they can also benefit from more potent ingredients, like retinols or exfoliators that encourage cell turnover. 

Go heavy with hydration

Perhaps one of the most critical needs of aging skin is hydration. Mature skin often tends toward the drier side. As we age, our skin loses viable blood vessels, as well as collagen and elastin; our skin barrier weakens and holds on to less water than it once could. Coupled with other biological processes, like menopause, your 50s and beyond are a dry time for your skin.

There are, however, plenty of products and potions that help hydrate skin. Hydration is distinct from moisturization, another necessary skin step that has to do with the water content of your skin. But while moisturizers seal moisture in, hydrators help actually bring water into the skin cells. The best skincare routine for your 50s and beyond should address both moisturization and hydration, with special consideration toward keeping skin hydrated with water-binding ingredients and skincare layering.   

A Skincare Routine for Your 50s and Beyond

Above all, your skincare should be gentle but effective. You can design a multi-step routine where each step helps set up the next, creating a cascade of replenishing, firming skincare. But remember that the best ingredient for any skin type is consistency. Try to build a regimen you know you can stick to with these essentials:

1. A gentle but effective cleanser. You should be kind to your skin—you’ve been through a lot together, after all—and that kindness should begin at the very first step of your routine. The Camellia Cleansing Oil, a two-in-one makeup remover and face cleanser, gently melts away even stubborn waterproof mascara, plus dirt and impurities. The oil is also made with Hadasei-3, Tatcha’s proprietary complex of Japanese superfoods that plump and hydrate skin. It starts your skincare off on a gentle note.

2. A hydrating essence and serum. If your mature skin could use a boost in hydration, a product like The Essence will become an immediate mainstay in your routine. The waterweight texture can be softly pat into skin after cleansing for a dose of skin nourishment: The Essence delivers Tatcha’s skin-refining complex to plump skin and prepare for better serum absorption. Then follow it with a potent serum like The Silk Serum to amplify skin’s hydration.

3. A wardrobe of moisturizers. Your face moisturizer is coming soon, but for now, we’re tackling other areas: Namely, the eyes and neck. The delicate skin of these two zones is prone to aging at the same rate (or even quicker) than the skin on our face, but is so often ignored. You’ve probably already adopted an eye cream, but it’s wise to consider a neck cream, too. Tatcha’s Ageless Revitalizing Neck Cream is made with botanical actives and antioxidants that have shown powerful skin-firming properties: When 20 consumers were polled after a four week study, 100% experienced an improvement in skin texture and appearance of wrinkles on their necks.*

4. A cream that seals it all in. At this point, you’re probably committed to your moisturizer—keep on using it! But if we can make a suggestion, the Ageless Enriching Renewal Cream is an intensely rich cream that renews and firms the look of skin. The Hadasei-3 complex supplies amino acids that promote natural skin surface turnover, while peony flower and gardenia fruit extracts lend antioxidant benefits that fight free radicals.

5. A glow-boosting mask. In addition to your daily routines, a regular treatment step can help deliver potent ingredients to your skin in short, super effective bursts. The Violet-C Radiance Mask is designed for use up to three times a week after cleansing. This vitamin C mask is a powerhouse of ingredients, including two types of pure vitamin C and Japanese beautyberry. (Among other properties, beautyberry’s antioxidant activity helps to stabilize vitamin C.) Used before events, or whenever you need some extra glow, this step could become something you look forward to.

6. A daily sunscreen. Everyone needs a daily sunscreen, but especially those with mature skin. The higher the protection, the better. An SPF 50 should do the trick. And bonus points if it also contains skin-smoothing ingredients, like The Silk Sunscreen does. Zinc oxide provides broad spectrum protection, while niacinamide and hyaluronic acid plump and hydrate. It’s your best defense against UV radiation and skin cancer—iit just happens to make you look good, too.

*Individual results may vary.