Mature Skin

In my dermatology practice, I often hear people say they have “mature skin, but this is not a true dermatology diagnosis. The terms old skin, aged skin and aging skin are not specific enough. To give you the best skin care routine for mature skin, I need to know if your skin is dehydrated, if it has inflammation, and if it has sun spots or age spots in addition to aging.   Once I know the answer to these questions, I can give you dermatologist advice on how to make your skin look younger and healthier. Step 1 to improve the appearance of mature skin is to take the skin type quiz and see which of 16 Baumann Skin Types you are.

The meaning of mature skin can differ among different people but to the dermatologist, mature skin means a combination of one or more of the following mature skin characteristics:

• Broken blood vessels
• Dull skin
• Easily bruised
• Fragile thin skin
• Redness
• Sun spots
• Wrinkles and fine lines

Mature skin has undergone a combination of two processes known as intrinsic aging and extrinsic aging. Intrinsic aging is unavoidable and occurs due to cellular metabolism that results in free radicals and influence form your genetic background. if both of your parents look young for their age, then you may have “youthful genes” and will develop mature skin later than others if you avoid extrinsic skin aging. Extrinsic aging is avoidable in many cases. This type of skin aging is due to exposure to pollution, ultraviolet light, blue light, infrared light (heat) and cigarette smoke. (We do not have a lot of data yet on if vaping causes skin aging but we know that smoking does).

In the Baumann Skin Typing System, Mature Skin is called Wrinkle Prone Skin. There are 8 wrinkle Prone Baumann Skin Types.

Take the quiz to see which you are and get specific product recommendations.

The 8 Baumann Skin Types that are considered mature skin all have the letter W in their name for “wrinkle-prone”. This does not mean that you already have wrinkles but that you are prone to wrinkles and need to use skincare products for mature skin with antiaging ingredients to slow aging. Mature skin care is most effective if started early which is why we strongly suggest that you take the skin type quiz to see if it is time for you to begin skincare for mature skin.

Mature skin that has the characteristics of mature skin such as fragility, rough texture and wrinkles is considered a W skin type in the Baumann Skin Typing System. If mature skin is your only skin problem and you do not have dryness, acne, redness, allergies, or uneven skin tone, you may have the best skin type for ages over 30 – Baumann Skin Type 12 (ORNW). Skincare for mature skin depends upon which of these Baumann Skin Types you have.

The “mature skin age” that your skin will begin to thin and wrinkle will depend upon your lifestyle factors such as diet, stress, sleep, sunscreen use, sun exposure, pollution exposure, genetics- and of course your skincare routine. In general, it is a good idea to begin skincare for mature skin at the age of 30.

In the Baumann Skin Typing System, if you are age 30+, you will be considered a wrinkle-prone Baumann Skin Type. This is because it is a good idea to begin antiaging skincare ingredients when you are 30 regardless of your ethnicity. If you have a large amount of sun exposure such as outdoor sports and poor lifestyle habits, you should begin a skincare routine for mature skin before the age of 30. The skin type quiz will generate a skincare routine that is based on your skin’s age and your lifestyle habits. If you are over 30, your mature skincare routine will contain antiaging ingredients.

If you are looking for mature skin product reviews here at Skin Type Solutions, we review products based on your Baumann Skin Type which covers more than just wrinkles.  If you search “Skincare products for Mature skin” you will only get antiaging skincare product advice but there are many other issues that can be causing mature skin symptoms like inflammation, menopause,  and overactivity of pigment production. 

You will get a customized skincare routine for mature skin when you take the skin type quiz which will determine which Baumann Skin Type you are and what mature skin issues need to be treated.

So I will review some mature skin products for you below, but I can give you better advice when I know your Baumann Skin Type.

The best skincare for mature skin depends upon your Baumann Skin Type. However, all mature skin types need antiaging ingredients. 

There are several categories of antiaging ingredients to look for in skincare for mature skin:

• Antioxidants
• Defensins
• Energy producing ingredients
• Glycosaminoglycans
• Growth Factors
• Peptides
• Retinoids
• Sunscreen

The best antiaging skincare for mature skin will be chosen based on your Baumann Skin Type®. It is important to know which of the barriers to skin health you have in addition to aging mature skin. For example, if you have uneven skin tone and frequent sun exposure, ascorbic acid which is a skin lightener and antioxidant in addition to increasing skin collagen production would be the best skincare ingredient for your mature skin. However, if you have sensitive skin that stings and turns red, ascorbic acid is not a good choice for your mature skin type. All 4 barriers to skin health need to be taken into account when choosing a skincare routine for mature skin.

The best skincare routine for mature skin should focus on the following:

• Smoothing dull skin
• Protect from further damage and aging
• Increase production of collagen
• Decrease loss of collagen
• Increase production of hyaluronic acid
• Help cells communicate better
• Activate stem cells to make new cells
• Target cellular senescence

The best skincare routine for mature skin should contain cleansers, eye creams, serums, and moisturizers- and of course a daily sunscreen. These should be chosen based on the best mature skincare routine for your Baumann Skin Type. Here is the science of how mature skin products can help improve your skin's appearance.

The best cleansers for mature skin should help smooth the skin’s surface so it will reflect light. Dull skin is causes by an uneven skin surface. Mature skin often has dull skin because the cell cycle in mature skin has slowed down and the stem cells are not making new skin cells fast enough. The slow cell turnover results in old dead skin cells clinging to the skin’s surface making it dull and lifeless. This is also called sallow skin. When patients complain of tired old looking skin, this is usually the cause.

Look for exfoliating cleansers if your skin is very dull.

If you have sensitive skin or are beginning a retinoid, exfoliating cleansers my not be right for you.

Let us give you a skin care routine that you can be confident is correct!

The best facial cleansers for mature skin will speed up the cell cycle and stimulate stem cells to make new skin cells. These younger skin cells function better and make more collagen and hyaluronic acid.

The best moisturizer for mature skin will help fibroblasts work better. Fibroblasts are the skin cells that are responsible for the thickness, strength and function of the skin.

The fibroblasts in young skin respond quickly to cell signals such as growth factors. When they hear these signals, they turn on genes that result in many good things including production of collagen and hyaluronic acid.

However, mature skin is hard of hearing and does not hear many of the cell signals. When mature skin does hear the cell signals, the mature skin cells are slow to react. Once the mature skin cells are finally turned on, they do not make much collagen and hyaluronic acid. This leads to thin, fragile, wrinkled, low volume skin type known as mature skin.

The best moisturizers for mature skin will contain ingredients that help fibroblast work better. Growth factors are the signals that fibroblasts need to get turned on. Heparan sulfate helps the fibroblasts hear the growth factors better. Retinoids turn on the genes that make collagen and hyaluronic acid. Retinoids also turn off enzymes that break down collagen.

Vitamin C is required for collagen production and increasing levels of Vitamin C will increase collagen production. Many studies have shown that when collagen is placed in fibroblast cell cultures, collagen production increases.

Addition of ascorbic acid to fibroblast cultures results in increased collagen production.

However, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) absorbs poorly into skin. Combining Vitamin C into a heavy moisturizer will decrease its ability to penetrate. For this reason, Vitamin C works much better as a mature skin serum than as a mature skin moisturizer. Vitamin C serums should be placed in Step 3 of the skin regimen (after the mature skin facial cleanser and mature skin eye cream).

Here are some good Vitamin C Serums for mature skin:

Mature skin eye creams will target thin, wrinkled skin. They also need to increase fibroblast function, however, hydroxyacids cannot be use in the delicate eye area. If retinoids like retinol are used in the eye area, redness and flaking can occur. Niacinamide, heparan sulfate and antioxidant containing eye creams are the best mature skin eye creams.

Menopausal skin has less estrogen. Estrogen is a potent stimulator of fibroblast function. Less estrogen means that fibroblasts are super lazy. The production of collagen by fibroblast dramatically reduces in the first five years after menopause begins. If estrogen replacement therapy is not used, then it is even more critical to begin a skincare routine for mature skin when you are in menopause.

Mature skin types and menopausal skin, known as Wrinkle-Prone Baumann Skin Types, need antiaging ingredients.

 It is important to realize that antiaging ingredients are dramatically affected by the skincare routine product order. Using the best skincare ingredient for mature skin will not make your skin look better if it is used at the incorrect time in the mature skincare routine. Follow our suggestions, not only on which ingredients to use for mature skin, but also on which skincare products to use for mature skin and what order of skincare products to use for mature skin. Don’t wait until you have wrinkles to begin a mature skincare routine! Let us help you build a custom skin care routine now!

1. Baumann L. Antiaging Ingredients in Ch. 37 of Baumann's Cosmetic Dermatology Ed 3. (McGraw Hill 2022)
2. Baumann, L. Ch.  Cosmeceuticals and cosmetic Ingredients (McGraw Hill 2015)