In partnership with Synergie Skin.
Why do so many of us still have acne as adults? At what age should we begin using retinol? Is there really a topical solution for wrinkles?
With each year, with each season, our skin enters a slightly new stage. Navigating those stages is the key to healthy skin- at every age.
Terri Vinson, cosmetic chemist, author, and founder of Synergie Skin, has decades of experience in skin science and has sat at the helm of Synergie since its launch in 2005. Terri completed her Bachelor of Science, specialising in Immunology and Microbiology, at Monash University, and has obtained additional post graduate qualifications in both Formulating Chemistry and Biology & Secondary School Science. Terri’s passion lies within education- giving you objective information to make informed decisions around your skincare.
In this extract from the Glow Journal podcast, Terri Vinson answers your questions on the stages of skin- the specific changes our skin goes through in each phase of our life, how to meet our skin’s needs during each of those stages, and what a healthy skincare routine looks like at every age.
To listen to the full interview, subscribe to the Glow Journal Podcast now on iTunes or Spotify
GLOW JOURNAL: Every single time that I put the call out to our audience for an Ask An Expert episode, a number of questions come in along the lines of “I’ve been using this product for this many years, and it no longer seems to be working for my skin.” Now, I’m sure this can come down to a number of different factors, but is it possible that our skin is entering a different stage and that’s why products aren’t doing what they used to?
TERRI VINSON: Absolutely. A lot of people think “Oh, I’m becoming immune to the ingredients and immune to the range.” That’s actually a myth. It’s very, very difficult to have an immunity to cosmeceuticals. However, skin alters as it ages and there’s different environmental factors.
A key example is the effect of stress and COVID on our skin. We’ve seen our skin go through some huge changes. My daughter who’s 25, my work colleagues, even myself. So yes, and that’s when we need to look at not necessarily a different range- it might be a different product within that range. But yes, our skin does change with the environment and with age.
This is a super broad question, but what are the different stages of the skin? How would you characterise skin in different stages?
You can even characterise it by conditions, but we like to categorise it by age groups. I would talk about the pre-teen teen phase, where you’ve got your hormonal imbalances, then we’ve got our twenties to thirties, where we see that it’s kind of the best years of our skin’s life. The hormones are basically at their burnout phase. And then we’ve got that sun damage maybe showing its initial signs. We are ageing, funnily enough, from the age of 25, but on a microscopic level.
After our twenties, the thirties and forties, we start to see those subtle signs of ageing. We might see the first evidence of sun damage, the first fine lines and wrinkles. We’re seeing lines of movement. And then the fifties, the lovely fifties, which I’m in, is the menopausal and sometimes premenopausal years and that’s hormonally driven. Phew, I can go into that! But we’re talking about lack of oestrogen, we’re talking about lack of collagen and reduced bone density, a lack of hyaluronic acid causing dryness. That’s when we really need our cosmeceuticals to do the work.
But then it’s interesting- while it’s also based on age, we also need to look at genetic predispositions and our DNA. There’s now DNA testing that we can do to see certain genetic markers to see whether we’re prone to pigmentation, prone to glycation ageing. My company, Synergie, does a DNA test, but there are others available, and they’re really excellent to show you the future of your skin if you don’t take preemptive action.
Let’s start with teenage skin that preteen and teen stage that you mentioned. We tend to associate acne with being a teenager. Why is that?
It all comes down to hormones. In my book, Skinformation, I have a whole chapter based on that very condition. There’s testosterone in females- a lot of girls to go “I’ve only got oestrogen and progesterone,” but it’s basically a huge fluctuation in hormonal levels in both males with just testosterone, and in females with the three female hormones. So basically, when we have a fluctuation hormones, and in particular an increase in testosterone, that has a direct action on our oil glands. That spike in testosterone causes the receptors on our oil glands to actually be more receptive and produce more oil. So you’ve kind of got a cascade of events and this is why acne can be incredibly complicated.
So you’ve got more oil. You’ve also got an increase in the rate of cell turnover with acne. So normally our cells turnover, let’s say 30 days, we get a whole new, fresh set of skin cells. With acne, they turn over much faster. You’re getting 20 days, maybe even 15 days. In that pore, you’ve got lots of oils and lots of dead skin. So basically, those P acne bacteria are about to have a huge party inside that pore. We’ve got P acne bacteria anyway, but because you’ve got all that lovely oil and all those skin cells, you’ve got an increase in those bacteria. And when those bacteria speed they give off certain chemicals that cause inflammation, and that inflammation can give rise to a pimple because inflammation causes blockage in the poor and causes redness and irritation. Now that can be just a simple zit, or it can be a deep dermal cystic acneic pimple, which is quite serious. Or if it’s just oil and debris not being able to be purged, it’s a black head or a white head. So that’s kind of the birth and death of a pimple!
What does a good skin care routine look like for a teenager? What sorts of products would you advise parents to encourage their teenagers to use?
That’s often asked from me about their teenage skin. I’ve had young kids come in with their mums, and it’s probably two sides. Do we want to keep it really simple for them? And I think the answer is “Yes,” we don’t want to over-complicate their life with a thousand products- but if they have got a serious skin condition like serious, cystic acne, they should see a dermatologist.
I would always say one of the most important things for teenage skin is niacinamide or vitamin B3, because that actually affects oil control and it reduces excess oil. In fact, they found that niacinamide was as effective as topical antibiotic mitomycin for controlling acne. They did a study on that, which was really interesting. The other thing I love about vitamin B3 or niacinamide is it’s an anti-inflammatory, and we know that acne is an inflammatory condition, so it really calms down that skin. So I think one of the most important things you can give to your adolescent is a bottle of vitamin B3 serum. That will be their best friend.
The other thing I would say is to stay right away from very, very trendy makeup with comedonal oils in it. That will be one of the biggest contributors to what we call acne cosmetica. Dimethicone and certain oils will contribute to that. I also believe very strongly in good quality mineral makeup. With that mineral makeup, if you’ve got high quality and high levels of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, you’re also going to get your sun protection. And so they’ve got a two in one. Zinc oxide is a dihydrotestosterone blocker or DHT blocker, so it reduces the impact of testosterone on the oil gland. A lot of our customers that use mineral makeup say “Hey, my acne is reducing. I’ve done nothing differently in my routine.” It’s often the zinc oxide.
If you need a spot treatment, you’ll need your really good quality alpha hydroxy acids, your lactic and mandelic acids to help exfoliate that skin, and your beta hydroxy acid. I love salicylic. I often liken it to the bottle brush of the pore- it pulls out the muck and debris because it’s oil loving and it really helps to clear those blockages.
Moving on from that teenage skin stage, things change again as we enter our twenties. What is happening to the skin during this time?
Well, in an ideal world, we’re reaching hormonal burnout. When we’re in our teens and even into our early twenties, our hormones are in a state of flux. In our twenties to mid twenties, that tends to even out and that’s also called hormonal burnout, where everything’s nice and even, periods are regular, guys don’t have those breakouts. So that’s hopefully a time when we can relax a little bit. There are other conditions where that won’t occur, but let’s talk about just general twenties.
We’ll start to see the first signs of ageing in our early to mid twenties with the occasional sunspot. That’s a great warning sign that you need to sound protect more. We’ll also see the start of other forms of environmental damage like pollution, but you’re not really seeing obvious wrinkles. You’re not seeing obvious problems with the skin in terms of pigmentation, and often your chronic conditions like rosacea, psoriasis and eczema might be at their best level. You’ll still have them, but they won’t be as bad as in later years or earlier years.
To listen to the full interview with Terri Vinson, subscribe to the Glow Journal podcast now on iTunes or Spotify
