https://www.self.com/story/skincare-for-20s-30s-40s-50s
## You’re New Here, Hi, I’m Tracy
You’re new here, hi, I’m Tracy. I’m 51 years old. I am a lover of beauty, skin care, fashion, wellness, so if those are things that you like, to make sure to tap on that subscribe button, and for everyone, tap on the little bell so you always know when I have a brand new video that goes live.
## I Wish So Much I Had Known About This
One of the things that I definitely notice now that I am almost 52 is that some of the habits that I do now, I’m like, I wish so much I had known about this or I was doing this or I was practicing this in my 20s. So no matter what age you are watching this right now, this is going to be good and it’s going to be useful, so grab yourself a matcha, have your phone nearby so you can take some little notes, because this one is going to be good.
## God Wasn’t Wrong
Now, this first one, I feel like such a mom saying this, but that’s okay, because guess what? I am a mom, and this is true, and sometimes we need that mom-like advice, and that is that God wasn’t wrong. So I know that we have billions of people here on YouTube: God, the universe, higher power, whatever you believe in, it’s cool here.
## No Mistakes Were Made
However, no mistakes were made, so I want you to look at pictures of yourself when you were younger. That is your perfect coloring and the perfect color, specifically, for your hair. The color that my hair is right now is pretty darn close, and I’ll try to put some pictures in here too, to the hair color that I had when I was a little kid.
## Stop with the Bleaching
It had sun-kissed, a little bit of blonde in it, but it was mostly kind of like what I considered at the time, like, a more mousy brown color, and I felt like it was sort of like a boring color. Then when I was in my 20s, all I wanted to do was bleach the living out of my hair, and then I wondered why my hair would never grow past my collarbones, because it was sad, it was tired, it was like, “Please, girl, stop with the bleaching.”
## Whatever Your Most Natural Coloring Is
But my point here is there are no mistakes made. Now, I’m not saying that you can’t judge it up a little bit. Maybe you want to do some warm highlights for fall, maybe you want to add some lowlights, you want to do your thing, that is cool, but what I do think is really important is to really know that whatever your most natural coloring is, it’s going to look best on you.
## Lay Off the Crazy Orange Spray Tans
Now, I would also like to add in here too some of the mistakes that I made, which I’m so lucky they’re right here on YouTube: lay off the crazy orange spray tans, Tracy Campoli, cuz I did that for years. I looked like an Oompa Loompa in all the pictures of myself when I was in my, like, late 30s and early 40s. It’s kind of wild.
## Thick, Dark Lash Extensions
And also, and I know I’ve talked about this before, but, like, really, really thick, dark lash extensions. They look like that girl from the Muppets, and it’s just not a good look. I have noticed that when I, especially cuz I’m here on YouTube, so I really can see what I look like, started kind of doing my makeup much softer, more gentle, just kind of like cleaning things up a little bit, but I still look like me, it’s a much, much better look.
## Protect the Golden Trio
So God wasn’t wrong, girl, God was not wrong, and I know I sound like a naggy mom, but it’s okay, it’s okay, I’m just saying it with love. Number two in my mom-like advice here for you, or you can call me big sister, like, whatever, I don’t care, is protect the golden trio. What’s the golden trio, you ask? Let me tell you, friend, it is your neck, your chest, and your hands.
## You Know What? It Shows
From the time that I was, like, 18, maybe even 16 years old, I started getting into skin care, and I was protecting my skin and doing all the things right, but I’ll tell you what I wasn’t doing was the neck, the chest, and the hands, and you know what? It shows. I love social media. I love it so much because people really like pointing out the difference between my face and my chest.
## These Are the Areas That Will Show Aging First
The other thing is I would like to add that for some reason the camera picks up things differently, because I don’t think when I’m walking around in my day-to-day life that I look like I have that much sun damage. Hats off to the laser that I got in January, but this is really key is that you protect these areas. These are the areas that will show aging first.
## Getting My Laser Treatment
Now, I’ve always had veiny hands, even when I was in my 20s. I have thin hands, and then, obviously, with age, aging has made those veins a little bit more prominent, but I will tell you, one of the best things that I did was this January was getting my laser treatment, because I invested money in it, so you better believe that I am going to protect it.
## Sunscreen on My Chest
So I do not ever go out without sunscreen on my chest when I’m taking my long walk. Now, of course, if I’m just, like, going into the market or doing something like that, do I? Totally, of course I do. Is that good? No, but I do. I mean, I’m human, but I always, instead of using foundation, I use sunscreen, and I always put that on my neck.
## A Mineral Sunscreen in My Car
I really, really need to get in the habit of keeping a mineral sunscreen in my car, because you never know if you’re going to get stuck in traffic or something, and I definitely notice that my hands from driving sometimes, I’ll try and drive underneath, but you do notice the difference in these areas. So the point here is you got to protect the golden trio.
## Blue Plus Serum
And speaking of the neck, I have been using Curs Neck and Deck and also their Rejuvalite Pro for about 2 years now, so when they sent me their Blue Plus Serum to try alongside with them, I was super curious and really excited. So it’s designed to work before an LED session, so you can use it on its own, or you can use it with your LED devices.
## Powered by USP Methylene Blue
It’s powered by USP methylene blue. It’s a photosensitizer, meaning it helps your skin actually respond better to the light instead of the light just sitting on your face, and I really like it because it works with both settings: the skin-clearing blue light mode or, my favorite, the skin-rejuvenating red light mode.
## Lightweight, It Absorbs Fast
It’s lightweight, it absorbs fast, and there’s no irritation, which, especially for those of us over 50, this really matters, and it’s not something that you’re going to rinse off before your session. I’m always really conscientious of having my skin bare before I do a red light session, but this, you actually want to put on, let it absorb, and then do your LED session.
## You’re Going to See the Best Results
And again, since there’s a lot of mom-like advice here, just like anything worth doing, you’re going to see the best results when you do your red light or any kind of LED light consistently. That is key. So if you want to check out Cure and their Blue Plus Serum, of course, I’m going to leave their information down below in the description box and, of course, pinned as a top comment as well.
## Your Barrier Is Keeping Score
The third thing that I wish I knew in my 20s is that your barrier is keeping score. I know, I know, if you are from your mid-40s or beyond, you’re probably nodding your head right now, but if you were younger watching this, listen up, ladies, here’s the deal: as we get older, when we go through perimenopause and menopause, our skin barrier gets more compromised, it gets more sensitive.
## What Was Working for You in Your 20s
So the only way to really think about it is like, what was working for you in your 20s for sure is likely not working for you now. If you’re in your 50s like me, we get more irritation, we can get more redness, we can just get more sensitivity to products. So if you’re doing really aggressive exfoliation, whether it be physical or chemical, this is your sign to lay off of that.
## Exfoliation Is Important
Now, exfoliation is important, but you want to use something that’s really gentle, that’s going to work with your skin specifically. You know, a lot of times people will ask me for recommendations, of course, I’m going to leave some down below in the description box, and I’ll also have a QR code right here for you to scan some of my favorite skincare products.
## You Got to Really Listen to Your Skin
But here’s the deal: you got to really listen to your skin. Your skin is going to give you information. If you feel itchy, red, tight, or just are having irritation from something that you’re using, it might be time for you to focus on barrier healing rather than aggressive exfoliation.
## Really, Really Gentle with Our Skin
My point is now that we are in our 50s, we want to just go really, really gentle with our skin so that we are taking care of it, being soft, being easy, and just giving it the nurturing that it needs, and those needs do change. So I’m almost 52, I’m sure when I’m 60 years old my needs are going to change there too, and I look forward to that.
## The Habit That Is Hiding in Plain Sight
Next up is the habit that is hiding in plain sight. This is something that I have been so, so crazy guilty of, and that is the squint, the frown, the, like, I can’t really do, I don’t know, can I do it? Yeah, I can do it. Okay, so hear me out here.
## I Really Can’t See My Phone Anymore
I, like I said, I’m 51, the eyes are not eyeing like they used to, so I notice that laughter, whenever I’m reading, I can’t see, I can’t see my phone anymore, like, I really can’t see my phone anymore, so I need to use readers, and that squinting is causing more wrinkles and is causing my face to freeze in that position.
## Botox About Twice a Year
Now, I am very open and very honest about the fact that I get Botox about twice a year here. If that is a problem for you, it’s good thing it’s my face, right? But I’m, like, super, super honest about it, but my point is that because I don’t do it, like, every two, three months, I want my face to have movement, but I don’t want to be squinting, right?
## Keep Sunglasses in Your Bag
If you are noticing that your eyesight is changing, that you are squinting or you’re in the sun and you’re squinting, you know, because the sun is so bright, keep sunglasses in your bag, keep readers nearby. I have readers now downstairs in my house, in my office, and I should always keep a pair in my car as well, just so that if I need to read something, I’m not, like, straining my eyes or having to hold the phone so far away.
## Amazon Has Fantastic Ones
The point here is if your vision starts to change, go to the doctor, get the support that you need, and if you need sunglasses, Amazon snorts, Amazon has fantastic ones. I have tons of sunglasses, and pretty much every single pair is from Amazon. There’s no need for us to be squinting and causing eye wrinkles for nothing.
## Makeup Becomes Optional
And here is the one that is going to shave years, decades even, off of your appearance, and that is you want to start building skin that is good enough that makeup becomes optional. You know, I have to say, it’s so interesting, I think it’s kind of a two-parter. I am very, very committed to my skin care routine.
## It’s My Me Time
You know, it’s the only skin that we’re ever going to have. I like taking good care of myself, it’s my me time when, like, I’ve had a long day or something, it just really helps to ground me, and it feels good taking care of your skin, and I noticed that now in my 50s I am way more comfortable going makeup-free during the day than I would have in my 20s.
## Is My Skin 20-Year-Old Skin?
Now, is my skin 20-year-old skin? No, no, it’s not, but I am very happy with how my skin looks as a 51-year-old woman. You know, look, of course there’s things that we all want to change, but I think, focus on the positive, focus on the things that you like, and the other thing is, you know, I think one of the beautiful things, and I talk about this a lot, is that as we get older, we get more confident in ourselves, we kind of understand how we look, so, you know, having a good skin care routine, I can just sort of brush up my eyebrows, put on a little lip balm, and, like, I’m out the door, and that is so, so liberating.
## It Saves Me Time
It saves me time, and it also gives my skin a chance to breathe too, which is really, really important. Like I was saying earlier, your skin is going to change, it absolutely is going to change, especially during perimenopause and menopause, and I have been menopausal, now I like to say menopausal, you can say postmenopausal, for about four years now, and that being said, I have noticed changes as things have gone on.
## Aging Is a Privilege
They will continue to change, and we have to accept them, right? We absolutely have to. I mean, I think it’s so funny when people are like, “You can’t stay young forever,” and leave me, like, crazy comments, and I’m like, I’m actually really excited about aging. This is the one life that I have, and aging is a privilege, it’s something that we get to do.
## The Youngest That You Will Ever Be
You’re either getting older or you’re dead, and today, even if you’re 20 years old watching this, is the youngest that you will ever be. So we do want to really accept it, but again, that doesn’t mean that we can’t feel amazing in our skin, that we can’t feel really great about this life that we’re building, and yes, even how we look.
## Take Care and Pride in Yourself
That doesn’t mean it’s vain, it just means that you take care and pride in yourself, and you are worthwhile to take care of. So that is what I have for you today. It was a little bit of a, a mom lecture for you. I hope this was helpful, and I hope that it made you think, like, where am I sort of missing the mark here?
## Raises My Confidence
Where am I not making myself a priority and not giving myself those extra 5, 10 minutes, right, to take good care of my skin, to do something that makes me feel good, look better, and just raises my confidence?
