Preventative Skincare: Formulations for Proactive Age Support

Being proactive is important for all facets of your wellbeing, and skincare is no exception. Taking care of your skin before concerns arise—also known as preventative skincare—can help slow the progression of common issues like visible dullness, moisture loss, premature signs of aging, and more. 

Before we explore preventative skincare, we want to be clear: aging is a natural process. Visible signs of aging, like fine lines and wrinkles, are a normal part of skin maturation. Preventative skincare isn’t about avoiding the inevitable. It’s about supporting healthy-looking skin and maintaining its condition as it evolves. 

Our portfolio of accessible, science-first formulations can help you protect and maintain the state of your skin. Here’s how to build them into a proactive and preventative skincare regimen.

Daily cleansing is the first step of any preventative skincare routine. It helps remove dirt, oil, and debris that can cause clogged pores and future skin issues. Cleansing also clears the way for other treatments to absorb into the skin.

Our lab recommends cleansing morning and night for all skin types, no matter your age. This allows you to remove any makeup or environmental impurities from the day, and clear away any excess sebum that builds up overnight. 

Choosing the right cleanser for preventative skincare depends on your unique skin type. Here are our top cleanser recommendations and the benefits of each:

Glucoside Foaming Cleanser: This gentle, gel-like foaming cleanser removes makeup and other impurities while maintaining the skin’s moisture barrier. Formulated with plant-derived surfactants, it’s ideal for all skin types, including delicate and oily skin. 

Squalane Cleanser: This all-in-one cleanser is suitable for all skin types, including dry skin. It contains lipophilic esters to help dissolve makeup without stripping the skin, and squalane to leave the skin feeling soft, smooth, and hydrated. 

Gyloclipid Cream Cleanser: This cream-based formulation deeply cleanses the skin and removes makeup, from foundation to eyeliner and mascara. Suitable for all skin types, it’s formulated to support the skin’s barrier, maintain hydration, and respect the skin’s natural pH.

Every day your skin is met with environmental stressors, like pollution, smog, and UV radiation. These external factors can generate harmful molecules called free radicals that can cause damage to your skin. Over time, exposure to free radicals can lead to premature signs of aging, barrier damage, and an uneven-looking skin tone.

Antioxidants act as skin defenders. They help neutralize free radicals to protect against environmental stressors, helping your skin maintain its radiance while minimizing early signs of aging and other skin concerns. Starting antioxidants in your twenties can help protect your skin from stressors that can lead to premature signs of aging.

If you want your skincare routine to help visibly reduce aging-related concerns, consider adding serums that contain powerful antioxidants. Here are some of our most effective solutions:

Supporting Skin Radiance with Antioxidants

Every day, your skin is exposed to environmental stressors such as pollution, smog, and UV radiation. These external factors can generate free radicals—unstable molecules associated with oxidative stress, which is known to affect the skin’s appearance over time. This may contribute to visible changes such as uneven skin tone or a lack of radiance.

Certain skincare ingredients, including antioxidants, are widely studied for their role in supporting skin exposed to these stressors. When used as part of a preventative skincare regimen, antioxidant-containing products can help maintain the skin’s radiance and overall healthy look.

Incorporating these ingredients into your skincare regimen from an early age, such as your twenties, can be a proactive way to support your skin’s state and radiance, and target visible concerns as they emerge.

If you want to enhance your skincare regimen, consider adding serums that contain antioxidants. Here are some of our most effective solutions:

EUK 134 0.1%: A high-strength serum that uses a self-regenerating molecule to mimic the effects of two powerful antioxidants found naturally in the skin. It actively helps protect your skin from the visible effects of damage caused by environmental stressors. 

Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3%: This light, oil-like serum offers protection from the visible impact of oxidative stress, including visible signs of aging and dullness. The result: your skin looks brighter and smoother.

Pycnogenol 5%: This oil-like formulation gets its deep red hue from an exclusive French maritime pine bark extract. This plant-derived ingredient is extremely rich in antioxidants and helps to brighten the skin and protect it from environmental aggressors.

Multi-Antioxidant Radiant Serum: This daily serum combines a wide range of antioxidants to combat multiple skin concerns associated with environmental damage. It contains a total of 8 technologies to help boost radiance, improve the look of uneven skin tone, smooth skin texture, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Hydration is fundamental: to healthy-looking skin. When your skin lacks water it can negatively affect the look of it and keep it from looking smooth and plump. This can also impact skin elasticity and make early fine lines look more pronounced.

Adding hydrating products to your regimen is an important step of preventative skincare. Ingredients like hyaluronic acid can help your skin hold onto water, supporting your skin barrier along the way. With consistent use, hydrating products can help maintain firmness, reduce visible signs of premature aging, and prevent dryness. 

For more inexperienced skin, our skin scientists suggest layering a hydrating serum with a moisturizer to help lock in moisture and target dullness. Our two most-loved hydrating products are:

Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (with Ceramides): This second-generation formulation provides instant and long-term plumping hydration, for softer, smoother, and healthier-looking skin. It contains 5 types of hyaluronic acid, pro-vitamin B5, and ceramides, enhancing the skin barrier's ability to protect and remain hydrated for longer. 

Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA: This moisturizer provides immediate and lasting effects by replenishing lost moisture and fortifying the skin barrier over time. It’s infused with a comprehensive blend of ingredients that are naturally present in the skin, working together to hydrate and protect the outer layer of the skin without leaving a greasy residue.

Derived from vitamin A, retinoids are powerful ingredients that have been well-studied for their ability to counteract visible signs of aging. They boost skin cell turnover , helping prevent the buildup of dead skin cells and target the effects of collagen and elastin loss . When retinoids are used consistently, they can smooth out the look of wrinkles, improve the look of uneven skin tone, and make the skin look and feel firmer.

Since retinoids are known as skincare for aging skin , they generally come into play when signs of aging begin to emerge— typically in your late twenties or early thirties . Using retinoids proactively can help you delay premature signs of aging.

If it’s your first time using retinoids, we recommend starting with lower concentrations , like our Retinol 0.2% in Squalane . This gives your skin time to build up a tolerance and can help minimize irritation that can sometimes be associated with retinoids. And, as always, we recommend applying sun protection daily, but especially when using retinoids.

To learn more about which formulation or concentration is best for you, read our complete guide to using retinoids .

This wouldn’t be a preventative skincare guide without highlighting the importance of sun protection. Sun exposure is one of the greatest contributors to visible signs of aging. UV radiation damage can accumulate over time, leading to the early development of wrinkles, fine lines, and dark spots.

A broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF level of 30 or higher can help protect your skin from harmful UV rays that cause premature aging and dark spots. Our UV Filters SPF 45 Serum , for example, is a broad-spectrum, lightweight sunscreen that offers daily SPF 45 protection against sun damage. It also contains ceramides to support the skin’s moisture barrier while providing a white cast-free, natural-looking glow.

It’s never too early to start. Using an SPF regularly can help protect skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays . This is pivotal not only for the look and feel of your skin but for helping to decrease the risk of skin cancer.

Your skin is your body’s largest organ. Like the rest of your body, it requires consistent care to stay healthy. By starting a proactive skincare routine early and sticking with it , you can help address future concerns and maintain healthy-looking skin for years to come.

A friendly reminder that the keyword here is “maintain”. Preventative skincare is a proactive approach to supporting your skin through the inevitable process of aging. It’s not a way to avoid aging entirely. Sustaining a balanced skin state is all about embracing the aging experience and enjoying each phase of your skin’s evolution.