Fashion & Beauty / 11 August, 2026 / My Baba

Skincare In Your 30s And 40s: What Your Skin Actually Needs

By the time we reach our late 30s and 40s, our skin has inevitably started to change. Fine lines may linger a little longer, pigmentation from years gone by begins to make an appearance, while changes in collagen, elasticity and facial volume can become more noticeable.

So, what does our skin actually need at this stage – and which of the countless ingredients promising younger-looking skin are genuinely worth our time?

In this extract from No-Nonsense Skincare: An Expert Guide to Healthier Skin, dermatologist Erum N. Ilyas, MD, cuts through the beauty jargon to explain the ingredients that can make a difference in your 30s and 40s. From retinoids and peptides to hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, here’s what they can realistically do for your skin – and where some of the hype may have got a little ahead of the science.

Correct

If you had the opportunity to start caring for your skin early on, you’ve hopefully bought yourself a little more time before some of those dynamic facial lines settle into stationary ones. Even with consistent care, some degree of change is inevitable.

Face

Ages 35 to 49 is when we start to see the structural shift that comes with ageing, such as gradual volume loss, changes in skin elasticity, and bone remodelling. The result can be lines and wrinkles on the face and neck.

Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Retinols and Retinoids

If you haven’t already started, adding a retinol or retinoid to your skincare routine is worth considering, as we discussed in chapter 10. If tolerance is an issue, over-the-counter retinol products or the alternative of bakuchiol are reasonable options. But if you’re tolerating retinol well and looking for more results, talk to your dermatologist about prescription options to see if one may be right for you.

Peptides

Peptides are the amino acid building blocks for collagen and other structural molecules in the skin. In skincare products, their effect depends on the specific peptides used. Studies have shown there are some peptide formulations that can reduce muscular contractions, inhibit enzymes that break down collagen, or act as signalling molecules for collagen and elastin production, while others are structural.

The goal is to thicken the skin and add tone. There are peptides that have an effect and ones that don’t.

The hard part about choosing products with peptide-based ingredients is knowing whether the peptides included are the ones with proven benefits. As I’ll continue to emphasise, skincare products make a lot of vague and unregulated claims about their effects.

How does this come about?

A study is typically conducted using a specific version of an ingredient with a specific concentration showing a benefit, such as reducing wrinkles or improving skin tone. This generates buzz, media coverage, and increased online searches for products containing that ingredient.

What you’ll find in your searches is that they may make vague references to these ingredients, but they do not really meet the standards from the studies. It would be like hearing an ad about a high-performance sports car and then searching for it online using the word “car.” The results might lead you to a station wagon: You’ll take it for a drive and wonder why it doesn’t live up to the hype. Not all cars are like the sports car from the ad, of course, and not all peptide-based products are backed by evidence.

What you’re getting in a skincare product can be anyone’s guess unless the ingredients and concentrations are disclosed or the brand itself is backed by research and support for its products.

Peptide-containing products are often formulated as serums or creams. For serums, only a few drops are needed, while for creams less than a pea-sized amount is typically enough for the face. These should be applied after cleansing and before moisturising.

Deeper Lines and Wrinkles

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring substance in the skin as well as throughout the body. Alongside collagen, it provides structural support and retains moisture.

Studies have shown that HA molecules can hold or absorb well over 1000 times their weight in water. When the skin is well-hydrated—both in the dermis and the epidermis—it feels supple, smooth-textured, and shows fewer lines and wrinkles. HA is found in topical over-the-counter skincare products and in an injectable form as a cosmetic procedure.

Topical hyaluronic acid.

I know you’ve probably heard about HA in skincare products, but I have some disappointing news. Topical formulations of HA mostly act as lightweight moisturisers. When applied to the skin, its primary effect is on the surface of the epidermis, where it can add hydration.

Since HA works by attracting moisture, it can be more effective when layered underneath a moisturiser. Although marketing has focused on this ingredient, remember that the molecules are too large to penetrate to the dermis, so it doesn’t have a long-term impact on skin structure. It is not treating or reversing wrinkles, just making them appear less noticeable. The same could be said of many pigmented makeup products and other moisturisers. The benefit of using topical HA is often overstated and conflated with the injectable version. Because it’s lightweight, however, I find it is favoured by my patients in daily moisturisers as they appreciate its ease of use.

Here’s a quick tip:

Before buying another product because it touts HA, check the ingredient labels of what you already own. Look for terms like hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate, or hyaluronan. Many patients bring in a bag of products to ask if they are using the right ones. This is a place I often find a lot of redundancies.

If you already have a product with HA, you probably don’t need another one just for that ingredient. Most formulations likely have around 0.5% to 2% HA, although most do not disclose the concentration on the labels. Higher concentrations aren’t necessarily more effective.

Injectable hyaluronic acid.

To restore or add volume or define features, HA can be injected into the deeper layers of the skin, the dermis, by your dermatologist. When done correctly, it rehydrates tissue and supports volume under the skin. If done poorly, it can look like a balloon was inflated. Filler placement is a bit like blowing a bubble with gum. When done right, the bubble looks smooth and even. But if you overdo it or don’t account for how much gum you have, the bubble becomes stretched and unnatural.

Common areas to inject include the lips, nasolabial folds, mid-face cheeks, under the eyes, and along the jawline. Results typically last 6 to 9 months or longer, although this can be variable. Dynamic areas like the lips may need to be touched up sooner. This allows for a reversible yet long-lasting effect.

“I’m so afraid of filler. I don’t want to look overdone!”

For patients seeking restorative treatments for lost volume, the results can look very natural in the right hands. The result to expect in terms of appearance is based on your request and the experience and training of your provider. Credentials and expertise matter. And, to stay safe, it is reasonable to request to see the product packaging to ensure you know what is being injected.

Discolouration

Options for treating discolouration remain largely unchanged from young adulthood, including ingredients like azelaic acid and retinol. By the time we reach our late 30s and 40s, the cumulative effects of UV damage from our youth are catching up. This will appear as freckles or spots on the cheeks, nose, and any other sun-exposed areas that dealt with excess UV exposure at some point earlier in life.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C, or L-ascorbic acid, is an essential nutrient for skin health that the body cannot produce on its own, so we must obtain it through diet or supplements. It’s found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, and leafy greens.

There has been so much buzz around vitamin C in skincare. I often place it in my “skincare halos” category, which are ingredients that sound healthy or good for you so you use them without really knowing what, if anything, they can do. So many of my patients of all ages will say they use it because they feel like they are supposed to—it sounds healthy, right?

How Topical Vitamin C Actually Works

Vitamin C actually can play a role in your skincare routine, but it is worth knowing how it works and what it can realistically achieve. Topical vitamin C is considered an antioxidant helping protect skin cells from damage caused by UV exposure and pollution. Although it has the potential to improve some forms of discolouration such as sun damage and melasma, as well as supporting collagen production, the studies available are limited, with mixed results.

With different versions and concentrations of vitamin C along with various combinations, it’s difficult to determine which formulation is effective. Additionally, it’s unstable in light, so we don’t always know how potent a product is by the time it reaches your skin.

In practice, I’ve found it helpful to include topical vitamin C for managing pigmentation from melasma and sun damage, although its effects on other signs of ageing like wrinkles or pigmentation from acne scars are less consistent. Studies show that oral intake of vitamin C does not deliver high enough concentrations to the skin to address pigmentation concerns. For this benefit, topical application is the most effective route.

What To Look for When Choosing a Product

When choosing a product, look for active forms such as L-ascorbic acid or tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate in concentrations of 10% to 20%. Packaging also matters. Vitamin C degrades when exposed to light, so choose products in dark or amber bottles. Some formulations have enhanced potency by combining vitamin C with vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) or stabilising it with ferulic acid. These products often promote the presence of all three ingredients.

Topical vitamin C isn’t necessarily for everyone, but it can play a valuable role in addressing specific types of discolouration. It’s generally safe to use with few side effects, although some experience irritation. Some formulations will have other ingredients like niacinamide to help reduce redness and inflammation; however, it should not be used at the same time as benzoyl peroxide since the combination will make it less effective.

I typically recommend adding vitamin C to the morning routine, although this can vary based on the product you choose. Vitamin C cannot replace sunscreen, but applying it before sunscreen can enhance the protection from UV damage.

Excerpted from No-Nonsense Skincare: An Expert Guide to Healthier Skin by Erum N. Ilyas, MD. Copyright 2026. Published with permission of Johns Hopkins University Press.

Parental Control, Ep 138: Body Image After 30: Why Are We Still So Hard On Ourselves?

The Best Family-Friendly Afternoon Teas In London & Beyond For Summer