Brighter, better, tauter, fresher

[troisieme]

I'm 34 and have noticed a big decline in my appearance since having children three years ago. Specifically, my face looks rounder, and my neck skin is less taut, giving the illusion (?) of a double chin.

I know ageing is normal, and I ultimately need to accept it, but I was hoping to still have a few good years left.

Please may I have your recommendations for skincare and for combating the issues referred to above? I currently use Olay day fluid and that's it. I'm East Asian if that's at all relevant.

Thank you!

Yes, being east Asian is very relevant. You age very differently to Europeans, skin is a poor healer so pigmentation is much more of an issue as opposed to wrinkles as East Asian skin is thicker and has better collagen stores, hence the fuller bouncier face. In terms of skeletal scaffolding, that's very different to Europeans too, it's less strong and the chin is an especial weak spot. There's a reason why v-shape jawline surgeries are so popular.

In terms of skincare, you have to be realistic, it's not going to defy gravity. Focus on pigmentation (prevention) and brightening, look out for ingredients like Niacinamide, Kojic Acid, Arbutin, Tranexamic acid and prioritise sunscreen above all else (if you don't already). For the overall face shape you can consider caci facials and/or microcurrent devices (the pink Foreo Bear is great) as these target strengthening the muscles on top of your skeletal scaffolding. I'd be wary of fillers as they don't aesthetically mesh well with East Asian faces (IMO).

Thank you wow - really impressed by your knowledge! I'm sad to hear about my weak scaffolding though. Will losing some weight help the loose neck?? (I'm 5 ft 10 and currently 72kg, was around 60kg before children )

I don't really like telling anyone to lose weight but I would say extra weight shows up much quicker in the face in East Asians, it also tends to be 'softer' which makes everything less defined so I think it probably would make a bit of a difference.

Thanks! Can I ask where you got your knowledge about all this stuff from please, specifically East Asian skin knowledge? Having lived in the UK since a very young age, I've never even questioned how products aimed at Caucasians might not work so well for me.

I'm part Asian so my skin/face is sort of a bit of this and a bit of that so you kind of have to puzzle it together and I enjoy skincare as a hobby for years now so you pick up all sorts. I went through an Asian skincare phase too (still use a bit, mostly Japanese) but there are definitely genetic differences but climate/environment impacts a lot too, my skin is a lot happier in a warm humid climate. I don't think you come out poorly with products made for Caucasian skin in Europe, especially the big standard maintenance stuff, it's only when you have specific issues that you need a different approach, usually.