I'm Midway Through My Forties: These are the Best Skincare Changes I've Made

Here are the very best beauty changes I’ve made in my forties. And I realise that I’m only midway through the decade (45 in November, that crept up fast!) but I can’t imagine I’m going to better these little tweaks in the next few years. Fads and trends come and go, but these are changes that are easy to adopt into your daily routine and - above all - are proven to work. Minimal fuss for absolute maximum gain.

I mean, totally knock yourself out with all of the sexy, new and fascinating skincare things that seem to pop up online at a frightening rate, but I honestly feel that the following three things have made the most incredible difference to the general look, feel and tone of my skin.

[AD info: this post contains paid content with Renew + Me. I am a long-term, genuine customer and always delighted to be working with them!]

Using a Potent Retinoid Night Treatment

Retinoids are the gold standard ingredient when it comes to getting noticeable, visible results from your skincare. They also tackle just about every age-related skincare concern you can think of, from fine lines to unevenness of tone, from dullness to lack of elasticity, adult acne to deeper wrinkles. I’ve been using some form of retinoid for almost ten years and am always astounded by the results.

Wait a minute, you’re thinking. These are supposed to be beauty changes you’ve made in your forties! Retinoids are nothing new to you! Liar! Liar! Burn her! Etc.

Calm yourselves. There is a very important change I’ve made when it comes to my retinoids and it is this: I switched to a personalised product. A bespoke formulation. A nightly treatment that suits my skin’s needs very specifically and gives me powerful ingredients at levels that my skin can easily tolerate.

The product I use is the Nightly Active Treatment from Renew + Me. I’ve been a long-standing customer of Renew + Me before they were even called Renew + Me (they launched as And Begin) and before that, even, I was a long-standing customer of their sister company, Skin + Me. And so I always feel I can recommend them with absolute confidence - there are few other skincare products that I have used so consistently in my adult life and for so many years.

I think the reason that the Nightly Active Treatment is one of my most-used products is that it completely takes the guesswork out of my night routine. I know that the ingredients are powerful and effective (their retinoid is up to 20x more potent than in many of the high street products) but I also know that the formula is completely right for my skin. The twist up tube dispenses precisely the right amount for application and I never get any sort of adverse reaction, like dryness or irritation or flakiness.

Though I love testing new products (and it’s part of my job!) there’s something really satisfying about having a solid routine and a trusted stable of tried-and-tested things to keep coming back to - I think that my Renew + Me Nightly Active Treatment is sort of the pinnacle of this feeling of satisfaction. I know that my fine lines and wrinkles (main concern) are being tackled and that my combination of ingredients also works on lack of elasticity (other main concern) and it’s a comfort to know that the boxes are being ticked, every time I apply.

To get your own personalised Renew + Me treatment from the dermatology team you just need to do a very quick and easy online consultation and send makeup-free photos, when requested, and the appropriate formulation is dispensed. It is so simple.

You can get your first month for £4.99 (a saving of £20) with my offer code RUTHSUB or by clicking the link here - I have also seen, recently, that they offer a money back guarantee if you’re not seeing results within twelve weeks. I think this shows great confidence in their service!

To my other big beauty changes in my forties:

Wearing SPF religiously, all year round.

I almost didn’t put this in. It’s obvious, I thought. I’ll be preaching to the converted! Nobody wants to hear this anymore, it’s all anyone goes on about - it’s old news!

But then I realised that I’ve only just started to wear SPF religiously, all year round, and I’ve been immersed in the fashion and beauty industry for twenty-five years. I’ve written multiple times about wearing SPF religiously, all year round; I’ve made whole videos about wearing SPF religiously, all year round. And so if I’ve only just started wearing SPF religiously, all year round, then how far behind are lots of other people?

I used to roll my eyes at the idea of wearing sunscreen in the winter, when I was in my twenties. (And thirties, cough.) But this was because I had conveniently ignored the mechanics of how SPF worked; I thought that sunscreen use was all about preventing skin from burning, and didn’t realise that it was also about preventing signs of ageing. That exposure to UV light is thought to cause 80% of visible skin ageing. Blimey.

Other than staying in a cave during daylight hours, like a bat, or carrying a parasol, the best thing you can do is just slap on a good product with SPF in the morning, in adequate quantities. Much easier than moving to a cave and becoming nocturnal, if you think about it practically.

Paying Attention to Neck and Decolletage

Oh this is my latest beauty habit and it deserves some applause, because it’s not one that comes easy to me, I can tell you. The idea of taking skincare products down onto the neck and chest is abhorrent to me: how can anyone stand the feeling of it? And when are you doing all of this chest moisturising and neck spritzing and so on? Because you need to be entirely naked from the waist up, otherwise everything you’re wearing gets covered!

This is my problem. I do not want to have to get undressed to do my skincare routine. I want to be in my nightie, or a dressing gown. I don’t want to have to strip. Lots of the time I have already dressed before I’ve done my skincare routine and then we’re really in trouble - there is no way I’m taking a garment off again to make sure that my decolletage has been adequately serum-ed.

Anyway, I’ve managed to get into the habit of continuing my face routine onto the neck-n-dec and I swipe any excess onto the backs of my hands, too! Bloody hell, who even am I anymore. Do I grimace when bits of my hair get stuck in the neck cream? Yes. Are the straps of my nighties always covered in some sort of cooling gel or hydrating liquid or ultra-rich night treatment? Yes. But surely it will be worth it in the end.

Because it needs a separate post, this whole neck and chest thing, but suffice to say for the moment that there is just a slight disparity between the quality of the face skin and the quality of the rest of it. The face has been treated like Mariah Carey at The Dorchester and the chest has been left to weather all sorts of things, totally unprotected. The neck and chest are like Mariah’s PAs. Self-care? Pah! They don’t even have time to go to the loo! I reckon they’ve received less than 25% of the sunscreen application that my face has had in its lifetime and I have definitely never put a face mask on them.

But things are a-changing. These PAs have rights, you know! For the past six-ish months I’ve been lavishing with them with the same attention as the face. Pretty much. Alright, let’s say 60% of the attention. But that’s a huge improvement on…nothing!

Something had to be done, because at this rate my smooth-ish face would be fast disappearing into the crepey folds of a neck befitting a ninety year-old. I’d look like I was wearing a crinkly flesh-coloured turtle-neck! I’d literally have a turtle neck!

I’d like to say that out of the three changes it’s this one that’s the least disruptive: I mean it involves no new products, no more steps, you just do the same thing but on a larger surface area. Pretend that your face has doubled in size. Alas I cannot lie to you: I think it is a right old pain in the arse. I dislike the whole addition of this extra skin intensely. But I’m only six months in and already I think that the change in texture is quite radical.

(Yes, I also use an LED mask on my chest now as well as my face. It had to be fair - whatever Mariah gets, the PAs get too.)

So absolutely worth it. All three of these changes. There’s no magic involved, no leap of faith, just simple tweaks to the routine and noticeable, significant effects. Consistent sunscreen application, remembering not to ignore the neck and chest when you’re doing your skincare routine and introducing a powerful retinoid into your nighttime line-up.

Remember to use the unique code if you’re giving Renew + Me a try, RUTHSUB will get you your first month for £4.99.