AHAs, vitamin C and retinol: The ingredients your skin needs at each decade, according to Trinny Woodall

Once upon a time, the world of skincare revolved around a cleanser, maybe a toner, perhaps a serum, and a moisturiser. Those days are over.

Shelves – both in stores and in our bathrooms – are heaving with products, and it seems there’s a new It-ingredient dominating the conversation every six months. Actives! PDRN! Peptides! Snail mucin!

Even if you take an active (ha!) interest in the topic, knowing which ingredient does what, and when to start using them in your own routine, can be enormously daunting.

For Trinny Woodall, demystifying skincare is a passion. Her company Trinny London stands by the idea buying effective products shouldn’t require a science degree, and promises “carefully curated combinations” of ingredients in its range.

While she was in Sydney for her latest launch, we asked the cosmetics entrepreneur to outline which skincare ingredients are worth embracing at different stages of life.

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Teens

“It goes without saying no-one in their teens should use a retinoid,” Woodall, 62, told nine.com.au.

“I think as soon as you get your first period, you might want things that gently help with your sebaceous glands because you’ve got a lot of hormones, and they’re very active.

“So, introducing a very soft form of BHA, like willow bark, which is a natural form of salicylic acid, things like that.”

Twenties

Woodall says in the twenties, it’s wise to introduce skincare ingredients with preventative benefits – in particular vitamin C, often available in a serum form.

“It’s very difficult to think about preventative [skincare], so if you sell it in with what it immediately does, then secretly you’re doing preventive,” she said.

“If you use [vitamin C] underneath an SPF, it acts as a barrier and takes the hit to stop so many melanocytes forming, that will sit in your skin until you have hormonal change, like perimenopause.

“You see a lot of women who just use SPF, which is good, but if I look at women who have really seamless skin, they’ve used vitamin C and SPF as a sandwich.”

Thirties

Your thirties is the time to look into retinol, Woodall said, “because you’re going to start to see fine lines” and these products accelerate skin cell turnover.

She also says exfoliation is important.

“I think a lot of women in their twenties could use exfoliation in BHAs, and when you get to your thirties, you might want to go into AHAs if you don’t have oily skin.”

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Forties and fifties

“When you’re in your forties and fifties, you need to be very aware of what things aggravate your skin because you’re more prone to inflammation. A lot of women get rosacea when they are getting perimenopausal,” Woodall said.

“So be very aware that there are strong [skincare] ingredients, but there are active ingredients that won’t be too strong.“

The aim, she said, is nurturing the skin while still using effective products.

“Things that you used to use might aggravate your skin. You want to nurture your skin but still exfoliate, so it’s like – how are you nurturing? How many peptides are you putting in?”

For exfoliants, Woodall suggested AHA products made with lactic and malic acids, rather than glycolic acid, as they are less likely to cause aggravation.

“I’m very anti-glycolic. It’s an immediate effect, but it’s the smallest molecule size, and I see a lot of people who have redness developing and accelerating because they are overusing a glycolic acid,” she added.

Sixties

Woodall said ceramides and lipids are great options to embrace in your sixties.

Don’t think you’re off the hook with exfoliation at this age, either; ditching it from your routine could undo your good work.

“Your skin takes so long to turn over. You do need to get off those dead skin cells for any serum that you invest in to go in [to your skin],” Woodall explained.

“And never think microneedling is not for you, unless you have rosacea. It will stimulate your collagen and create microchannels, so [products] go in deeper.”