Forget the year on your birth certificate — many factors can dramatically change how your skin looks and feels. Even if you haven’t noticed any signs yet — like dark spots or fine lines — and consider yourself too young to pick up something labeled “antiaging,” the truth is that if you’re in your 20s, it’s not too early to start with preemptive measures. “Antiaging in beauty refers to ingredients such as retinol, peptides, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid, which help fight signs of sun damage, fine lines, wrinkles, and crepey skin,” Arizona-based double board-certified dermatologist Karan Lal, DO, FAAD, tells Popsugar. “We start losing collagen in our 20s and start accumulating sun damage in our teens,” which means it can’t hurt to start using antiaging products sooner than you thought.
If you’re going to add just one antiaging skin-care product to your regimen, make it daily sunscreen, which Lal considers a nonnegotiable in preventing sun damage that causes fine lines, wrinkles, and discoloration. Of course, there are plenty more products where that came from, too, from retinol serums that exfoliate to reveal new, smooth skin cells to moisturizers packed with peptides that firm your skin. Ahead, we’ve rounded up our favorite antiaging skin-care products to tackle signs of skin aging, from dryness and dullness to fine lines and wrinkles.
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Dr. Karan Lal, DO, FAAD, is a New York- and Arizona-based celebrity double board-certified pediatric and cosmetic dermatologist.