Loose Powder
Loose powder can be great for setting makeup looks all day, but it’s not the best choice for older skin. As your skin ages and loses its elasticity, wrinkles and fine lines begin to appear, particularly on the forehead, and loose powder can settle into them and make them more obvious. Applying too much loose powder on top of foundation can also appear cakey if your skin lacks moisture and a softer texture.
Using a light dusting of pressed powder is a good alternative to pressed powder because it still combats shininess without appearing too heavy. This subtle change is hugely effective in making fine lines more subtle.
Sunbeds
Everybody wants a gorgeous tan, but there are several issues that make sunbeds a bad and even dangerous choice for your skin. They use UV radiation to tan the skin, which can damage the DNA in skin cells and increase your risk of getting cancer. Long-term sunbed use accelerates the speed at which wrinkles and age spots appear on your skin, causing it to sag and dry out more quickly, just like the real sun does.
To protect your skin and still achieve that vacation-ready bronzed glow, use a fake tan lotion instead. It may take a few tries to get an even tan, but it won’t attack your vulnerable skin cells.
Heavy False Eyelashes
False eyelashes are a great way to accentuate your eyes, but choosing the wrong lashes can actually have an adverse effect. Thick, heavy lashes pull down the eyelid, making them appear saggy. This greatly ages your eyes, which are an otherwise crucial feature in combating signs of aging. Heavy eyelashes also appear very black and overwhelm the rest of your makeup. Wearing them could cause damage to your natural lashes, which lose their growth with age.
You can still wear false eyelashes as you age, but it’s best to shop around and find the right style. Lashes that are long but more sparse will accent your eyes without making them look droopy.
Lack of Exfoliation
Exfoliation is a key step in any beauty regime, and it’s just as important as you get older. Dead skin cells accumulate on the face and make it appear duller and drier, so it’s important to use a good exfoliating scrub to remove them. Skin cells die at a faster rate as you get older, and pores get bigger, making it easier for them to become clogged. Freshly exfoliated skin will look plumper and softer.
It’s best to exfoliate your face two to three times a week to clear your skin without irritating it. Then, apply a good moisturizer to rehydrate the skin and keep it smooth.
Dark Lipsticks
Lipstick is the perfect way to finish off a look, but beware the perils of dark colors! The issue with dark lipsticks is how harsh they can be, making the lips appear a lot thinner than they are. The color can also get trapped in fine lines around the mouth and accentuate them, drawing attention away from the rest of the face. By comparison, lighter lipsticks have a more plumping effect.
Some darker shades can look good if they match your skin tone, but it’s better to avoid them as a general rule. There are plenty of light shades of lipstick that look great on everybody.
Flat Hair
No matter how bold your makeup is, your hair ultimately makes or breaks the entire look. Hair growth slows with age, and it also becomes thinner due to lower blood circulation in the scalp. This can make it look flat and lifeless, narrowing the face and highlighting every crease and line. Bigger hair is far more flattering and provides a healthy, youthful bounce that conceals any dryness or split ends.
Luckily, a flat iron can help you achieve that perfect volume. Teasing the hair into sections and then straightening it makes it look fuller and also provides a healthy shine that will hold all day.
Bright Eyeshadow
There are plenty of ways to achieve a glamorous look without using bright colors, and this is a good idea if you want to avoid your makeup making you look older. Signs of aging often appear around the eyes, and bright colors draw attention to any sagging or wrinkles. The key is to make your eyes look larger in a more subtle way. Bright shades of blue, pink, and purple can wash out aging skin.
Instead, opt for warmer, more neutral colors like brown, gold, plum, and beige. These will blend in better with the overall look and shape the eyes in a flattering way.
Overplucking
As we get older, hairs pop up all over the face at a much faster rate. Naturally, most people pluck them out, but over-plucking hairs from the eyebrows, chin, and upper lip can cause unnecessary irritation. Hair follicles shrink with age due to a reduction in collagen in the skin, so pulling out hairs can damage them, leading to redness, hyperpigmentation, ingrown hairs, and even scarring. Skin becomes more sensitive with age and needs to be treated gently.
For older skin, using an electric shaver is a good alternative to plucking. It removes the hairs without being harsh to the follicles. Waxing is also a long-term solution for fewer regular hair removals.
Harsh Blusher
Rosy cheeks are associated with youth, but going overboard with the blusher is a bad idea. As we get older, our cheeks begin to lose their youthful softness and start to sag or become sunken. That’s why applying blusher to the cheeks can look so harsh: it emphasizes the change in facial structure. The blush should blend in well with your skin tone, not stand out, and make your makeup look clownish.
The best place to apply a subtle blush is higher up on the face, ideally between the cheekbone and temple. This ‘lifts’ the face, taking attention away from any wrinkles or sagginess.
Synthetic Skincare
Most of us buy synthetic skincare products because they’re cheaper and more widely available in stores, but some of them aren’t great for your skin. In fact, products with high amounts of dyes or fragrances can dry out the skin more and cause greater sensitivity, which is especially bad for aging skin. If every product seems to be making your skin look worse, not better, it could be a synthetic issue.
Consider trying clean skincare products instead. These are usually vegan and contain no potentially irritating ingredients, so they’re much kinder to the skin, though it’s important to buy from a trusted brand.
Sharp Eyeliner
A sharp cat eye looks good on tight, smooth skin but is less flattering when it has lost some of its elasticity. Instead of sitting on the eyelids, it is likely to slip into any creases and give the eyes a shrunken or droopy look. Applying too much product to achieve the perfect line can also look harsh, making the eyes pop in a bad way. A softer look with a slight smudge is far more flattering.
An eyeliner pencil is a good alternative to a liquid product. It’s easier to apply to looser eyelids and creates a warmer, more subtle look that doesn’t overwhelm the face.
Tight Hairstyles
There’s nothing wrong with wearing your hair up or back off your face, but pulling it too tightly is a common beauty mishap. Having a few strands of hair, known as ‘money pieces’, to frame the face gives it a border. Otherwise, all attention is drawn to your exposed skin and any fine lines it has. Wearing your hair too tight also puts more pressure on thinner, aging hair follicles and could lead to a receding hairline.
You can make many stylish and classy hairstyles by strategically utilizing loose strands to accent the face. It’s even easier to create an age-defying dimension around the face if your hair is layered.
Neglecting Sunscreen
Sunscreen is one of the most important beauty products you can have in your makeup bag. Without it, UV radiation will continuously penetrate your skin, depleting its cells and supply of collagen. Over time, you’ll look older than you are, with wrinkles and fine lines inflicted by years of sun damage. Dark spots may also appear, which messes up your complexion and requires you to use extra concealer to cover them.
It’s best to apply sunscreen to the face every day and then apply makeup over the top. This ensures your skin is sealed beneath a layer of SPF. And don’t forget your neck!
Ill-Fitting Bras
An ill-fitting bra is all it takes to ruin an otherwise perfect outfit, and it’s important to update your bras as you age. If your bra doesn’t fit properly, it will make you appear older and contribute to future breast sagging. It can even affect your posture and give you a slouch that we tend to associate with old people. When you have a bra that fits, your clothes will instantly seem to fit better, and you’ll appear more confident.
You can tell if a bra fits properly by how much lift and support it provides. It shouldn’t feel loose or uncomfortably tight, and your breasts shouldn’t be squashed in or down.
Matte Foundation
Matte foundation is possible, but it’s one of the types that most ages the skin. It can appear cakey, even if you don’t put a lot on, sinking into every crease and pore. And if your skin is dehydrated, a heavy matte foundation will only continue to lock out moisture. A foundation with a bit more shine can inject some youth into dull, dry skin, unlike a matte foundation, which emphasizes every little change in texture.
Luckily, sheer foundation is the perfect alternative. It’s more dewy and looks natural, allowing you to blend it into your skin and provide coverage without highlighting lines or wrinkles. The more lightweight, the better.
Dark Hair
One of the hardest things to decide as you get older is which hair color best suits your changing complexion and features. Many people dye their hair to cover the gray, but going too dark can be similarly aging. If there’s no contrast, dark hair acts like a shadow and saps the light out of your skin. This creates a harsh, aging effect, preventing you from obscuring any imperfections. Gray roots are also more noticeable on very dark hair.
There is an almost endless number of hair colors to experiment with, and there are plenty of darker shades that still add dimension and life to your complexion. Even a slightly lighter shade can revitalize your look.
Forgetting to Moisturize
Moisturizer is one of the most essential skincare products that you should start using when you are young and continue using as you age. It keeps skin smooth and full of moisture, helping to minimize signs of aging and inject some youth into your appearance. Dry skin makes the skin appear even thinner, which can make you look a lot older than you are. The best moisturizers also provide a good base for applying makeup.
Collagen creams are particularly good for moisturizing the skin. If you use them before bed, your skin will rehydrate overnight, encouraging long-term plumping and healthier skin cells to combat aging.
Extreme Hair Dye
It’s very common for people to dye their hair once it turns gray, but too much dye isn’t healthy. Hair becomes drier and more brittle over the years, so it needs more moisture in order to regain its soft, youthful texture. A professional hairstylist will be able to protect your hair from the effects of the dye, but it’s important not to go overboard. Using too much dye risks drying out your strands, making them more susceptible to breakages as you age.
And if you feel dye has had a negative effect on your hair, you can always embrace your natural gray hair! As long as you care for it, there’s no reason it should age you in a bad way.
Oily Creases
Though retaining moisture is important for keeping skin looking as youthful as possible, not cleaning oil out of creases and pores is a bad habit. People with very oily skin are more prone to breakouts and irritation, so it’s important to maintain a good cleansing routine. The more you cleanse, the brighter your skin will appear, lending it a youthful glow. Cleansing oil out of creases can also help soften them.
It’s recommended that you cleanse your face twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed. This helps reduce oils and keeps your skin clean and clear. Avoid cleansing more than this, as this can cause your skin to dry out.
Light Eyebrows
Eyebrow trends seem to change all the time, but as you age, they naturally thin out by themselves. However, as well as maintaining their shape, you should also consider darkening them to emphasize their shape and bring some more softness to your face. Eyebrows provide contrast and bring out your eyes and cheekbones, balancing out the face’s structure. Light eyebrows are more likely to blend in with your face and have the opposite effect.
You don’t need to permanently dye your brows to make them darker. Using a brow pencil to give them more color is sufficient, and it means you can experiment with different eyebrow shades.
Very Pale Lipstick
Though wearing lipstick that is too dark can age you, so can lipsticks that are very pale. A good lipstick should work well with your complexion and act as a focal point of the look in a subtly eye-catching way. A very pale lipstick, like pinks that are so light they’re almost white or very nude shades, will wash you out. Your lips should stand out from your skin, not blend into it, and highlight the lines that you want to obscure.
A warmer lipstick shade that isn’t too pale or dark will rejuvenate your skin tone and freshen up the look. A burst of color will also add more dimension and softness to the face.
Dull Nails and Hands
The hands are another body part that shows age, and neglecting to care for your nails can make you look older than you are. The backs of the hands, in particular, become wrinkled and dry, so they need to be hydrated. There are plenty of DIY hand masks that you can use, such as the banana peel and rice mask, to keep your hands soft. This makes it easier to care for your cuticles and nails.
To prevent dull nails, keep them clean and add a pop of color. Use cuticle trimmers to soften them, and practice good hand hygiene. Your nails will appear stronger and healthier.
Lack of Primer
If you want to disguise signs of aging and appear younger, never apply makeup to dry skin. Primer provides a smooth base for other products to sit more evenly on the skin, preventing foundation, concealer, and powder from sinking into creases and making them more noticeable. The primer also reduces oiliness and dryness simultaneously, keeping skin plump and hydrated for longer and providing plenty of coverage throughout the day.
Primer is designed to blur facial imperfections, smooth out texture issues, and lighten skin tone. Your makeup will stay in place all day, maintaining a fresh, youthful look.
Ashy Highlights
While dark hair is prone to casting shadows, ashy tones have a different light-related problem: they absorb light. Warm tones are more youthful because they reflect light, making hair appear fuller and glossier. Ashy highlights are almost too light, to the point that they make hair look dull. Though ash is a shade of blonde, ashy highlights appear almost gray, which is a sign of aging. To combat aging, you should introduce warm undertones to your hair.
Your hair frames your face, and the wrong hair color will draw all attention to aging skin. It’s best to avoid ashy highlights and choose something more flattering, especially if you have a cool skin tone.
Matte Lip Products
Fine lines appear around the mouth with age, and the wrong lip products can end up highlighting them rather than reducing their appearance. The lips themselves are also more prone to dryness, so using a sugar scrub on them will help to keep them soft. Then, avoid any matte products, especially lipsticks, because they make lips appear thin and dry. They’re also liable to slip into creases outside the lips and emphasize them.
To get a plumper look, choose lip products that contain moisture. Gloss is one of the best options, and it can be applied independently or on top of another lipstick.
Blunt Eyelashes
Eyelashes transform how our eyes appear. Long, curled lashes help to open them up and lift sagging eyelids, instantly de-aging older eyes. However, like our eyebrows and the hair on our heads, our eyelashes thin out as we age. This can cause them to appear blunt and almost unnoticeable. They may also become more prone to breakage if they’re not properly cared for. But you can actually give them a fuller appearance without applying any products at all.
Curling your eyelashes, either with an eyelash curler or another tool, like a wet Q-tip, gives them a better shape and opens up your eyes. You could apply a coat of mascara, but the curl alone will give them new life.
Flat Shoes
There is a lot of discourse around shoes, particularly women’s shoes. Not all flat shoes make you look older, but there’s a general consensus that some shoe styles are frumpy. To avoid looking matronly, shoes with even a slight heel are a better option. Ankle boots are a widely-loved choice for comfortable yet stylish fashion that doesn’t age your look. They’re timeless, and they work well with a casual outfit, like jeans, or a more dressy look.
A one—or two-inch heel helps elongate the legs and encourages confidence in walking. When accentuated with the right shoes, any outfit instantly becomes classier and less aging.
Straight Hairstyles
Straight hairstyles are a great way to exhibit your hair’s glossiness when you’re young, but they can be very aging on older people. Having pin-straight hair when it’s more at risk of thinning can lead to limp, flat hairstyles that do nothing to make you look younger. You can use old-fashioned rollers to get some much-needed curl, increasing your hair’s volume and giving it a healthy bounce. You can then style your curls into whatever hairstyle best suits your face!
Heatless curlers work best on damp hair and should be left in until it is completely dry. This will ensure the curls maintain their shape throughout the day instead of reverting to straight.
Baggy Clothes
One of the perks of getting older is not caring what anyone else thinks of your clothes, but you still want to look good! Baggy clothes, particularly T-shirts, obscure your figure and make you look frumpy. Choosing a slimmer fit gives your body a more defined shape, allowing you to highlight all the best areas. Focus on choosing clothes that fit well without being too tight and select items that are designed for women’s bodies.
What you wear is crucial to your overall appearance, and good clothes paired with a strong beauty regime will keep you looking young. Baggy clothes are a common misstep and do nothing for your changing body.
Unflattering Bangs
Many hair stylists recommend bangs if you want to look younger because they cover the forehead, obscuring fine lines and wrinkles, as well as giving the face a continuous accent. Bangs can be unflattering if they’re too long or short. You must be strategic if you want your bangs to suit your face shape and conceal signs of aging without being so blunt that they end up making you look even older.
Wispy bangs are the best option because they can be styled however suits you best. You can create side bangs, curtain bangs, or a full fringe. With the right haircut, bangs will revitalize your look.
Lack of Treatments
Washing and cleansing your skin is a great way to keep it clean and fresh, but forgoing other skin treatments could be aging you. These treatments don’t need to be expensive; in fact, you can make many of them yourself with natural ingredients. Hydrating serums help to increase skin elasticity, especially under the eyes, where the skin becomes puffier with age. Any ingredients that can clear your pores and moisturize your face will also keep your skin in the best condition possible.
You can make anti-aging skin treatments with items like refrigerated green tea bags, cucumber slices, coffee, rice, and baking soda. All of these contain healthy properties that keep skin clear and smooth.
Too Much Concealer
When you have age spots and increased under-eye puffiness, concealer may seem like the answer but don’t apply too much. A thick layer of concealer instantly ages you because it settles into fine lines and creases, making them more noticeable. As skin becomes thinner, it needs to be treated more gently, and constantly applying concealer will only cause potential damage. A light coat of long-lasting concealer that matches your skin tone is all you need.
The best concealers to avoid looking older should be smooth and full of moisturizing properties. Avoid matte concealers because they’re too cakey and more likely to highlight wrinkles or become too dark when you apply multiple coats.
Lack of Contours
Sadly, the face starts to lose some of its structure with age as the skin becomes looser. However, you can combat this aging effect by contouring your face. Many people pile on makeup in an attempt to cover things up, but too much will only draw more attention to them. Using highlighter to contour and sculpt your face helps to give it more structure and lift, with particular focus on the cheekbones, forehead, and chin.
Don’t apply too much highlighter, or your face will become shiny, but just enough to catch the eye in a flattering way. This is a great beauty hack for achieving a sculpted, balanced look that defies age.
Non-Parted Hair
Hair can be used to help us hide certain things, but don’t use it as a curtain! The best way to stop your hair from aging you is to part it in a flattering way. There are several different partings to choose from, with the middle part being the most youthful. It creates a sense of balance between both sides of your face, drawing focus to your best features. Creating some volume in the hair around your face prevents it from hanging limply.
A side part can make you look old if it’s not done properly. Instead of using a large portion of hair, use fewer strands to lift your hair and draw people’s attention upwards.