ELEVEN years ago I went to get professional photos done as I’d just left my full-time job to launch my natural beauty company.
I was 52 and hoped to get some flattering, polished images that suited my new role as CEO and beauty founder.
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Instead, as I unwrapped the printouts and stared at the pictures of my face I felt nothing but shock. I looked years older with saggy skin and a turkey neck, which made me look bigger than my actual size (I weighed just 7.5st).
I’d been using expensive anti-ageing products but when I looked at the photographs of my skin, I realised that they hadn’t been working.
In fact, I was so horrified at my appearance that I decided to do something about it.
I’d started making skincare by hand in 2013, when my son was going through chemotherapy and developed severe psoriasis, which caused his hands to crack and bleed.
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I had made him a shea butter balm at the kitchen table, which worked on his skin when prescription creams and products didn’t.
I knew that I could create a product that might help me turn back the clock, the result was an anti-ageing oil serum called Elixir. I also transformed my skincare routine, making sure I was adding ingredients that suited my mature skin.
Today, I’m 63 but I look ten years younger – I barely have any lines and wrinkles and my hair is as thick and shiny as that of a woman in her 40s.
I’ve learned that you can achieve healthy glowing skin without spending a fortune or relying on expensive products.
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I am passionate about using natural products with powerful bioactive ingredients and have seen the difference on my own face.
As well as choosing to put top quality ingredients on my skin, I’ve also made skincare a part of my daily routine that I never miss, no matter how tired I am.
People often ask me what my secret is, so here’s my skincare step-by-step – and how it can help you too:
MY FIVE-MINUTE MORNING ROUTINE
1. A gentle cleanser that doesn’t make my skin feel tight
I start my skincare routine by washing my face with a mild foaming cleanser to remove any oil, sweat and residue from last night’s products.
It’s made with an organic soap base and French lavender essential oil, which helps soothe reactive skin and balance sebum. I recommend avoiding harsh cleansers, especially if you have mature skin as they can strip out your skin’s natural barrier and sebum.
If you find that your cleanser is leaving your face feeling tight, that could mean that you’ve washed away the lipids that your skin needs to stay balanced.
2. An old fashioned toner with true flower power
Toner has fallen out of fashion in recent years, but I love the way it keeps my skin calm, hydrated and prepped for serums and moisturisers.
I never skip this step in my routine, and use a rose water toner with 96% organic rose floral water to tone, firm and purify my skin while maintaining its natural pH balance.
Rose floral water is a fantastic ingredient as it helps to balance oil and can reduce redness, so it can help ease rosacea.
3. A multi-tasking serum to make my skin firm
I use a three-in-one serum containing moisture-boosting hyaluronic acid, skin brightening vitamin C and skin repairing and smoothing vitamin B3 (niacinamide) to keep my skin firm and promote collagen production.
Collagen is a protein in the body that plays a key role in maintaining the skin’s firmness and elasticity – essentially keeping skin looking youthful.
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But studies suggest women can lose up to 30% of their collagen in the first five years after menopause, which explains why the look and feel of skin can change rapidly during this time of life.
However, you can help protect your existing collagen and even encourage the growth of more by incorporating these key ingredients into your skincare regime, as well as aloe vera, which I recommend for its collagen-promoting properties.
4. The serum packed with oils that skin love
I warm a few drops of Elixir oil serum in my hands and then press it into my face.
This serum is packed with a range of oils, all of which have a different job to do in our skin. gamma-linolenic acid-rich evening primrose and borage oils contain fatty acids that are great for dry skin as they help support the skin barrier, making it feel softer and more hydrated.
Jojoba oil mimics our natural sebum and brings lightweight moisture, leaving the skin feeling balanced, soft and smooth; squalane from olive oil helps neutralise damage from free radicals which can cause premature ageing, and gives skin a smooth silky feel without heaviness.
Meanwhile, vitamin E oil is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect the skin from oxidative stress and also conditions the skin. The unsung hero, however, is sea buckthorn oil, which is nutrient-rich and full of fatty acids, carotenoids and antioxidants and is excellent for dry and mature skin.
This combination provides the broad range of oils and antioxidants that my skin needs to reduce moisture loss and give skin a silky smooth feel, and the colour of the oil also leaves me with a natural glow.
I follow the same four steps that I do in the morning before I go to bed, but with one addition: after cleansing I use a mild AHA exfoliator.
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Lactic acid lifts away dead skin cells and draws moisture into the skin at the same time. It leaves skin brighter and smoother without the dryness or irritation that stronger acids can cause.
- Georgina Tang is the founder of multi-award-winning beauty brand YNNY [www.ynny.co.uk]. She also creates white label beauty products for high-profile brands and influencers.
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Georgina says: “Whenever I have a bath, I use an exfoliating scrub made with demerara sugar, poppy seeds, fine ground pumice powder with vitamin E, apricot kernel oil and mandarin essential oil. It’s great at exfoliating but is gentle and helps moisturise skin as well.
“I avoid products with aggressive exfoliants such as crushed walnut shells or sea salt, which can be too abrasive, physically tearing or scraping the skin surface causing damage.
“Once a month, I use an exfoliating face mask which contains oats, powdered coconut milk plus bentonite clay, Moroccan Lava Clay and kaolin clay to provide a non-abrasive exfoliation, clear out impurities, absorb oil and soothe redness and irritation. It leaves my skin feeling soft and soothed.”