If your 20s were supposed to be difficult, your 30s come with a whole new set of challenges. For one, many 30 year olds are juggling it all — professional careers, parenthood, romance and relationships, and caring for their aging parents. It’s easy to imagine non-essentials such as skin care falling by the wayside when the real world and real life duties call.

However, the 30s are also a prime decade to practice good skin care hygiene to prevent wrinkles and prime your skin for the future! It’s easy to lose yourself in your tasks and forget self-care but a happy and healthy body is absolutely necessary to create happy and healthy skin.

It doesn’t need to be difficult! Here are some practical and convenient ways to keep yourself in tip top shape while juggling a crazy schedule.

Practice Downtime

This can sound ridiculous — there’s so much to be done, after all. However, rest is your body’s ultimate secret, and scientific, weapon. When you rest, you give your body a chance to turn down all of its stress hormones and switch from a sympathetic fight or flight mode to the parasympathetic rest and digest mode. This means your body goes from focusing on threats and shooting stress hormones everywhere to resting, digesting, and healing.

Skin is the body’s largest organ and it shows signs of stress immediately. Some people get acne, others find themselves with chronic eye bags. Some may develop eczema, and others yet see premature wrinkles.

To keep your body in tip top shape, you need to slow down and give yourself some consciously planned rest. This can be a twenty minute power nap, 5 minutes of stretching, a quick 10 to 20 minute yoga or meditation session, or even just a nice 15 minute day dream.

Whatever you decide to do, just know that when you rest and slow down, your skin rests and recovers.

See a Nutritionist and Create a Meal Plan

What we eat is what we are, and it’s been proven that diets high in fruits, vegetables, and good fats may also be great for the skin. Your skin needs all of the vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and particular lipids to keep it feeling fresh and youthful. Even hot buzzword skin supplements like biotin and collagen can be derived plentifully from a whole and nutritious diet.

Since many women in their 30s are rendered so busy that they can hardly monitor what they eat, it’s a good idea to speak to a nutritionist or other physician to receive recommendations for what types of foods you should be consuming.

Armed with this knowledge, you can make better nutrition decisions, whether that’s at the local salad bar or when you’re out grocery shopping for this week’s meal prep.

Choose Community Exercise Options

Joining a social exercise option is great for your skin in multiple ways. For one, you will be surrounded by peers and that will help you stay motivated to keep your skin looking gorgeous. The fun you have interacting with these peers and creating new friendships and relationships will help release endorphins and help counteract the stress you experience from day to day. Less stress means better skin. Finally, having a social fitness routine will help you reap all of the other health benefits of exercise and socialization while keeping your skin in great condition.

Examine Your Skin Care Products Closely

Your skin is already under a lot of duress from your daily stress levels, pollutants in the environment, minerals and chemicals in your water, and even the cosmetic products that you use. So, to make sure to give it the care it needs, look for gentle skin care products that don’t include drying ingredients like sulfates.

If you have a problem condition such as acne or premature wrinkles, talk to a doctor rather than attempting to treat it yourself. Products on the market are not as strong as prescription skin care treatments, but they are plenty strong enough to cause sometimes irreversible damage to skin. Considering that you may have stressed out or sensitive skin, the products you use can greatly impact your skin.

To avoid harsh ingredients, stay away from little studied botanical ingredients like tea tree oil and other essential oils. Natural doesn’t necessarily mean harmless and sometimes botanicals rival prescription strength ingredients — the only caveat being that they are untested and not prescribed by a knowledgeable physician. Next choose products with a long safety record. It can be tempting to jump on every new skin care ingredient and trend, but the safety and efficacy of many products on today’s market is unknown and untested. To protect yourself, choose products that have proven their safety over time.

Choose Strong Sun Protection

Sun protection is essential as you get older. Your 30s are the time to prevent sun damage that will show itself as wrinkles and dark spots in your 40s. Further, the risk of skin cancer is very real and choosing a good sunscreen that suits your skin is a great way to practice prevention. Wearing sunglasses can help protect the sensitive skin around the eyes from becoming damaged and saggy, and choosing to wear a hat on very hot and bright days can shield you from the harsh direct rays of the sun.

Speak to a clinicianto get their recommendation for the amount of sun protection you should use based on your family and personal medical history.

Consider Prescription Skin Care Treatments

If you find that you are experiencing acne, premature wrinkles, or saggy skin, you should address those issues immediately and nip them in the bud. A doctor can help you create a personalized treatment plan with prescription strength ingredients like Retin A or topical antibiotic/Benzoyl Peroxide preparations.

Make sure to inform your clinician about any prescription medications you are taking. A good care provider will walk you through the possible side effects and contraindications of any medical treatment plan and help you choose the option that is right for you.

Prioritize Yourself — And Your Skin!

The 30s are a full decade in your life but that does not mean you should forget about taking care of yourself. By choosing practical and convenient solutions, you can take care of your skin and your productivity. For those times where you really can’t manage your skin, there are prescription and medical options to help you get your skin under control and on the road to health.