An interview with Lilith Schwertle, the European Beauty Consultant for Weleda, by Natural Lifestyle Magazine (November 2010)

What is our skin like in our 20s?

In our 20’ our skin is capable of maintaining its balance between hydration and oil production, looking radiant and beautiful. No ageing signs are visible. Regular use of natural facial care products will help the skin preserve its healthy, youthful appearance but skin ageing can be accelerated by excessive sun exposure, smoking, alcohol, ill health, poor diet, or insufficient sleep as the skin’s natural repair and rebuilding processes take place at night. Plant ingredients such as iris germanica are ideal for our 20’s as the iris is moisture balancing. This plant is able to maintain a balance between the skin’s moisture-stimulation forces on the one hand and firming and shaping forces on the other.

What does skin need during our 30s?

In our 30s the skin retains its youthful resilience and elasticity but is starting to show the first signs of ageing, mostly around the eyes. Our unique facial characteristics are beginning to form and the ski may glow as much as it used to in our 20s, and may be drier. At this time, its important to support the regenerating processes with ingredients high in polyunsaturated fatty acids such as rosa mosqueta seed oil. This helps skin stay elastic and firm, strengthens the skin and builds up the protective barrier functions. Rose seed oil has also been traditionally used to counteract and reduce scar tissue and pigmentation, and to stimulate skin cell renewal. This nourishing oil contains vitamin A and E, which help minimise the signs of ageing. Rosa mosqueta helps the skin to maintain a harmonious balance.

What physiological processes are happening to our skin in the 40s and what best meets our skin’s needs during this time?

Life around 40 is quite interesting. We can look back at our lives filled with plenty of varied experiences on one hand and on the other hand we can look forward and think about where our future journey will lead us. Our skin’s appearance will show whether we have started to take care at an early age, and how life has treated us. Some of the fine lines may have formed deeper wrinkles and our personal life story is more clearly written on our face. Superfruits such as sea buckthorn and pomegranate are great ingredients to turn to at this point, as they contain an exceptionally high level of nutrients – vitamins and antioxidants – and the skin needs extra nourishment, protection and stimulation at this time. Pomegranate is a very dynamic and potent medicinal plant, full of antioxidants to provide effective anti-ageing protection form free radicals. Along with high levels of important fatty acids and vitamins, pomegranate seed oil stimulates cell renewal to help keep skin firm and radiantly beautiful.