20 Things Women Over 60 Want Young Women to Know About Skincare

Aging gracefully is more about attitude than actual appearance. If you feel good and like yourself, it shows. Still, there are some things older women want women in their 20s to know about taking care of themselves—especially their skin. Wrinkles are inevitable, and not really that bad. But there are things they wished they'd known back in the day.

Here are 20 things to keep in mind:

Get at least eight hours of sleep each night. You'll look refreshed every morning, your skin will be nice and plump and it takes years off your face, no matter how old you are. Career or family may get you into a sleep deficit at some point. So, while you can, sleep, sleep and sleep some more!

There are special pillows that minimize the damage of sleeping face down or on your side. But your best bet is to train your body to sleep on your back. Keep the face free from fabrics. Face up also keeps you free of funny lines and unnatural stretching during your eight hours of shut-eye.

Some drinks require a straw (boba tea, anyone?), but most beverages can be consumed with just your lips and the edge of a glass or cup. To create the suction for straws to work, you have to wrap your lips around the straw and sort of squeeze. This, experts say, creates deep grooves around the mouth and they're hard to hide or reverse. It's better to avoid them from the start.

There are other reasons to avoid straws. They typically come with sugared drinks, which you should avoid for dental and overall health. They also require you to ingest little puffs of air with each sip, which contributes to gas and bloating. Finally, disposable plastic straws are a wreck for the environment. On second thought, why not use a spoon to get at those boba?

It's a bit of a paradox that makeup can make us look younger, while also accelerating the aging of our skin. Using just enough makeup to cover flaws not only looks more natural, but it also keeps young skin looking young for longer.

Dirty makeup brushes and sponges are breeding grounds for bacteria, which, when the skin is exposed to them, can cause breakouts and other problems. So it's important to keep your equipment clean.

It's not difficult. Just use some warm soapy water (your facial soap will work!) and allow them to dry completely.

Keeping skin clean and well-moisturized is the foundation of young-looking skin. So, try to break the habit of touching your face out of habit and when your hands are not clean. Minimizing breakouts and not spreading hand bacteria to the face will pay off decades from now.

It's a common and sometimes tired beauty and health tip and, though there's recently been pushback about eight, 8-ounce glasses a day, older women will tell you that staying hydrated makes a difference in how your skin looks at any age. While it's never too late to join the gallon-a-day club, the earlier you start, the healthier your skin is for the long haul.

Enough with the low-fat diets, our 60-year-old sisters are saying. You need to feed your skin healthy fats to maintain plumpness and glow. Which is good news for cheese and butter lovers, and great news for olive oil addicts. Pour it on! Don't just wear an avocado mask, eat some while you're at it.

In addition to healthy fats, you need to eat lots of healthy foods. Limit sugary snacks, more experienced women say, and load up on greens, grains, spices and generally tasty, good-for-you food. Your skin will show the difference.

Removing dead skin cells not only makes young skin glow, it also keeps skin from aging so quickly. Older women want younger women to know that there are benefits to a weekly scrub with your favorite product for exfoliating. Even just a teaspoon of sugar and light circular motions will do the trick.

Eye cream seems like one of those things that only older women need. Often, by the time we pick one up, damage has already been done. Find a cream that works for you now, and make it a part of your morning and evening skin routine. You'll look more awake and years younger—and like the kind of person who has skin that doesn't require eye cream.

It doesn't matter what kind of climate you live in or your skin type, your face needs to be moisturized—maybe even more than once a day. Make moisturizing (with an SPF, yes, even for darker skin) part of your daily routine. Pack extra and reapply at least once during the day. For night, find one that you love (and that's SPF-free). Moisturizing is what makes skin look young. And while it's never too late to get serious about it, you get better results, the younger you start.

Retin-A and other vitamin A products are the best thing we have to a fountain of youth, experts agree. Retinol is in lots of face products. Get a friend who has similar skin to recommend one, and start using it now as prevention instead of as a minimization strategy that women in their 60s, who haven't had a lifetime of these products, have to do.

Sunscreen isn't just for your beach bag (though, yes, definitely keep some in there). If there's one thing dermatologists and skincare experts (and women in their 60s) want young people to know, it is that sunscreen is an everyday and every face product thing. Your daily moisturizer should include minimum SPF 15. And your BB cream, foundation or other coverup should also include protection against UVA and/or UVB rays. Also, don't forget an SPF for your lips. And, who cares how big your head looks, wear a wide-brimmed hat. The sun does serious damage to young skin and potentially to your health. There are many ways to protect against the sun: Do them all. Every. Day.

Heat is drying and can strip your skin's natural oils, which ages you prematurely. So turn down the heater this winter (put on a sweater if you're cold), back off the heat in your shower and limit the hot, steamy cloths you apply to your face.

Stress triggers a cascade of hormones that cause inflammation and premature aging. Some stress can't be avoided, but finding ways to minimize its effects and manage stress is not only life-preserving but also skin-preserving as well.

There are lots of benefits to getting a professional facial, not the least of which is they're fun and relaxing. (Remember, lower your stress?) But they're not cheap, and they can eat into your busy schedule. Still, making time for a spa facial at least two times a year will take years off your skin, give it a deep cleaning and expose you to products you might like to use more frequently. Older women wish they would have gotten more facials.

Dermatologists are starting to look into the effects of having our faces pointed at screens for hours and hours a day. There's some evidence that blue light is not only damaging our eyesight and messing with our sleep, but it's also wrecking our skin. HEV, or high-energy visible light, is also present in sunlight and contributes to sun damage. So, until they invent high SPF screen-sunscreen (screenscreen?), be mindful of the time spent with your face directed at a screen and cut back where possible. Women in their 60s didn't spend decades in front of a computer, and maybe you shouldn't either.

Exercise increases blood flow, which feeds and rejuvenates skin cells. This, in turn, displaces waste products that contribute to aging, such as free radicals. A good workout is better than a bowl full of blueberries. It's a collagen boost, too.

Once you start with Botox and fillers and other little fixes, you have to keep it up—which is why lots of women advise their younger counterparts to delay cosmetic treatments for as long as possible. There's no evidence that Botox prevents or slows aging; it just hides it once it starts.