If you are still young and considering using anti-aging products, congratulations, you are both a long-term thinker and more likely to have better skin as you age than most of your friends.

But when it comes to anti-aging beauty regimes is there really such a thing as starting too early? Should you wait for the signs of aging to crop up before you need to start buying all those expensive products or should you invest right away for better results?

Well, this may not be surprising for most men but when you are young, wearing sunscreen, eating and sleeping properly as well as not smoking are the most important things you could do to take care of your skin.

The director of dermatological research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Adam Friedman, says that a broad spectrum sunscreen should be top priority for every young person. He recommends the use of sunscreens with SPF 30 or higher which can effectively protect against UVA and UVB rays as well as the signs of aging later on.

Like with most other health-related issues, prevention is often much better than cure. Why not protect what you already have rather than try and save it later? Staying out of the sun could be your best bet to avoiding aging for as long as possible.

Lighting up and puffing small cancer sticks isn’t going to help you in any way but you already know the health effects of smoking so we won’t go there. If you are a smoker just quit, as soon as you can and forever. It could be the single best thing you do for yourself.

So here comes the question – when is it too early to start using anti-aging cream or start with a beauty regime?

Well, lets assume you are in your early-twenties (although anything below 30 might be considered young), how worried are you about the signs of aging?

Take a look at your parents and see if you think they’ve aged faster than most people their age. If so, you may be genetically disposed to aging faster and should start using these products earlier.

The issue with anti-aging products

Don’t go out and buy anti-wrinkle cream and a ton of other products just yet. Before you invest your hard earned cash in any of these, bear in mind that most countries in the world do not require the same amount of rigorous clinical trials for cosmetic products as their drug counterparts. In most countries the benefits claimed by these anti-aging product manufacturers must be taken with a grain of salt.

Generally, using anti-aging products when you are too young may be unnecessary and a waste of money. Skin care products that help you look young do so by repairing collagen breakdown or increasing cell turnover. In your 20’s the cell turnover and collagen breakdown in your skin might be active enough as is.

Overdoing these processes may have bad consequences as well. Sometimes applying products to skin when it is fully capable of repairing itself naturally might make it more irritable and sensitive to the sun. The skin cells are forced to shed quicker when you apply anti-aging products and this leads to some noticeable damage to the top layer of your skin.

Switch to sunscreen if you are younger than 27-28 as you can probably tell your skin is in much better condition and using anti-aging products may not be the best thing for either you skin or wallet.

At what age should you start with an anti-aging regimen?

Here is a general overview of what you must do to fight signs of aging in every decade.

In your 30’s

Skin tends to dull around this period. Cell turnover has slowed and the dead cells on your skin do not wear off as frequently as they used to. Exfoliating treatments are best around this age. Couple of times a week of exfoliating is good enough. Also, pigment lighteners may help you fight brown spots by blocking enzymes that cause cells to pump out extra melanin.

In your 40’s

Lines and wrinkles will become a genuine problem around this time for most men. Retinoids are essential during this period as they stimulate fresh collagen. Pumping collagen is a natural way to plump wrinkles from the inside. Also try daily moisturizer. A night serum and glycerin will naturally moisturize your skin and keep it looking fresh.

In your 50’s and beyond

Around this period your skin is already damaged to a certain degree and the effects of gravity have been unkind. Skin is less than firm. Use barrier repair cream to plump up the skin’s surface temporarily. Argan oil, shea butter and ceramide containing creams are best. To tighten the skin use growth factors such as peptides and retinoids which can stimulate collagen production. Just be careful to use products that do not irritate the skin as it is more sensitive around this time.

How’s your anti-aging regimen going? Have you started already?