According to a 2023 survey from the American Academy of Dermatology, 20% of Gen Z’ers believe that being tan is more important to them than protecting themselves from skin cancer, and 30% admitted that they would rather look “great” today with a tan “even if it means looking worse later in life.”

In the 1990s, skin cancer began being talked about as a major public health problem, as did cancer in general, and millennials took note, and the dawn of the social media era only amplified your mom’s nonstop “sunscreen helps prevent cancer” rhetoric.

“For a time, the messaging being beamed out about skin protection by actual experts was stronger than it had ever been in the past because of the reach of social media.”

More recently vaping has become a major culprit of premature ageing. The nicotine and chemicals used in vaping can cause the breakdown of collagen — a protein that helps to keep our skin plump and firm — sometimes resulting in lines around the lips and puffiness around the eyes.

Add to that the recent trend of getting your face pumped full of fillers (really, you think you look better?), and it’s no wonder a small window of ‘older’ people are looking so good for their age.

Courtney Rubin, a dermatologist and co-founder of Fig.1, a skincare brand, says “I’m seeing many clients starting to get filler in their 20s, which didn’t use to be the case.”

“Filler works great as a way to replace volume that has been lost over time, as a restorative treatment, but when you are in your 20s, you haven’t lost any volume yet.”

“Unfortunately, there is still a lot of terrible advice out there from people who have no business dispensing advice, but that’s the world we live in.”

Unfortunately, it is. Perhaps the simplest advice remains the best: Eat healthy, drink lots of water and put on sunscreen every day. Everyone gets old, the trick is to do it gracefully.

[source:huffpost]