3 Signs Your Skin Is Aging Faster Than It Should (And How To Fix It)

Last Updated on October 3, 2026 by Giorgia Guazzarotti

“OMG, is that a wrinkle?! Aren’t those supposed to appear when you’re like, 60?” I was 25. I had spent most of my summers till then frolicking under the sweltering Italian sun – sans sunscreen. That was something you only wore at the beach and I HATE the beach. I didn’t need that stuff.

Until one day I looked in the mirror and I saw a HUGE (ok, it wasn’t huge, but it looked like that to me) crow’s feet in the corner of my eye. How did this happen?! You’re not supposed to get wrinkles at this age! Or… are you? I mean, in the age of Photoshop and Kardashian facelifts, do we even remember what a human being looks like anymore?

The truth is, wrinkles are a normal part of growing older. But there’s a difference between your skin ageing naturally and ageing faster than it should. And wrinkles aren’t the only thing to look out for. Fine lines showing up earlier than expected, sun spots appearing in your 20s, and skin that’s suddenly looking dry and dehydrated can all be premature signs of aging. The good news? There are things you can do about them. Let’s take a closer look at each sign and what you can do to slow down the ageing process.

Table Of Contents

At What Age Is It Normal To Get Your First Wrinkle?

When you’re young, naive and your skin bounces back straight after a stretch, it’s easy to think wrinkles are something that happens only to old people. Truth is, wrinkles WILL get you much faster than that. It’s TOTALLY NORMAL to notice your first wrinkles in your late ’20s, especially on your forehead, between your eyebrows or around your eyes.

WTH? Why so soon? The main culprit is unprotected sun exposure. If you’re anything like me, sunscreen was something your mum forced you to wear at the beach or on particularly boiling days. No one thought to put it on when you were playing in the backyard. But all that sun damage you got as a kid can start showing up in your late ’20s.

The other culprit? Repeated facial movements, like smiling, frowning or squinting overtime leave fine lines etched all over your face. But, I’ll take those. I mean, can you imagine a life without smiling? From your late 20’s onwards, your wrinkles will slowly become longer and deeper. You’ll get new wrinkles, too. It’s after menopause, and the sudden loss of collagen that brings, that wrinkles start getting really deep.

People with darker skin tones (and more melanin) usually develop wrinkles more slowly and at a later age. Why? Melanin is like your skin’s built-in sunscreen. The more you have, the more natural protection you get against UV damage. Lucky you! But don’t throw away your sunscreen just yet. Melanin offers some protection, not a free pass to bake in the sun

Struggling to put together a skincare routine that minimises wrinkles, prevents premature aging, and gives your complexion a youthful glow? Download your FREE “Best Anti-Aging Skincare Routine” to get started (it features product recommendations + right application order):

3 Signs Your Skin Is Aging Faster Than You Should (And What To Do About Them)

Truth bomb: when it comes to premature aging, your lifestyle matters more than your genes. Those wrinkles you were blaming on your parents? Unhealthy diets lacking nutrients is more likely to be the culprit. So, how can you tell if you’re doing something to speed up the aging process? Here are 3 signs your skin is aging faster than it should (and what to do about them):

1. You’re Getting Fine Lines/Wrinkles In Your EARLY ’20s Or DEEP Wrinkles By Your Early ’30s

It’s ok to get fines line around your eyes, mouth and forehead in your late ’20s. But if they appear before that or they already look like deep craters by your early ’30s, your skin is losing collage faster than it should.

Collagen is the protein that keeps your skin firm. After you turn 21, your skin loses 1% of collagen every year until you reach menopause and new collagen production slows down. But the wrong lifestyle habits can speed up the process and destroy collagen faster, making your skin sag and wrinkle before its time. Here are the biggest culprits:

Late nights and lack of sleep
Pollution and other environmental stressors
Repeated facial movements
Smoking
Stress
Unbalanced diet rich in processed foods and low in vegetables
Unprotected sun exposure

You can use the best skincare products in the world, but if you don’t slow down the overproduction of collagen-destroying free radicals, you’re fighting a losing battle. Here are a few good lifestyle habits to pick up for younger-looking skin:

Eat the rainbow: Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants that fight the free radicals that give you wrinkles. Eat your 5 portions a day. The more, the better.
Get 8 hours of sleep every day: Turn down all your devices (yes, even your phone) at least 2 hours before you go to sleep.
Meditate: Any form of mindfulness (meditation, yoga, walking in the park) reduces stress, one of the main causes of inflammation and free radical production.
Quit smoking: Few things generate more free radicals than smoking. The sooner you quit, the better for your skin (and health).
Use skincare products with retinol: Retinol fights free radicals, boosts collagen production and speeds up your skin’s exfoliating process, helping wrinkles fade away faster.
Wear sunscreen: Every single day, come rain or come shine.

P.S. Don’t try to change everything at once. Pick one habit at a time. And give yourself permission to fail. It’s normal to fall off the bandwagon or have a cheat day when you’re trying to pick up a new habit. Give yourself a big hug and try again the next day.

Best Skincare Products With Retinol:

Paula’s Choice Skin Balancing Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum With Retinol ($39.00): 0.03% retinol. Better for oily, combination, and acne-prone skin. Available at Paula’s Choice
Peter Thomas Roth Night Infusion PM ($65.00): 1.5% retinol release gradually over a period of several hours to make it gentler on your skin. Has a moisturising squalane base and its fair share of antioxidants. Available at Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic, Peter Thomas Roth, Revolve, and Ulta
The Ordinary 1% Retinol In Squalane ($9.30): The strongest retinol concentration in a moisturising (and oily!) squalane base. Available at Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty, Sephora, The Ordinary and Ulta

2. You’re Getting Sun Spots In Your ’20s

You can get freckles, melasma or an uneven skin tone at any age. But getting SUN spots in your ’20s means you’ve got too much unprotected sun exposure and it’s making you age 2x faster. Once UV rays hit your skin, they destroy everything in their tracks. Collagen. Elastin. Cellular DNA.

At first, the damage is so small, you barely notice it. But overtime, it gets so bad, it leaves visible signs such as wrinkles and pigmentation. The worst part? These nasty buggers can penetrate through clouds and windows and even be reflected on snow. Don’t think you’re safe because you’re indoor or it’s raining. They can still get you! Here’s how to fix it:

Wear sunscreen: Every single day, come rain or come shine. Reapply as often as needed. You can use the best skin-lightening creams in the world, but dark spots will keep coming back if you keep exposing your skin to the sun.
Use skin-lightening skin care products: Hydroquinone is the most powerful, but in most country it’s available only by prescription. Arbutin, azelaic acid and kojic acid are all good alternatives. They inhibit the production of melanin, so your dark spots can slowly fade away.

Best Skin-Lightening Products:

Facetheory Blemicalm Azelaic Acid 15% Clarifying Serum (£29.00): Loaded with 15% Azelaic acid and colloidal oatmeal, it helps treat acne, soothe irritations, and lighten dark spots. Available at Facetheory
Paula’s Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster ($36.00): It includes a touch of Salicylic Acid to unclog pores and prevent breakouts too. Available at Cult Beauty, Paula’s Choice, and SpaceNK
The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% ($12.20): A simple, no-frills formula that just works without breaking the bank. Available at Cult Beauty, The Ordinary, and Ulta

3. Your Skin Is Dry And Dehydrated

Hydrated skin = younger-looking skin. Moisture plumps up fine lines and wrinkles, makes skin softer to the touch and gives your skin a natural glow. But when skin starts losing moisture, everything goes south. Your skin dries out and shrivels to an old prune. The wrinkles you already have look 10x worse. Overnight. How does this happen? You lose moisture when your protective skin barrier is damaged. Moisture evaporates through the cracks, leaving your skin dry and flaky. Fixing dryness is a two-step process:

Strengthen your skin’s protective barrier: Rich moisturizers with niacinamide, ceramides and natural oils patch up the holes in your protective barrier, so that moisture can’t escape.
Use a hyaluronic acid serum: Hyaluronic acid holds up to 1000 times its weight in water. It’s the quickest way to give your skin the hydration boost it badly needs. Just make sure to follow up your serums with moisturiser. No point adding moisture back in if it evaporates through the cracks!

Best Skincare Products To Strengthen Your Skin’s Protective Barrier:

Cerave Facial Moisturizing Lotion AM With SF30 ($19.99): A lightweight lotion with ceramides and SPF to keep skin soft and protected. Available at Boots, Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic, Superdrug, and Ulta
Niod Multi-Molecular Hyaluronic Acid (£30.00): The most hydrating and plumping serum I’ve tried, it has 13+ forms of Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate every layer of skin. Available at Cult Beauty, and Niod
The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rise Hip Seed Oil ($10.90): This natural oil moisturises skin, prevents wrinkles, and helps treat acne too. Available at Asos, Cult Beauty, SpaceNK, The Ordinary and Ulta

FAQs

How Can I Tell If My Eye Wrinkles Are Normal Aging Or Premature Aging?

When did they show up, and how deep are they? Fine lines around your eyes in your late 20s? Totally normal. Deep wrinkles in your early 20s? Not so normal. Here’s a little trick: smile really big, then relax your face. Do the lines disappear? Those are dynamic wrinkles, caused by facial expressions. Do they stick around even when your face is completely relaxed? Those are static wrinkles, which can develop as your skin ages and loses collagen. But don’t panic if you spot a few. Static wrinkles aren’t automatically a sign of premature aging. Your age, sun exposure, genetics, and how quickly those lines have developed all matter.

Can Genetics Really Override Sun Damage And Lifestyle Habits?

Wouldn’t that be nice? Sadly, inheriting your mum’s amazing healthy skin doesn’t give you a free pass to bake in the sun. Your genes influence how your skin ages, including when wrinkles start appearing. But they don’t make you immune to sun damage, smoking, or other lifestyle habits that speed up the aging process. The good news? You can’t change your genes, but you CAN do something about your habits. And that’s where sunscreen, a good skincare routine, nutrition, and a healthier lifestyle come in.

If I Already Have Signs Of Premature Aging, Is It Too Late To Fix It?

Are you kidding me? Of course not! You can’t turn back the clock and undo every bit of damage, but you can slow down further aging and improve the wrinkles and dark spots you already have. Start with sunscreen every morning, add retinol to your nighttime routine, and don’t forget the boring stuff, like getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, eating a balanced diet, and stress management. They may not sound as exciting as the latest miracle serum, but they matter.

And be patient! Skincare isn’t Botox. You’re not going to wake up looking 19 again after three nights of retinol (especially if you’re in your 40s) Give your routine a few months to work, and you can start seeing visible effects in your skin’s appearance. The sooner you start, the better. But it’s never too late to give your skin some TLC.

The Bottom Line

There are lots of things that can make your skin age faster than it should. Using sunscreen + moisturiser on a daily basis goes a long way to slow down the aging process, so you won’t need to worry about anti-aging for a long time.

Beautiful With Brains

3 Signs Your Skin Is Aging Prematurely (And How To Slow It Down)