10 New Year Skin Goals You Can Actually Achieve

Here’s how to make 2024 your best skin year yet.

Everyone wants better skin. Because life is always greener and you might not have too many wrinkles yet… but dang that oily T-zone!

Let’s get one thing straight, however, skin perfection is a total myth. Honestly, it simply doesn’t exist. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve the complexion you were born with. Less enlarged pores? Count us in. Fewer breakouts? Yes, please. But the key to better skin is to ensure your skincare goals are realistic and achievable. Otherwise you’re going to live in a constant state of disappointment. And that is no fun at all. Our advice is to start small and hope this allows the big stuff to take care of itself.

Easy, yes? Then read on for 10 ways to get on that…

Goal #1. Wear Sunscreen Every Day

If you choose just one habit to take on for 2024, sunscreen is it. And not just any sunscreen because there are a few simple rules when it comes to doing right by your daily sun protection.

Firstly, always look for a broad-spectrum formulation because this means it shields your skin from both UVA and UVB radiation. And that’s important. Next, stick to an SPF of 30 or above which skin experts agree is the sweet spot for day-to-day use. Finally, choose mineral sunscreens over chemical formulations. Mineral ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide are currently the only active ingredients deemed safe and effective by the FDA. Good news, people: our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C checks all those boxes... and then some! Apply it every day, without fail, as the last step in your morning routine.

Goal #2. Stop Touching Your Face

Most of us can’t help but lean our faces on our hands, or touch our skin throughout the day. But grubby hands transfer dirt, oil and bacteria to your face which can clog up your pores and encourage acne breakouts.

Help your skin stay as clean as possible by keeping your hands off. It’s a tricky one to nail because you probably do it without even knowing it. But the first step is to catch yourself out. Oh, and wash your hands more often to keep as many germs away from your face as possible.

Goal #3. Look After Your Eyes

Remember, looking after the skin around your eyes is just as important as the rest of your face. In fact, the skin around your peepers is thinner, drier and more delicate than your face which makes it even more susceptible to the slings and arrows of everyday life and therefore more likely to age up.

Do it a solid by treating this area with a delicate touch when cleansing, and use an age-kicking eye cream morning and night after cleansing to help fight lines, wrinkles, dark circles and puffiness. Try our new Depuffing Longevity Eye Cream which is fast becoming a fan favorite.

Goal #4. Work Out For Glowing Skin

Did you know that exercising is not only great for your health but, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, also gives your skin a gorgeous, radiant glow? This is because working out increases blood flow to your skin, flooding it with oxygen and nutrients to help nourish the complexion and get rid of impurities.

Hate gym classes? Then try at-home yoga or go for a brisk walk two or three times a week. It all counts!

Goal #5. Figure Out Your Serum Bestie

Facial serums are a major win for any skin type, but it’s not always easy to know which one is right for you.

Lightweight and super-powered, serums pack a real punch thanks to their small molecular makeup which allows for a deeper penetration of active ingredients. This means they’re able to get right under your skin – where regular lotions and moisturizers can’t reach – and are far better at targeting specific issues like discoloration, fine lines, wrinkles and dehydration.

When searching for your best serum fit, think about your main skin concern and go from there. If you’re concerned about aging, serums that contain retinol, peptides, collagen or bakuchiol are always a great shout, whereas if you want to big up your glow, look for formulations that boast ingredients like the mighty vitamin C. And if you just want an all-round good guy? Then we recommend our awesome Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum which contains 11 plant-derived vitamins, minerals and electrolytes for fabulous-looking skin, all year long.

Goal #6. Cleanse Twice Daily (No Excuses!)

We shouldn’t have to say this but please, please, PLEASE make sure you cleanse your skin every morning and every night. You know better than not to. Enough said.

Goal #7. Get Intimate With Retinol

Almost everyone can reap the benefits of retinol. It’s just one of those ingredients that works. 

Adored by derms the world over and used for decades to treat everything from acne through to aging, retinol is a form of topical vitamin A that communicates with your skin at a cellular level, helping it to turn over more efficiently and encouraging healthier collagen production.

We strongly suggest you get in on the act if you want your skin to look and feel better over time. Just remember, 'time' is the key because retinol takes a few months to really kick in. Try our Retinol Moisturizer a few times a week to begin with (it’s always best to start slowly) then build up to nightly as your skin acclimates. And be patient with it.

Goal #8. Be 100% Hydrated

Sipping on the clear stuff 24/7 won’t magically give you better skin, but the fact that your body is made up of around 80 percent water means you can’t argue that hydration is good for you.

Drinking plenty of water and eating water-rich fruit and veggies is vital for maintaining the correct balance of your body’s essential fluids. And if your body is in good health, it figures that your skin will follow suit. According to the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, you should be taking on between 2.7 and 3.7 liters of fluids a day, with about 20 percent coming from your food.

Goal #9. Exfoliate More Often

Like retinol, exfoliation helps improve sluggish turnover to improve both the look and feel of your skin. It works a little differently to retinol, however, removing the dead, hardened cells from the skin’s surface through physical stimulation like face scrubs and mitts, or through chemical formulations like glycolic or salicylic acid.

Whichever form of exfoliation floats your boat is good with us, just make sure 2024 is all about consistency. We recommend exfoliating a couple of times a week to begin with to ensure the least amount of irritation.

If you hate abrasive scrubs and worry they do more harm than good (which they can if you’re not careful), try our glow-getting go-to 6% AHA, BHA and PHA liquid Exfoliant. You won’t regret it. And if 2024 is about anything, it’s about no regrets.

Goal #10. Care For Your Collagen

Collagen is a massively important component in your skin, acting like a framework to hold your tissue together and give it the strength and stability to function at its very best. Together with elastin, ceramides, hyaluronic acid and all the other good stuff in your skin, collagen is the key to a healthy, hydrated, youthful-looking complexion.

The problem is collagen disappears as you age. It just does. Stress, poor skincare choices and environmental nasties like UV radiation also work hard to ruin your collagen supplies and age your skin lightning fast. And this is why you have to look after your collagen by applying sunscreen (see above), leading a healthy lifestyle and applying collagen-boosting skincare ingredients like retinol, antioxidants and MSM.

Then there are collagen-boosting supplements which work perfectly with a healthy lifestyle and skincare routine to promote natural collagen production in the skin. Not sure where to start with those? Then, try our new Collagen Boosting Skin Supplement which was launched just in time for the new year and is, quite frankly, the bees knees for healthy aging. Not only is it formulated with vegetarian collagen (others use animal skin or fish scales!), but it also contains other skin-loving favorites like vitamin C, vitamin E and biotin.

Obsessed? Much? Absolutely.