Your skin tells the story of your life. From years spent in the sun to changing hormones, a busy schedule and the natural ageing process, every decade leaves its mark. But if there's one time in life when your skincare choices can make the biggest difference, it's your 40s and 50s. Editor Trudi Brewer shares expert advice from Dr. LeWinn’s and their refreshed skincare collection, which offers visible results.
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Every decade is challenging for skin, but it’s from our 40’s onward that it undergoes significant change. Collagen and elastin production slow, cell turnover becomes less efficient, and hormonal shifts can lead to increased dryness, sensitivity, and a loss of firmness. Fine lines are another more noticeable change, as is pigmentation that begins to surface after years of sun exposure. The good news? It's never too late to support your skin with targeted skincare. Here, Anna Morrison from Dr. LeWinn's shares how you can improve your skin's health, the changes to expect, and the most effective ways to protect, nourish, and rejuvenate your complexion through every stage of healthy ageing.
Anna Morrison head of product development at Dr. LeWinn’s
Why do dermatologists and skincare experts often say your 40s and 50s are the most important decades for your skin?
Your 40s and 50s represent a significant turning point for your skin because internal biological changes begin to accelerate, leading to many visible signs of ageing. While environmental factors such as UV exposure, pollution and lifestyle choices continue to play a role, hormonal changes associated with perimenopause and menopause can have an even greater impact on skin health. Research shows that hormonal changes affect virtually every layer of the skin. Oestrogen helps regulate collagen production, skin hydration, elasticity and barrier function. As levels decrease, women can experience a rapid reduction in collagen, increased dryness, loss of firmness, thinning of the skin, and a greater appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (1*). Many women also notice that their skin suddenly becomes more sensitive, reactive or difficult to manage despite using the same products they have relied on for years. This period is often referred to as the “acceleration phase” of skin ageing. The good news is that it is also the time when targeted skincare can have the greatest impact. Rather than simply treating visible wrinkles, we can focus on supporting the skin’s natural repair mechanisms, reinforcing the skin barrier and helping skin function more like younger, healthier-looking skin.
Dr. Lewinn's Brighten + Even Accelerating Serum, $84
This concentrated serum visibly brightens and evens out your skin tone, meticulously formulated with a blend of ingredients such as glycolic acid, vitamin C, resveratrol (an antioxidant found in grapes, berries, peanuts, and red wine), as well as vitamin E. Together, they target dullness and even out the look of pigmentation and discolouration. Offering visible results, these ingredients help brighten, balance, and hydrate skin, with a lightweight formula that absorbs swiftly.
To use: Apply to face and neck morning and evening after cleansing and before moisturising.
What role does the skin barrier play in healthy ageing?
The skin barrier is one of the most important foundations of youthful-looking skin. Think of it as your skin’s protective shield. A strong barrier helps lock in moisture, protects against environmental stressors and supports overall skin resilience. As we age, barrier function can become compromised. This can lead to increased water loss, dryness, irritation and a dull appearance (2*). Protecting the skin barrier is therefore essential for skin longevity. Ingredients such as ceramides, skin-identical lipids like squalane, and humectants such as hyaluronic acid help replenish essential components that ageing skin naturally loses over time. Together, they support hydration, protect the skin barrier, and improve skin resilience. A healthy skin barrier helps protect against moisture loss and environmental stressors while improving the skin's tolerance to targeted ingredients. This can help minimise irritation and support consistent product use, which is essential for achieving long-term skincare benefits.
Dr. Lewinn's Barrier Protect Ceramide Balm, $68
We love the weightless nature of this skin balm designed for day or night use, with a blend of active ingredients like ceramides, squalane, peptides, and hyaluronic acid. Together, they nourish and protect the skin’s barrier by locking moisture deep in the skin. This balm sinks into the skin to provide long-lasting, soothing moisture barrier support - a welcome relief for anyone who is noticing their skin is becoming drier as they age.
Why are ingredients such as peptides, retinol and exosomes generating so much excitement in anti-ageing skincare?
The future of skincare is moving beyond simple hydration to target the visible signs of skin health and long-term radiance. Advances in skincare science are increasingly centred on surface renewal, advanced conditioning, and barrier resilience, helping the skin maintain a deeply revitalised appearance as it ages. This is particularly relevant in New Zealand, where intense UV exposure and environmental stressors can accelerate the visible signs of ageing, making advanced environmental surface protection essential.
Peptides: A key category in skincare. Often valued as high-performance ingredients, peptides help nurture the skin's outer layers, supporting the appearance of smooth, structurally sound skin. As skin naturally changes with age, peptides can help target concerns such as a visible loss of firmness, the appearance of wrinkles, and diminished surface elasticity (3*).
Retinol: Retinol remains one of the gold-standard anti-ageing ingredients. It works by encouraging advanced surface exfoliation and supporting the skin's outer architecture, helping to visibly improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin tone, and texture. For many women in their 40s and 50s, retinol continues to be one of the most effective ingredients for maintaining a smooth, youthful-looking complexion. (4*)
Exosome-inspired technology: Exosome-inspired technology is one of the most exciting areas of innovation we are seeing in skincare. These advanced botanical complexes work to support the skin’s outer matrix (layer), providing targeted care that encourages surface renewal. We are seeing exosome-inspired ingredients celebrated for their potential to visibly improve the appearance of firmness and help skin recover from the visible signs of ageing, representing a sophisticated new frontier in skin longevity. (5*)
Dr. LeWinn’s Smooth + Firm Triple Action Serum, $89
This clever serum contains the brand’s ‘Advanced Capsule Technology’, a blend of ingredients that target fine expression lines and wrinkles for a tighter look and feel. The blend of tiny capsules in three colours- gold, white, and violet. The gold contains caviar extract to nourish dry skin. The white capsules contain antioxidant vitamin E, while the violet capsules contain blackcurrant seed oil, which is known to improve skin elasticity and provide antioxidant defence against our environment. The tiny balls are suspended in a luxurious gel that melts effortlessly into the skin.
To use: Apply to the face and neck am and pm, after cleansing and before moisturising.
What does the future of positive ageing skincare look like?
The conversation around ageing is changing. Rather than trying to reverse time, today's approach is centred on longevity by helping the skin look healthy, resilient, and beautifully vibrant for longer.
At Dr. LeWinn's, we are increasingly focused on combining established key ingredients such as retinol and peptides with next-generation technologies that support the skin’s moisture barrier, surface-level renewal, and intense hydration. This is particularly important in New Zealand, where skin is exposed to high levels of UV radiation, along with environmental stressors such as wind, temperature extremes, and pollution that can accelerate the visible signs of ageing and compromise the skin's outer defence barrier. Ultimately, your 40s and 50s are the decades when strategic, science-backed skincare can make the biggest difference. By complementing the skin's natural evolution and helping it withstand the challenges of the environment, it is possible to preserve a youthful appearance, surface resilience, and a beautifully smooth texture as the skin ages
Dr. LeWinn's Plump + Lift Collagen Surge Plumping Pearls, $89
A cult beauty buy, these luxuriously hydrating pearls for us are the jewel in Dr. LeWinn’s crown. The ‘Advanced Pearl Technology ’ blends a hard-hitting Tri-Peptide-5 peptide and collagen with a superior-grade hyaluronic acid, which tackles dehydration and loss of firmness, as well as botanical extracts. This gel-like cream was created to visibly lift and plump skin, reducing the signs of age-related skin concerns. This skin treat fits into any skincare routine with ease.
How to use: Scoop out the pearls with the supplied spatula, then massage between your fingers and apply to the face. Use day and night.
* Research References:
1* Hall G, Phillips TJ. (2005): Estrogen and Skin: The Effects of Estrogen, Menopause, and Hormone Replacement Therapy on the Skin. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 53(4), 555–568.
2* Wang Z, Man MQ, Li T, Elias PM, Mauro TM: Ageing-associated alterations in epidermal function and their clinical significance. Ageing (Albany, NY). 2020;12(6):5551–5565.
3*Schagen SK. (2017): Topical Peptide Treatments with Effective Anti-Ageing Results. Cosmetics. 2017;4(2):16.
4* Quan T. (2023): Human Skin Ageing and the Anti-Ageing Properties of Retinol. Biomolecules, 13(11), 1614.
5* Schank MB, Zhao J, Wang L, et al. (2026): Extracellular Vesicles: A Comprehensive Review of Their Origins, Functions, and Therapeutic Potential. Biomedicines, 14(3), 495.
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