Wellness After 40
A podcast that empowers women in their 40s and beyond to embrace aging with vitality and purpose.
Wellness After 40
Skin After 40: What to Use, What to Skip & What's Really Causing Skin Changes with Samantha Dench
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Have you ever wondered if that expensive serum, LED mask, or trending skincare device is actually worth it?
In this episode of Wellness After 40, I sit down with licensed esthetician and functional medicine practitioner Samantha Dench to talk about how our skin changes after 40 and what we can realistically do about it.
We discuss the differences between over-the-counter and medical-grade skincare, which products may be worth investing in, and what to know about popular devices and treatments. We also explore some of the deeper reasons skin can change in midlife, including hormonal shifts, inflammation, gut health, and other factors that may be contributing to concerns like dryness, sensitivity, acne, and rosacea.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the skincare industry or unsure where to spend your money, this episode will help you make more informed decisions about your skin and overall wellness.
Connect with Samantha:
Website: https://www.skindeepil.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samantha.dench/
You can also learn more from Samantha through her podcast, The Functional Aesthetician.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend. Your support helps more women find evidence-based wellness information for life after 40.
If you've noticed lately that your skin feels different, maybe it feels drier, more sensitive, or prone to breakouts than it did a decade ago, you are not alone. In today's episode, we're unpacking what's really happening to our skin after 40, how hormones, gut health, and inflammation may be playing a role, and which skincare products and treatments are actually worth our time and money. You don't want to miss this one. Let's dive deep into skincare. Welcome to Wellness After 40: Health, Goals, and Manifestation for Women, the podcast that empowers women in their 40s and beyond to embrace aging with vitality and purpose. I'm your host, Katie, an older millennial navigating wellness, personal growth, and the art of intentional living. Each week we'll dive into the latest in exercise, nutrition, mental health, goal setting, as well as actionable steps for manifesting the life you want. We'll also explore the science behind women's health at midlife and beyond, along with conversations with experts to keep you thriving in your body, mind, and spirit. Whether you're focusing on achieving health goals, mastering your mental clarity, or transforming your life, this podcast will give you the tools to feel your best at every stage of life. Let's dive into the journey of not just surviving, but thriving after 40. Well, welcome to the podcast Wellness After 40. I am your host, Katie, and today I brought a fabulous guest to the podcast. Please welcome Samantha Dench. Let me tell you a little bit more about her. Samantha is a licensed aesthetician, functional medicine practitioner, entrepreneur, and educator with over two decades of experience helping clients achieve clear skin from the inside out. As the founder of Skin Deep Aesthetics and Wellness, she addresses the root causes of skin issues by understanding the connection between internal wellness and external beauty. Samantha blends functional medicine with aesthetics to empower clients and professionals alike to view skincare through a whole body lens. Her focus is on women suffering from perimenopause and autoimmune conditions. Her work includes gut testing, customized nutrition and lifestyle plans to help her clients learn how to look and feel their absolute best at any stage. She's also the creator and host of the functional aesthetician podcast. Oh, that's a mouthful for me. Right. Where she shares insight on how gut health, nutrition, hormones, and lifestyle impact skin health. When she's not working, this single mom of three finds balance in walks, baths, journaling, and spending time with her kids. Welcome to the podcast, Samantha.
SPEAKER_00Hi, Katie. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_01Oh, thank you so much. I am a big fan of your podcast. So we're definitely going to get into the roots of that. Um, but before we do, and I know I just read your bio, but can you tell us a little bit more about why you got into this specific type of work when it comes to skincare?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. So I've been an aesthetician for 23 years, and I got into aesthetics kind of by accident. You know, I wanted, I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up and I was 23 years old. And I was like, oh, esthetician school sounds fun. I like doing makeup, but I realized how much I hate putting makeup on people. I ended up falling in love with the science of the skin. And then throughout my the beginning of my career, I ended up dealing with adult acne when I went off birth control to start my family. And I was an aesthetician. So I was doing acne treatments and using acne skincare on my skin, and nothing I was doing was clearing my skin up. And then I was fortunate enough to have clear skin during all three of my pregnancies. But then after my third baby, I had like obviously the baby weight to lose as well as bad skin. So I did a 14-day gut cleanse to help drop the baby weight and, you know, clean out all those inflammatory foods. And yes, I did drop the baby weight, but within a week, my skin cleared up. And so that's when I was like, oh, this is interesting. And then, you know, you're good for a while when you do a detox, and then you start eating those bad foods again. And I noticed my skin flaring up. So I started playing around with this idea of like, when I would eat really good, I would notice my skin was clear. And then when I would eat, you know, the inflammatory foods, I would notice breakouts. And I started testing this theory out on clients as well. And I noticed the ones that really were good about cleaning up their diet had better results clearing up their acne. And so over the years, you know, I, as an esthetician, was only allowed to touch the skin. And so that's what led me to study functional medicine because I knew I could pair the two together and really give a better outcome to my clients. So that's how I ended up getting into functional medicine.
SPEAKER_01That's so fascinating. I've done a lot of personal research on the gut. So I'm so excited to talk about the relationship of gut and skin. So that's very exciting to me. Uh, but before we dive deep, I guess, pun intended, what do you think are some of the most, or what are you seeing as the most common skin changes you see in women in their 40s?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, obviously aging, but women come in. A lot of women start to come in to see me because they're like, why am I breaking out like a teenager again? You know, they had acne as a teenager, then their skin's clear, and then all of a sudden they turn 40 and they have acne again. And, you know, they're aging, they're getting the sunspots, they're getting like the textured looking skin, that dull look. So I feel like the skin just begins to change overall, like after, you know, 35, 40 perimenopause, it causes a decline in estrogen and progesterone. And because everything is connected to both our gut and the inside, you know, it's our skin is the first place it starts to reflect. So that's why you start seeing some of those changes.
SPEAKER_01So do you think it's more hormonal or gut, or do you think it's a balance of both that is kind of causing these significant changes?
SPEAKER_00It's both because as our hormones change, our gut microbiome also changes. And that's why women have, you know, a lot of these hormonal issues, because it's not necessarily the hormone decline itself. It might be the fact that you might not even be metabolizing your hormones correctly because most women don't go to the bathroom every day. And right there is a red flag because we could be recycling hormones instead of getting rid of them. And so that can cause some of the symptoms as well.
SPEAKER_01That's so interesting. I didn't really think about that. And I have definitely heard of like how estrogen and progesterone do play a role within like your digestive tract. So that's a very, very interesting. Um, so if someone is dealing with these changes, like you mentioned some acne, um, I'm thinking about rosacea, eczema, these things kind of start popping up, and they're really more in the autoimmune camp, which I think is is kind of interesting. Is this just something? This is really just signaling that something deeper is going on in the body, correct?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, a lot of times it's related to gut, like eczema, psoriasis, rosacea. Leaky gut is kind of the basis behind it, even autoimmune disease, like leaky gut kind of is the start of that because most of us don't have a clean diet. Most of us are eating inflammatory foods. And even if we are eating clean, there's environmental toxins, there's toxins that are in our water. So we're getting exposed to this every day. And a lot of these toxins and food can break down the gut lining. And so once the gut lining starts to break down, inflammation happens and eventually what that creates autoimmunity. And the skin is usually the first place that we start to see symptoms. We may not feel it in our body, but our skin's going to show up before our body starts to feel it.
SPEAKER_01So let's dive a little deeper into inflammation then, because it sounds like that if you are experiencing some of these major changes in your skin, it could be really from gut inflammation. And you mentioned um some foods. Can you tell us maybe like what are like the top foods that could be inflammatory?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So gluten is the biggest one. Dairy's very inflammatory as well. Most of us can't digest dairy, or we have a lot of inflammation going on. And so that causes the fact that we can't process dairy. Um, eggs can be inflammatory, soy and um sugar.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, the dreaded sugar.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01And so other than skin issues, what else does inflammation do to our body? Do you have any other things that it we should be kind of like noticing or notating when it comes to inflammation?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, all systems of our body connect to the gut, but not just skin. You know, you'll notice it in your digestion. You know, constipation is very common in women. Um, mood disorders, you know, a lot of women start with those mood disorders and perimenopause, and their doctor will just put them on an antidepressant instead of addressing the root cause of the gut, because our gut and our brain communicate with each other. And so that's another huge red flag. And, you know, even like um dementia, Alzheimer's, you know, anxiety, depression, a lot of mood disorders stem from poor gut health. So if you really get to heal that gut and really start to like calm everything down, even the brain and the mood disorders can resolve themselves.
SPEAKER_01Wow, that's so interesting. I have definitely read research about that as well. So I mean, inflammation is is just really, really common. Um, but also like wow, it does, it does really affect the body. So thank you for sharing all of that. Yeah. If we want to go back to skin though for a moment, I know that there are so many products out there. And you being an esthetician, I definitely wanted to pick your brain on all of these products that we're we're seeing on the shelves, like all these over counter over the counter. Well, first off, maybe my first question is like over the counter versus medical grade. Like, do you have an opinion on that first alone? And then I just want to get the the products that we really should be using to have beautiful aging skin.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, my philosophy is simple as better. You know, we don't need a 10 or 15 step skincare routine. That is just way too much for us. But over-the-counter products, they are usually made in bulk. You know, they're made and it's interesting because, you know, there's a few companies that own all the skincare products that are on our shelves. And most of the products that you see, they're packaged and labeled differently, but they're pretty much the same products. So even if you're buying like a cheaper version, you know, it might just be their cheap version of whatever, like moisturizer or serum. Um, I don't want to use brand names, so I'm trying to be really careful, but a lot of these companies kind of create the same product. They package it and label it a differently. They maybe change a couple ingredients out, but it's all basically the same product. Medical grade or like professional grade that you could buy from an aesthetician or in a salon or spa, those products tend to be made in smaller batches. You know, they have small, um, they have small labs where they create them. They make small batches and their actives are more active because they're able to encapsulate them better. Like a over-the-counter product, maybe put like a drop of hyaluronic acid or retinol or whatever active that they say is on the label. And because they put that drop in, they can put it on the label and market it as such. So it's more marketing that you're buying when you're buying an over-the-counter product, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I think we see that in a lot of products, like the store brand versus the name brand. So I think that's interesting, but I think it's a really interesting nuance that it is the medical grade, it's potentially gonna be made in a smaller uh manufacturing process. So the afters may be active, more active. Um, so that that is really interesting. And so if you were to give us a list of what are like the the products that are on your bathroom counter right now, like not the brand names, I mean, unless unless we're gonna link them in the show notes. Um, but what would you say are some gold standards in skincare for women in their 40s? A quick pause before we continue. If you're looking for a little more support on your wellness journey, I've created a subscriber community for wellness after 40 listeners. For $5 a month, you'll get bonus episodes, guided practices, and conversations designed specifically for women navigating midlife health, hormones, stress, and healthy aging. It's a simpler way to go a little deeper and support the show at the same time. You can join through the link in the show notes. Now, back to today's conversation.
SPEAKER_00I'm a very simple person. I don't use a lot. I have a I actually I love my oil cleanser. That's like my tried and true product. Um, and then I use a Bacuccio serum, and then I use like a pigmentation brightening serum for my skin. It doesn't it, and then I use which is a vitamin C. Um, and then I use a moisturizer, and that's pretty much it.
SPEAKER_01So, what is this buku I can't boccio? Okay, this is a fun word. What is this?
SPEAKER_00It's a retinol alternative, it's a plant-based ingredient, it works just like retinol, but it doesn't have the drying, irritating, or you know, those negative effects that retinol has. And it can be used year-round because retinol you should not be using in the summer because it causes sun sensitivity.
SPEAKER_01Even at nighttime, we're not supposed to be doing retinol at nighttime. Not in the summer. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Because most people are out and about. So, and dermatologists don't talk about this, which actually is one of my biggest pet peefs. When you're using retinol, it causes the skin to become sensitive to the sun because it creates micropeeling. It stimulates cell turnovers, so it's speeding up the way your cells turn over and it causes this micropeeling effect, which is why you get red and irritated and start to flake when you start to use retinol. And so, because it's doing this, your skin then becomes more sensitive to the sun. So it even if you're not prone to sunburns, you can start burning. And then you have that sun damage, and then you it just accelerates and leads to aging and sunspots and all that stuff. So it's like retinol is fine. I use it, I recommend it. I just don't like using it in the summer.
SPEAKER_01But you can use your other alternative in the summer, or do you lay off on that?
SPEAKER_00Okay, if you're no, I use that all year round. So that's kind of the one I recommend. If someone has more acne scarring or deeper wrinkles, then I'll use the retinol. But for someone who's got some aging, um, you know, some a little bit of textured skin and some pigmentation, I will just use the Buccuccio for them.
SPEAKER_01Hmm. And so just to educate the masses on really vitamin C helps with the discoloration, the brightness of the skin. Does it also help with the texture?
SPEAKER_00It can. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, so it helps fight free radicals, which free radicals can cause aging. So it is a brightener, but it also does help with aging as well.
SPEAKER_01And the a retinol or a retinol alternative is helping with fine lines, scarring. It's am I right in that?
SPEAKER_00I mean, they all kind of blend together. Like vitamin C is more of like a brightener, whereas like Bacuccio or retinol, that's more for like wrinkles.
SPEAKER_01Okay, awesome. This is great. And I keep getting these ads for these at home LED, like the red light masks, um, and other different types of tools. Are this is this all just marketing hype? Or are there ever certain tools that you're like, please, please, please do or do not use at home?
SPEAKER_00I mean, everybody's gonna use stuff at home. You know, red light therapy is fine to use at home. There is a difference between between an at-home device and a spa grade device because obviously I have a license and I understand how they work on the skin. So I can use something a little bit stronger than something you could buy at home because most people will overdo it and they're gonna damage their skin. So it cannot be strong enough, if that makes sense. The only thing I would say never ever do at home is microneedle your skin because you're poking holes in your skin, you're creating damage, and a lot of times it's not sanitary and you can be causing underlying damage that cannot be fixed.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay, great advice. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Every time I see those, it like it makes me cringe. I'm like, why? Well, and this is an interesting thing about my those at-home microneedling devices. I'm in Illinois and we are a very restrictive state. So as an aesthetician, I can only use a depth of 0.25, which is very, very superficial and minimal. You can go on TikTok and buy 0.5, which technically is out of the scope of my practice. So if I'm not allowed to use it as an aesthetician, why is it sold online?
SPEAKER_01Hmm. The more you know, the more you know all, please don't buy anything off a TikTok shop. Right? I mean, if we are just going to save anyone's skin today, I think that's a good that is a great, that is a great one. Yeah. Um, so I know women in our 40s, we are definitely dealing with some autoimmune, and that could be resolved with working on um any type of gut um inflammation that you're having. And then wrinkles can start to be outsourced with different types of topical products, but sun damage, I feel like, is something that I personally deal with. And I know we talked a little bit about vitamin C, but is there anything else that we can do to improve or reverse our sun damage?
SPEAKER_00Sun damage is tricky, and I don't want to say you can't reverse it because you can. It's just a lot of the things that you do to lighten it, once you go back in the sun, it's gonna darken again. So it's almost like you have to live in a ball in order to never see it once you get rid of it. If that makes sense. And wearing sunscreen helps, but sunscreen doesn't never protect 100%. Even the SPF 100s, it's never 100% protective. So you are gonna get some of it coming back in the summer just because of the sun exposure.
SPEAKER_01So the lasers and all the other things that were being marketed, do you think that those are worth the hype? Or do you think that you just suggest doing vitamin C treatments at home?
SPEAKER_00I am not a fan of lasers because you're heating up the skin at a level that causes underlying damage. And it will lighten the skin up, but over time, that damage is always there because the skin just can't handle that much heat. So you might not see it right away, but years down the road, you might see that damage resurfacing. And then technically, if you're going to do a laser treatment, like any sun exposure could trigger an inflammatory response in the skin, even if it's like five, 10 years down the road.
SPEAKER_01So wow. So your best advice for dealing with any type of discoloration is protect the skin for further from further damage and uh a good vitamin C at home.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Microneedling or micro channeling can help, but again, like you really have to be careful and protect your skin extra in the summer after you do like a series of those treatments. And then red light therapy can help as well.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Um, I've heard of microneedling, but what is micro channeling?
SPEAKER_00It's pretty similar to microneedling, it's just not as aggressive. So micro needling uses, they're both stamping devices. They use these microscopic needles at a point, like the one I use is 0.25. Some um dermatologists or med spas will use um 0.5 or 1.0. It just that number just depends on the depth of how far the needle's going into the skin. But basically, what it does is it creates these um microscopic holes in the skin and it creates a wound response. So your body then starts to recreate new collagen to help repair the skin. So it'll help with textured skin, it'll help with um acne scarring, it'll help with fine lines and wrinkles. So it is a good treatment. Microchanneling is just a stamper, so it doesn't scrape on the skin like microneedaline does. So it's a little less invasive. Okay.
SPEAKER_01And then my last thing that I'm always marketed, and I'm curious what you think. How do you feel about actually like consuming products like collagen for helping with like boosting the appearance or the disappearance, I guess, of fine lines and wrinkles?
SPEAKER_00I'd say eat meat. That's your better source of collagen because you're getting protein. Our body, we need amino acids. You know, we're humans, we are carnivores by nature. So meat is how our body gets those amino acids. So the more amino acids you can eat, the better you're you'll be because amino acids are the building blocks to all our cells. So having a high protein diet, especially as we get into perimenopause and menopause, we need more protein as women. So just having a high protein diet is better than doing the collagen powders.
SPEAKER_01These are some fascinating tips. And honestly, things I have never really, really heard. It's always Like, oh, well, buy this cream and buy this device and drink this shake, and you're gonna be great. But this is all very practical advice that just helps you in general, and then your skin is gonna thank you for it.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Are there any big mistakes that you're seeing in women that come into your practice in their 40s when it comes to like skincare routines or just anything that they're doing to their skin?
SPEAKER_00I mean, yes, I would say a lot of women either overdo the skincare or they're not doing enough. If that makes sense. Like, you know, again, we go on TikTok, we go on social media. It's like use 15 steps. It's like you don't need that many steps. A good cleanser, a good serum, and a good moisturizer really is all you need. You know, an exfoliant once a week to help your cells turn over. Um, and then I also see a lot of women that come to see me that are still using the same skincare products that they they've been using for like 10, 20 years. Once we get into 40, you know, our skin starts to change, you know, it becomes a little bit drier. We don't produce as much oil. So our skincare should really shift around that time. But it's hard because, you know, a lot of women think, oh, I'll just go on TikTok, I'll follow this influencer, I'll follow this person. And it's like, it's hard to really know what's going to work for you because everybody's skin is so different and everybody's an individual. So your skincare really should kind of reflect that as well.
SPEAKER_01So if someone is at home and is curious, like, well, how can they find out what's the best skincare for them? Where should they start?
SPEAKER_00I would have them seek out an aesthetician because a lot of times we can take a look at their skin, we can assess it. Like when I'm giving someone a facial, I'm studying their skin. You know, I'm watching how their skin's responding to all the different products that I put on it. I'm seeing how it responds to my touch. I'm looking how dry is their skin? Do they have any oil production? You know, what is their texture like? You know, I can really, I've been doing this 23 years. So it's like, you know, I can just see how their skin's responding and go, oh, these are the products that they need. So a good aesthetician can help guide you on proper skincare.
SPEAKER_01And I want you to tell the listeners a little bit more about your podcast because I know each episode dives really deep in deep into the skin and all kinds of just different, really wonderful topics. Can you tell us a little bit more about your podcast?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So once I got into functional medicine, you know, I started understanding the skin at a different level. And I just I wanted to create a podcast that shared that because you know, the skin is a reflection of our nervous system, our gut, um, our hormones, everything. So I just want to have, I always like to invite different guests with different topics to talk about all the different types of things that could impact the skin.
SPEAKER_01And if someone is listening at home and wants to learn more from you, maybe work with you, what is the best way to get in touch?
SPEAKER_00So you can find me on my website, which is skindeel.com. And then I'm on all the social media channels, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. And my name is at skindeep IL.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'll be sure to put all of that in the show notes, as well as a link to her podcast, so you can listen to all super informative episodes going skin deep. Well, Samantha, this was a very fun and super informative episode. I feel like I was just giving you so many questions and you gave us such really interesting answers. Thank you for keeping it so simple, and thank you so much for uh sharing with us all of your your wisdom. Yeah, thank you for having me. This was fun. Before we go, a big thank you to Samantha for joining us and sharing her expertise. If you've ever wondered whether the at-home device is actually working and is worth the money, if medical grade skincare really makes all the difference, or what ingredients to look for as your skin changes in mid-life, I think you got some valuable takeaways from today's conversation. From a Guccio oil to the role hormones, inflammation, and gut health can play our skin. There's just so much practical information packed into this episode. Be sure to check out the show notes for Samantha's resources and information about her podcast, The Functional Esthetician. And thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend who might benefit from it as well. Until next time, this is Wellness. After 40