Ladies, I think we may all be doing too much. And I mean to our skin. 

Let me lead off by saying, I will never judge a woman with a full medicine cabinet. Give me allll the lotions and potions, and I will slather them onto all parts of my body, gladly.

But these days, I’m slowing the pace of my testing not only because it makes sense for my personal research (can’t tell you guys what’s working and not working when I’m using ten products at a time!), but also because my skin is asking for it.

My Interview with Celebrity Esthetician and Founder Angela Caglia

I recently interviewed celebrity esthetician and founder Angela Caglia—of the namesake line—and she backed up an inkling I’ve been feeling for a while: that at some point, it’s good to pump the breaks and simplify our skincare routines. I thought it would be great to share some other insights I gleaned from the interview below.

Angela has been an esthetician for 30 years and has worked with women over 40 for essentially her entire career. Her clients have included Barbra Streisand, Amal Clooney, Helena Christensen, and Alexandra Daddario. She’s also formulated her own skincare line, which is based around what she’s learned while literally touching and treating people’s skin over a period of decades.

Here are some things I learned from our conversation, including one piece of advice that made me reconsider my AM routine.

What Actually Changes in Your Skin After 40

The biggest takeaway on this topic for me was just how much our skin actually does change after you hit 40.

Turns out, we’re not imagining it! Combine hormonal changes with a life well-lived, and you’re bound to see some issues, whether it’s laxity, wrinkles, hormonal acne or dryness.

Personally, my skin is a touch drier since hitting 40. Apparently, this is also a hormonal issue. Angela said, “As your hormones shift during perimenopause and menopause, your skin becomes drier and more sensitized.”

Now, I seal my skin with a rich moisturizer at night; this one always does the trick.

Angela explained that her philosophy is all about putting back into your skin, what you lose as you age. And also, not overdoing it with actives.

Rather listen to my chat with Angela? Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts and here to listen on Spotify!

A Celebrity Esthetician Whose Skeptical of Silicones

This one was really interesting to have validated by a skin care expert, because I generally try to avoid silicones in my skincare products. 

My reasoning has always been, if you’re creating an occlusive barrier, how can things penetrate the skin? That, coupled with the fact that whenever I use a moisturizer with silicone, my skin actually ends up feeling drier. No, thank you!

Angela’s reasoning behind why she says to be skeptical of silicone-based ingredients? The coating effect of silicones can make it feel like your skin is smooth, but they’re just temporarily filling lines, while even contributing to congestion or small bumps in some people’s skin.

“It’s just filling the lines for you when you look in the mirror, especially the serums, and you put it on, thinking, ‘Oh wow, I’ve got this glaze.’ But then you remove it, and it doesn’t even dissolve down the drain. By the way, or in the oceans, it’s literally just occlusive. But it didn’t do anything for you. It was just like a mask.”

Nighttime Cleansing Should Always Include an Oil

Angela says the nighttime cleanse matters the most, because this is when you’re prepping your skin for actives that will penetrate the skin at night.

She suggested an oil cleanser, which she says is the best formula for dissolving any makeup or skincare products, and then following up with a gentle cleanser to wash away any last traces.

Lately, I’m partial to the Epicutis oil cleanser, which I use on dry skin for about 30 seconds before rinsing off, and following up with a gentle cleanser.

I learned the importance of an oil cleanse the hard way when I moved to Florida. I was wearing a lot of mineral sunscreens to protect my skin, and wasn’t washing them off properly. I broke out pretty badly before I realized that I just wasn’t cleansing with the right products. Don’t make the same mistake!

A Celebrity Esthetician’s Approach to Retinol

As a personal fan of retinol (I only recently reintroduced it into my routine), I was surprised to hear that Angela says you don’t necessarily need this ingredient to fight aging and dullness.

In fact, she thinks that this ingredient can, in some cases, aggravate hormonal skin and break down the protective barrier.

“Having done this for 30 years, I’ve watched so many trends, and I know how women [are] brainwashed to think, ‘If I want to age well, I [have] to get a retinol or a vitamin C,’ so it’s been a little challenging to communicate that they don’t need that.”

Her recommendation? If you’re committed to keeping your retinol, work it into a routine that also includes an exosome-based serum like hers, and rotate every day or two.

Regenerative Skincare and Why You Shouldn’t Sleep on Exosomes

This was really interesting, as I haven’t spoken to an expert about the benefits of exosomes in skincare until I chatted with Angela.

The star products of Angela’s line feature billions of human stem cell-derived exosome. Angela says these products “speak the language your skin already understands,” so it works particularly well to boost glow and repair without any irritation whatsoever.

I personally used her Cell Forté Serum for three months—down to the last drop!—and really, really loved it. Here’s what I noticed:

• Clarity—my sun spots were less visible
• Hydration—even on its own, my skin felt soft and supple
• Glow

In fact, I loved it so much I was hesitant to recommend it because it’s hardly inexpensive, but it really is good. If you sign up for Subscribe and Save, you can save 15% on every order, and you also get 15% off your first order by signing up on their website. If you want to wade into the exosome skincare world, I highly recommend this product. One upside, despite the high cost: Angela says it can replace every other active in your routine.

The Facelift Conversation

This part of the conversation surprised me the most!

I brought up the fact that the “young facelift” is everywhere on social media—people in their 40s getting one in an effort to get more mileage out of the procedure. (The idea being, you can enjoy the results from a younger age, and there is less drastic of an impact because you’re only correcting minor issues.)

Angela even said she visited a Beverly Hills doctor to get Botox, and he recommended a facelift instead. (!!!) She says about the experience, “I was messed up for a couple days, and I’m in the business!”

While the suggestion rattled her, Angela says it also forced her to step back and reconsider the unreasonable standards that we often set for ourselves when it comes to our looks.

“I don’t like it when they’re so money driven and they’re saying it to younger women that they need it and I don’t think they do.”

Of course, this is an incredibly personal decision, and who knows what the future holds for me. I certainly would never judge a woman who chooses plastic surgery. But hearing Angela’s perspective on this really helped me feel a little less urgency around the whole thing. There’s a difference between making an empowered choice where you’ve considered all the angles, and feeling like you’re somehow being pushed into someone else’s version of aging. I like the reminder that we, individually, hold the power to make that decision.

Her Most Surprising Advice Has to Do with Washing Your Face

I’ve heard other experts give this advice as well, but Angela is on Team No-AM-Wash—particularly for the 40+ set—and here’s why.

Angela says, if you’ve thoroughly cleansed your skin the night before and applied good products with actives, there’s no reason to disrupt the skin barrier again in the morning. Instead, she recommends waking up and going right to your serum, moisturizer and sunscreen.

“Skip the morning cleanse if you’re not acneic and you’re not sweating at night,” she told me.

There are exceptions, of course, including hormonal breakouts, night sweats, or the use of any other heavy-duty product that should be washed off to prevent sensitization (tretinoin, retinol, Vitamin A products in general). But this advice hit hard enough that I actually do this on mornings where I don’t use my retinol the night before. So far, so good!

The Bottom Line from a Celebrity Esthetician

My biggest takeaway from Angela isn’t that we should be throwing away all of our other products and leaning only into her line; it’s that our skin is constantly “talking” to us through things like reactivity, hydration, acne, and more. We can—and should—adapt to its ever-changing needs.

The skin I have at almost-45 isn’t the same I had even five years ago, and hearing about new ingredients that can soften the lines of aging was great. I will absolutely be buying another bottle of her serum, and looking into exosomes as an ingredient in general.

I’ll always be the girl who likes testing new products, and I’m certainly not giving up on my stash of beauty goodies, but I’m also listening a little more closely to what my skin needs in this moment, and adjusting accordingly.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you’ll join me on Substack for more posts like this one.