Brands, products and more magazine articles than you could shake a stick at endlessly promise the latest, greatest secrets to rolling back the years.

In most cases, the promises are going to be empty, because here are the basic facts: if you don't start young, you're just not going to be able to hold back time effectively, and there is no one wonder product or ingredient that will deliver 25-year-oldskin to a woman in her 50s. Nothing, that is, except surgery.

So instead of going under the knife when you're older, plan now, to have the best possible skin in the future. Something many of us have forgotten, is that there's actually nothing wrong with looking your years: the trick is to look as well as you possibly can for that age.

Check out how fantastic Cate Blanchett looks at 40 compared to the “pillow face” of Kylie, who is older than Blanchett by a year.And sure, plastic surgery isn't all dodgy, but work as good as Sharon Osborne's is rare, and it's incredibly expensive, too.

With skin, the real truth about battling the ravages of time is that prevention is the key.

Adopting a proper skincare routine early on acts as an insurance policy, so if you're in your 20s or early 30s and want to future-proof your skin for the years ahead, you're in a great position to do so now.

There's no big mystery to it either: just read the five steps below and do your best to incorporate them into your daily life, for great skin at all ages.

STEP 1: KNOW YOUR SKIN

If you don't have a clear idea of your skin type, you're not going to be able to treat it effectively. So the first thing on the agenda is to answer that question, and while any therapist will be able to help — for a fee — you can find out for nothing, too.

Vichy, who estimate that two-thirds of Irish women don’t know their skin type, are offering a new complimentary service at McCabes’ chemists citywide. Skinconsult and Dermo-Analyzer are diagnostic gadgets that help the pharmacist judge your skin type and, ultimately, point you in the direction of products that are right for you.

STEP 2: HYDRATE

In your early 20s, there's really no need for heavy-duty anti-ageing products; a light hydrating moisturiser is probably going to be enough to keep skin smooth and supple. But past 30, skin changes and can become dry, and that's one of the reasons why you should adjust your products as the years go on. What can sometimes seem like the first signs of ageing around the eye area is often just dehydration, for example, and can be fixed with a switch to a richer formulation.

As you age, keep adjusting: your mid-to-late 30s is a great time to start using a nutrient-packed serum and active night creams; in your forties, look for products with plumping and firming benefits.

STEP 3: USE SUNSCREEN DAILY

UV damage is the single biggest factor in skin ageing. It's cumulative and you didn't get it all — or even a significant partof it — on that two-weeker to Spain.

Way more harm is done in small increments on a daily basis, even here in not-so-sunny Ireland.

Daily, the ideal is to use a separate sunscreen after moisturiser. That's not always practical and can be costly, so MariaHatzistefanis, the founder of the Rodial brand, has some workable advice: “Try to incorporate a moisturiser with at least anSPF15 into your facial routine, as this will not only help keep the skin nourished but also help your skin combat the signs of ageing.”

If you're applying foundation over your skin cream, you'll get the added benefit of a physical block from the pigment in the formulation, and that should be enough protection for the average day. When you're on holidays, or out in the sun a lot, you'll need to switch to higher factor sunscreen products and reapply every four hours.

STEP 4: DON’T SMOKE

While you know it's bad for your lungs, do you know why it's so damaging to your complexion? Dr David Orentreich, Clinique’sguiding dermatologist, says that smoking has “a major impact on skin”, adding: “It ages the skin and damages blood vessels. It slows wound healing, and impairs the skin’s ability to repair itself after ultraviolet damage.” Yikes! If all that wasn't scary enough, he hammers the nail in a little deeper: “When we smoke, we tend to scrunch our faces up, which promotes wrinkle formation.” Right so: put the fags down. Now.

STEP 5: EAT PROPERLY

This doesn't mean you have to adopt some batty diet that only involves ingesting apples harvested during a full moon, but it does hinge on the fact that three Big Macs a week and no fruit and vegetables is not complexion-friendly.

Dr Tom Mammone, executive director of research and development at Clinique, insists that good skin is linked to a good diet: “Your skin is not only the largest organ in the body, but also it is the most visible, so health deficiencies show up here first.”

Drinking water and making sure you attempt to try that five-a- day is a good start. We do need to eat fats too — but that's not a licence to rip open the butter tub. Try to get some good fats into you from sources like eggs and oily fish. Not only are they skin-friendly nutrients, but hair and nails love them as well.

FIVE GREAT SKIN PRODUCTS TO TRY

Skincare can take time to get right, and unless a product is causing an immediate reaction, do give it a chance to work — typically between six to eight weeks is recommended. Here are five moisturisers with SPF that are worth checking out:

1. For dry skin RoC Hydra+ Bio Active Anti-oxidant Bio Moisturising Cream SPF15, €18.02

2. For combination/oily skin La Roche-Posay Hydraphase XL SPF15, €21.50

3. For dullness and lack of tone Garnier Nutritionist Daily Moisturiser with SPF15, €14.05

4. For first lines and wrinkles Vichy LiftActiv Retinol HA Total Wrinkle Care SPF18, €33.50

5. For normal skin Clinique Superdefense SPF 25 Age Defense Mositurizer, €38

- Kirstie McDermott