You’re never too young to start an anti-aging regimen.

A recent study by the NPD Group, Women’s Skincare In-Depth Consumer Report, shows that anti-aging awareness surges after age 24, leading many members of Generation Y to buy anti-age skin care with the hope of preventing wrinkles and other age-related skin damage at an earlier age than in prior years.

“It surprised us to see that women are [using anti-aging products] at such a young age. It used to be that a woman wouldn’t even think of anti-aging products till she was in her 30’s,” said Karen Grant, NPD Group’s vice president and senior global industry analyst. “This generation understands more than we did. There is so much product communication. They know that in order to get a certain ‘look’ they have to start with the right canvas and anti-aging skin care is a component of that.”

Aside from more prevalent product awareness, the earlier use of anti-aging products can be attributed to this generation’s relationships with women who are older than them. According to Karen, Generation Y consumers often shop alongside their mothers and even grandmothers, and are therefore being taught to use certain products while still considerably young.

“One of the big influences of [Generation Y spenders] is their friends and family. I think the relationship that this generation has with their parents plays a big factor. A lot of them are still living at home and are more dependent on their parents. It used to be that once you got to college you barely came home and today when you are in stores you see a lot of mother-daughter shopping. They are being made aware of anti-aging and being told ‘You need to use this,’” added Karen. “They are watching and really listening to the older generation.”

And unlike the 18 to 24 year old demographic, Generation Y consumers are quite discerning. They spend a lot of time researching products online and are well aware of items in both the prestige and mass markets.

“They are doing the research online but they are also shopping online more than they used to, partially due to [websites’] loyalty programs which keep luring them back,” said Karen, who went on to note that multi-brand sites, such as Beauty.com and Sephora.com, are most popular with this age group.

“I think [Generation Y] are very judicious spenders because they don’t have a lot of money but they still figure out a way to get exactly what they want. They are very savvy.”