“I felt like I was invincible growing up,” Venus Williams tells ESSENCE. In other words, she thought she could get away with not wearing sunscreen until her thirties. But, that didn’t mean skincare wasn’t important to the acne-prone tennis star, who admitted to religiously doing her skincare routine—even after getting home at 3 a.m.. However, “as you grow older and age, those things start to shift,” she says. “It’s not acne [anymore].”
Now, in her mid-forties, Williams says her skin is clear, but new concerns have arisen. “You’re trying to make sure that your skin is tight, that it’s not sagging, that you have plump skin, that you don’t have wrinkles,” she says. Although she understands the aging process is natural, she doesn’t mind a little help with turning back the clocks. With that, her latest venture as the ambassador of Dior Beauty’s Capture campaign makes total sense.
Capture, a skincare collection created to reverse the appearance of aging skin using mother cells, is introducing two new eye treatments, the Pro-Collagen Shot and Eye Creme, for lifting, firming, and reducing natural signs of aging. “I don’t think it’s ever too early to make sure you’re working on those kinds of things,” Williams says about caring for your skin at every age. After all, allowing your skincare routine to grow with you is another way of showing appreciation to your evolution.
According to professor Knut Woltjen, a partner of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), in collaboration with Dior researchers, between 25 and 90 years old mother cell respiration is reduced by 40 percent. Because of that, our ATP production is reduced by 47 percent, which contributes to a 68 percent loss of collagen as we age. And, those findings are the foundation of Capture’s cutting-edge OX-C Treatment.
“I can pump and hydrate and get smooth skin and get that even tone all at the same time in one product,” she says about the firming Eye Creme. This is because the cream is enriched with two types of hyaluronic acid all while brightening, smoothing, and firming your delicate eye contour. Meanwhile, the Pro-Collagen Shot is like a handheld aesthetic booster, giving collagen-deficit eyes an instant and long-lasting lift.
As the first area affected by collagen loss, losing a third more collagen than the rest of your face, your eyes are the first to speak about your age. And, for Williams, taking your time with aging has long been instilled in her. “Growing up we weren’t allowed to wear makeup. We weren’t allowed to paint our nails until we were 16. We weren’t even allowed to get our ears pierced,” she recalls. “Maybe [my father] just didn’t want us to grow up too fast.”
Now, 30 years later, the line between beauty and sports, especially with the Williams sisters, has become pin thin. “It’s just a great time for women, for sports and for beauty,” she says. From lifting her skin with gua sha to using the Capture Serum, “my beauty routine is all about having as much flawless skin as I can without putting any makeup on.”
And, it seems to be working. After returning to the 2025 US Open for her first Grand Slam tournament in two years, her skin looked as good as she played. “When you’re in the locker room and you’re getting ready to go into press, you kind of want to look your best,” she says. And, when she’s not on the court, she’s prioritizing spending more time with her family, especially her nieces. “Little things that you would take for granted are things that I look forward to.”