What Happens to Our Skin as We Age?

What happens to our skin as we age?

If you are past your early twenties, you have probably noticed some changes in your skin that are likely the signs of aging. The reality is that our skin does change with age, and typically not for the better. The good news is that we can do many things to help combat the negative effects of aging on our skin.

To understand what happens to our skin as we age, we need to look at many factors that influence our skin, both intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic factors are things like your genetic makeup, decreased hormone levels, decreased lipid production, and increased inflammatory signals. Some of these factors cannot be controlled, but some of them can.

Extrinsic factors are things like the effects of the environment on our skin, gravity, and lifestyle choices. Living in a dry climate, poor nutrition and even the position you sleep in can also impact how your skin ages. Sun damage is the primary cause of pre-mature aging, and both UV rays and pollution lead to the formation of free radicals, which causes damage to the skin cells and can result in poor texture, brown spots (hyperpigmentation), increased redness and even skin cancer. Smoking also has a negative effect on the skin, as it damages small blood vessels, which decreases the blood flow, and therefore the nourishment to the skin.

Today there are several things we can to do help reduce or even prevent skin aging. Some of the negative factors that influence our skin can be controlled or eliminated. We can actually even reverse some of the negative effects of aging with the right products and treatments that revitalize the skin.

Here are a few tips to help prevent the effects of aging on the skin:

1. Sunscreen: Applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen (which can be in your moisturizer and/or makeup) daily is imperative to help minimize damage from UV rays to the skin.Re-apply every 2 hours or more frequently if you are swimming or recreating in the water or exercising outdoors.
2. Follow a good home skincare regimen: Use quality products with wrinkle-fighting ingredients like Peptides to help increase the collagen, aid in cellular repair and improve hydration. Vitamin A helps stimulate cellular turnover which helps improve the skin’s texture and minimize fine lines.  
3. Have regular professional facials to help improve and optimize the health and appearance of your skin.  Age-defying facials can help tone and tighten muscles, lift the skin, stimulate circulation, improve texture, build collagen and elastin, boost ATP energy, deeply nourish and promote healthy function of the skin. Over the next few weeks we’ll talk about more important tips to help your skin “defy age!”