As a mom of two active boys, some weeks are so hectic and crazy that I’m happy to just take a shower, let alone worry about researching, buying, trying, and implementing the perfect skincare routine.  But as a woman in my 30s, I know my reflection doesn’t show the same fresh-faced teenager it once did.

Like most of us, I would like to age as gracefully as possible, and as for my face, as youthfully as possible.  But trying to find an all-encompassing resource can prove to be challenging.

When I started researching the topic of skincare for this article, I struggled with a lot of red tape.  It may be that I am new to the blogging world or was just naïve, regardless, most of the websites that I trust wouldn’t allow ANY information to be used in ANY way due to their copyright terms of use.  However, I was determined to follow through on my article, because I truly believe there is a need for it, and women like me (and hopefully you) will love it.  So, I persevered and researched to bring you this article.

My original intention was to put together an all-encompassing skincare “bible” with basic information about the skin, how it changes over time, include photos and definitions to help easily identify what experts are talking about and if it applies to you, and provide a summary of the recommended skincare routine to live by, for now and for the future.  I quickly realized that writing only ONE article would be too cumbersome for anyone to read, and take me forever to write. So, I had to shift my plan a bit and I think you agree, that creating a series of articles about skin aging and skincare will better package the information in a more useful way. My hope is that these articles will serve as a resource to provide the information you need to know and serve as a reference when you need it in the future.  (Also, product recommendations to follow!)

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Skin Aging

Your skin changes as you age.

Skin aging is characterized by the formation of lines and wrinkles, increased and uneven pigmentation, loss of elasticity, fat, and firmness, increased dryness, and thinner, dull skin that takes longer to heal.

It is the consequence of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.  The causes for the resulting aged appearance are the slowing of collagen production, decreasing production of elastin, loss of fat cells, skin losing its ability to retain moisture, frown lines appearing due to small muscle contractions, slowed cell turnover, and less turnover of new skin cells. Intrinsic factors, those that we cannot change, include things like heredity, gravity, environment, and hormones.  Gravity causes drooping of the eyebrows and eyelids, looseness and fullness under the cheeks and jaw, and lengthening of the ear lobes.  Facial movement lines become more visible after the skin starts to lose its elasticity around the 30s-40s.  Lines may appear horizontally on the forehead, vertically on the skin about the nose, or as small curved lines on the temples, upper cheeks, and around the mouth.  This is just the natural progression of aging.

Signs of skin aging:

• Uneven pigmentation and discoloration– brown spots on skin; mostly caused by sun exposure, but can also be the result of hormones, certain illnesses, and medications.  Results in an overproduction of melanin in certain spots on the skin.

 

• Blotchiness– brown and red rough skin; roughness of the skin with a mixture of brown and red pigment changes.

• Sagging– drooping; the two most important skin proteins involved in skin sagging are collagen and elastin.  When collagen and elastin start to breakdown, skin begins to sag.  The two main factors that contribute to sagging skin are sun exposure and smoking.

• Lines and wrinkling– folds, ridges, or creases in the skin.  Wrinkles start out as fine lines that become deeper over time.  Sun exposure is the major cause of wrinkling, along with pollution, and smoking.

• Scarring– a mark left on the skin after a wound or injury.
• Susceptibility to damage– cuts, tears, and bruises
• Increased healing time
• Dullness- skin that lacks radiance or glow.  But can also be a catchall term to describe skin with uneven texture or tone.

• Greater pore visibility– There are multiple factors that can contribute to greater pore visibility.  Those most often associated with age include slower cell turnover, and the long-term effects of sun exposure causing skin to look less supple makes your pores appear larger.  Other factors include: leaving makeup on overnight, which clogs pores and allows them to stretch overtime and eating foods high in fat and unhealthy oils leading to clogged pores.
• Thinner skin
• Increased dryness

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Taking Control:

Lifestyle Choices that Prevent Skin Aging

Even though all skin ages, there are factors that can affect how your skin ages and at what rate.  The factors we can influence, extrinsic factors, are our lifestyle choices that can cause or reduce premature aging.

So, how can you reduce and prevent your skin from aging? 

By making key changes to your lifestyle choices and using the right skincare routine for your face and age.

1. Reduce sun exposure
2. Reduce stress
3. Personal habits
4. • Quit smoking
5. • Exercise most days of the week
6. • Wash your face with a gentle cleanser twice a day and after heavily sweating and apply moisturizer daily
7. • Sleeping more and on your back may improve or prevent sleep creases
8. • Improve diet by eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and reducing alcohol

Reduce Sun Exposure:

The number one factor affecting how skin ages is sun exposure, which along with carrying an increased risk for skin cancer, is why any dermatologist will tell you that no matter what skincare routine you follow, you need it to include daily sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher.  The areas of the body that are frequently exposed to the sun- the face, neck, arms, or back of the hands- acquire visible signs of aging more rapidly than other areas of the body.

Every time you get a tan, you prematurely age your skin.  The American Academy of Dermatology recommends applying a self-tanner if you desire the look of tanned skin.  Aging is associated with a 10-20% reduction of melanin producing cells per decade.  So as we age, our skin gets less tan after sun exposure.  Wearing sunglasses can help protect the skin around your eyes by reducing the lines caused by squinting.

Unlike a sunburn or suntan, however, that manifests within hours and days of sun exposure, photoaging develops gradually over decades.  Photoaging is most pronounced on fair-skinned individuals and results in breakdown of existing collagen while also reducing the production of new collagen.  However, the hallmark of photoaging is the breakdown of elastin fibers which causes the skin to sag, stretch, and lose its ability to snap back after stretching. The skin also bruises and tears more easily and takes longer to heal.  Photoaged skin typically appears leathery, lax, with coarse wrinkles, broken blood vessels, and uneven pigmentation.

Reduce Stress:

In the skin multiple inflammatory conditions can be triggered or aggravated by stress, such as: psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne, contact dermatitis, alopecia areata, itching, and erythema.

Acne is a very common skin disease affecting most of the population at some point in their life.  It was only about 15 years ago that stress was confirmed by research studies to cause acne flare ups and increase acne severity.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory skin disease often associated with eczema and itchiness.  Individuals with atopic dermatitis often find themselves in a vicious symptom-stress cycle, and report depression and anxiety, which only increases the incidence of their symptoms.  Stress negatively affects the skin’s permeable barrier which may lead to increased sensitization to allergens and microbes, increased water loss, a lower threshold for itchiness, and dry, flaky skin.  Stress also contributes to immune and inflammation dysfunction.

Delayed wound healing has also been a negative impact of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Various chronic stress situations have been associated with premature skin aging including:

• caregiving for a sick child with chronic conditions
• caregiving for elderly dementia patients
• major depression
• childhood abuse or neglect
• domestic abuse

Chronic stress suppresses immunoprotection, increases susceptibility to infections, and can also worsen some allergic and inflammatory diseases.

Personal Habits:

              

Quit Smoking:

Smoking greatly speeds up how quickly skin ages.  It causes wrinkles and a dull, sallow complexion.

Increase Exercise:

Studies suggest that moderate exercise most days of the week improves circulation and boosts the immune system, which may give the skin a more youthful appearance.

Improve Skincare Routine:

Gently cleansing your skin twice daily helps remove pollution, makeup, and other substances without irritating your skin.  It is important to use a gentle cleanser because scrubbing can irritate your skin and irritation accelerates aging.  Sweat also irritates the skin, so it should be washed as soon as possible after sweating.  Because skin dries as we age, moisturizer traps water in the skin, giving it a more youthful appearance.

Improve Diet:

Studies suggest that eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, may help prevent damage that leads to premature skin aging.  A diet containing lots of sugar or other refined carbohydrates also accelerates aging.

Alcohol dehydrates the skin and in time, damages the skin, making you look older.

Improve Sleep Quality and Increase Sleep:

A study established the negative effect of sleep deprivation on skin aging.  It was found that poor quality sleepers showed increased signs of intrinsic skin aging including fine lines, uneven pigmentation, and reduced elasticity.  They also recover much slower after skin barrier disruption.

Sources:

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.  Aging Skin

The American Academy of Dermatology.  Causes of Aging Skin; Selecting Anti-Aging Products; Maximizing Anti-Aging Products

Chen, Y, and Lyga, J. Brain-skin connection: stress, inflammation and skin aging. Inflamm Allergy Drug Targets. 2014;13(3):177-90.

Gilchrest, BA. Photoaging. J Invest Dermatol. 2013 Jul 1;133(E1):E2-6.

MedlinePlus. Skin Aging.

Rittie, L and Fisher, G.  Natural and sun induced aging of human skin.  Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2015, 5(1): a015370.

Sveikata, K et al. Factors influencing face aging. Literature review. Stomatologija. 2011;13(4):113-6.

WebMD Medical Reference.  The Effects of Aging on Skin.