Our skin is at the mercy of many forces as we age: sun, harsh weather, and bad habits. But we can take steps to help our skin stay supple and fresh-looking.
How your skin ages will depend on a variety of factors: your lifestyle, diet, heredity, and other personal habits. For instance, smoking can produce free radicals, once-healthy oxygen molecules that are now overactive and unstable. Free radicals damage cells, leading to, among other things, premature wrinkles.
There are other reasons, too. Primary factors contributing to wrinkled, spotted skin include normal aging, exposure to the sun (photoaging) and pollution, and loss of subcutaneous support (fatty tissue between your skin and muscle). Other factors that contribute to aging of the skin include stress, gravity, daily facial movement, obesity, and even sleep position.
What kinds of skin changes come with age?
- As we grow older, changes like these naturally occur:
- Skin becomes rougher.
- Skin develops lesions such as begin tumors.
- Skin becomes slack. The loss of the elastic tissue (elastin) in the skin with age causes the skin to hang loosely.
- Skin becomes more transparent. This is caused by thinning of the epidermis (surface layer of the skin).
- Skin becomes more fragile. This is caused by a flattening of the area where the epidermis and dermis (layer of skin under the epidermis) come together.
- Skin becomes more easily bruised. This is due to thinner blood vessel walls.
Post time: Mar-02-2024
