As we get older we start noticing that our skin starts to wrinkle and begins revealing our age. There are many reasons for why this process occurs but there are also ways to slow it down by adding the right products to your grooming regimen.

ABOUT THE SKIN

In order to understand how aging occurs, you need to understand the makeup of the skin. There are three layers that make up our skin. The outer layer is the epidermis, which consists of cells that are generated on the bottom of the epidermis and work their way to the top where they eventually flake off or get scrubbed off when we shower. The layer just beneath the epidermis is called the dermis. The dermis is the connective tissues that support the epidermis. Some of the dermis tissues are collagen (for strength), proteins (for tension), and elastin (for elasticity). The layer beneath the dermis contains fat cells that provide insulation for the body and fullness to the skin. It is referred to as the subcutaneous tissue.

The aging process is caused by many factors, such as free radical damage, sunlight, and gravity. However, there are some ways to combat these aging factors by using the right products and taking the proper preventative steps.

AGING

With age, it is inevitable that our skin will start to wrinkle. This starts with the epidermal cells becoming thinner which causes them to release moisture more rapidly. In fact, we lose about 10% of our epidermal cells every 10 years and these cells also start to divide more slowly. This will cause drying of the skin and slow down the skin’s ability to repair itself. A good way to combat this process is to use a moisturizer on your skin every day. After a shower, you can apply a body moisturizer and an after-shave lotion or balm over your entire face. Repeat the moisturizing process throughout the day as needed to keep the skin from becoming dry. Use an exfoliating scrub to get rid of the dead epidermal cells before applying a moisturizer whenever possible to give the moisturizer a better chance at saturating the epidermis layer.

LIGHT

UVA or UVB rays that come from sunlight account for 90% of the symptoms of premature skin aging. Yikes! (See The Truth About Sunscreen for more info) This effect on the skin is referred to as photoaging. Photoaging can become noticeable by our early 20’s in some cases. Cases may vary, but it is all relative to the amount of total lifetime radiation exposure and our skin’s natural pigment protection.
Sun exposure will cause a thinning of the epidermis and can result in the growth of skin lesions such as actinic keratoses, basal cell carcinomas, and squamous cell carcinomas. Also, the sun causes collagen fibers to break down faster and a build-up of abnormal elastin to occur. This process produces enzymes called metalloproteinases which, when functioning normally will remodel collagen fibers. In other cases, the opposite happens and collagen will continue to break down. In this case, the collagen fibers will become what are known as “solar scars”. When this process repeats, wrinkles form. Needless to say… wear your sunscreen!

FREE RADICALS

Dude, these are not as cool as they sound. Free radicals are actually oxygen molecules that have only one electron instead of two, making them unstable. These unstable molecules will continue to search for another electron from another molecule. When this occurs the molecule that lost an electron will do the same thing, and so on, and so on. This process produces the metalloproteinases that break down collagen. Therefore, the same “solar scar” process will occur. Contributing factors of this free radical damage stem from UV radiation in sunlight, smoking, and exposure to air pollution.

OTHER AGING EFFECTS

Gravity causes drooping of the skin for obvious reasons. There are only a couple of ways to avoid this and most are out of everyone’s budget. Muscle use, such as frowning, smiling, and squinting all are culprits when it comes to forming lines and wrinkles. Try to avoid frowning but not smiling (for obvious reasons) and take sunglasses with you when you are out and about to prevent squinting.