When we were just a baby our skin was very soft on touching as it was rich in collagen and elastin fibers and there were no pores or any irregularities in texture. There were no any signs of aging such as wrinkles, loss of texture and others. But as we grow older our skin also starts showing the signs of aging and it can’t be avoided at any cost. The only factor that can be avoided is sun damage which accounts for more than 90 percent of wrinkles and almost 100 percent of pigmentation changes in the skin.
Aging of skin can be seen as early as first few years of life and that’s freckling of the skin due to sun damage. Although it may not be evident as older individuals, but if you compare quality of skin from new born, a five years old boy and a teen you can see the difference in which sun exposure plays an important factor.
Men and women in their twenties and thirties start to see the damage done by sun exposure. There are several factors that contribute to skin aging, so there is no any magic formula that can reverse the aging. The collagen starts to break down which can further be exacerbated by sun exposure. You cannot stop the process even if you live underground without sun but that’s not possible. Protecting your skin from sun exposure will help slow down the aging process of skin but won’t stop.
During your forties and fifties your skin starts to loose fats and thins. The collagen continues to break down in the middle and outer layer and your thin skin loses its elasticity resulting in sagging of the skin. This aging can be seen more frequently on those people who are frequently exposed to prolonged sun. It may also be associated with more freckling and age spots. Those who protected their skin throughout the early years might not notice such changes. Women in their late forties may experience menopause which further causes pigmentation changes and dry skin that can be sensitive to sun.
The sixties and seventies brings more facial pigmentation, sun spots and sagging of the skin. Not only skin, hair may also starts to thin and grays and may fall-off. Graying of the hair is not a problem for many of us, but if it starts to fall off than there might be a problem. To prevent the thinning and brittle hair, regular healthy balanced diet must be taken. It is also very important to rule out other systemic causes if brittle hair.
skin aging
There is no doubt that sun exposure plays an important role in the process of aging of skin throughout life. The ultraviolet rays from the sun damages the DNA in the skin which may be irreversible as we age. When we are young our skin has some mechanism by which it can repair the damage cause by sun but becomes less efficient as we grow older. Repetitive prolonged sun exposure to the skin result in damage to DNA that can’t be repaired and these skin cells begins to mutate and grow in an abnormal ways and may become cancerous.
Finally I’m not going beyond your eighties and nineties, it’s just the same collagen breakdown, more shagging, more sun spots and so so. What is important is “Good Broad-spectrum Sunscreen”. Yes, regular use of good broad-spectrum sunscreen can prevent or at-least slow down the aging process of the skin caused by UV exposure. If you start applying regular sunscreen from your early teens you may still enjoy a beautiful younger looking skin while you are on your fifties and sixties.
Great post! Thank you very much for sharing !
Hello! for everybody who’s going through this as well I recommend to wear sunscreen every day. Hydrate yourself, drink plenty of water. Have a balanced diet. It’s important as well to have collagen suplements, such as dermalmd make skin glow, this is what I’ve been using for 3 years, this helps to moisturize and nourish your skin! I hope this helps!