There’s a lot in our lives that we can change. If we put on a couple pounds over the holidays, we can make the decision to hit the gym and trim down. If we are feeling overwhelmed and overworked, there are numerous tips and tricks out there to help us manage our stress. When it comes to aging, though, the best we can do is choose to age gracefully. Our lifestyle, personal habits, genetics, and diet play a huge role in how much our skin is impacted by time. However, there are a couple common things that can happen to our skin as we age. Take a look below to learn more!
1. It loses its elasticity. Have you started to notice your skin sagging a bit in your face, neck and breasts? As we age, our body produces less and less of the two proteins that contribute to the elasticity of our skin — elastin and collagen. Without these proteins, our skin loses its smoothness and tightness.
2. It becomes drier. Many older people find that their skin becomes dry and patchy. This could be due to a variety of reasons, ranging from over-exposure to sun, smoking, excessive stress, or losing important sweat and oil glands, which is common problem with old age.
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3. It may become itchy. As the skin is drained of essential oils and becomes dried out, one of the primary side effects is itching. Nearly 85 percent of older people experience a condition called “winter itch” because of over-exposure to indoor air that is too dry or hot.
4. It becomes more fragile. Over time the three layers of our skin — the dermis, epidermis, and underlying fat — are often lost. This can result in thinner, more fragile skin that is more susceptible to damage. Get healthy, glowing skin with these supplements!
5. It can bruise more easily. As you age and the skin becomes thinner, you may find that you are noticing more bruises. That’s because there is less of a cushion to absorb any kind of impact your body receives, and there is less support around blood vessel walls under the skin.
6. It becomes slower to heal. Healing is quite a process: First, the blood has to clot, then our white blood cells have to swoop in and clean the injury, and after that our tissue has to be rebuilt. As we age some of the stages can be delayed because our skin is thinner and our blood vessels aren’t as nutrient-dense as they once were.
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7. You may develop wrinkles. As we get older moisture is sapped out of our skin, which can contribute to the appearance of those lines we all dread. Also, aging often leads to a decrease in the fat deposits in our face, which can enhance the presence of crevices and wrinkles as well.
8. Your face may become leaner. Like we mentioned above, older women often lose a good deal of the fat deposits in their cheeks, temples, chin, nose, and around their eyes. Your face may become leaner and narrower without that extra padding.
9. Your face may begin to droop. Without the support from those fatty deposits, many women find that the skin around their face and neck begins to droop. As the skin loses its elasticity gravity causes drooping, especially around the eyebrows, eyelids, cheeks, jaw and earlobes.
>> Read about 5 Essential Vitamins for Beautiful Skin here.
10. You may lose some sensation in your skin. We’re not saying your face is going to go numb, but as we get older the number of nerve endings in our skin actually decreases. This leads to diminished sensation in our skin.
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If you want to learn more about the effects of aging on your skin, check out our sources: WebMD, Merck Manual, MedicineNet.com, Livestrong.com, National Institute on Aging.