What Happens As You Age
The skin has three major layers: the thin top layer, called the epidermidis; followed by the thicker, meatier dermis; and below that, the hypodermis, the thickest, fattiest layer.
Together, these three layers protect the body from bacteria and pollutants in the environment, serve as a filter for toxins that can’t be handled by the body’s other organs, prevent the loss of water and nutrients, regulate temperature, and help you feel sensations like cold, pain, and pressure.
Since the epidermidis is the layer that’s visible, most people assume that it’s the only part of the skin that facialists are concerned with. In truth, the epidermidis constantly works in conjunction with the skins other layers. On its own, though, it’s the center of cell activity, where cells are both created and sloughed off at the end of their short lives.
Skin cells are formed at the bottom of the epidermidis, and in the beginning they are flat and square. Over the course of a few weeks to a month, they flatten out and move up to the stratum corneum—the top layer of the epidermidis.
When they are almost completely flat and packed on top of each other in about 25 to 30 layers, they come off manually through exfoliation or desquamation, which is the body’s harmless and unnoticeable shedding process.
Ever wonder where all the dust lying around your house comes from? A lot of it is dead skin cells that have simply fallen off during desquamation. That may sound impossible (and totally gross), but on average, the body sheds about 35,000 skin cells every hour.
Just under the top layer of your skin, the dermis begins to lose thickness, and from your mid 20s until your golden years, it’s width decreases by 20 to 80 percent. The production of collagen and elastin slows down as well—and much of your skins existing supply starts to break down resulting in reduced resiliency and fullness.
In the epidermis, the skin becomes dehydrated, leading to the formation of wrinkles. This water loss happens in part because hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance in our skin that helps us retain moisture, decreases starting in our 40s. Further, the fatty acids in the stratum corneum can’t bind and hold water, causing even more dehydration.
Between ages 30 and 80, the rate of skin cell turnover declines between 30 and 50 percent, meaning that we don’t shed cells as rapidly. This leads to dull, rough, flaky, patchy, or dry skin. Other skin cells don’t form as quickly, either, causing a slower immune response in the body.
Skin discoloration is a hallmark of the aging process, and as we age we become more sensitive to the sun. Sun exposure causes a whopping 90% of premature aging, with cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and poor diet wrecking havoc on your skin as well. But with a good routine, you can counteract this.
We all have collagen, and as we age, we all need products that will help to plump it up a bit. Everything from turmeric you add to your soup recipe to a Microcurrent treatment at the spa to the hyaluronic acid you find in your moisturizer can boost collagen production.
Beautiful skin is possible for anyone, once they put into place a solid routine that encompasses all aspects of their life. There’s a gorgeous, glowing you just waiting to be unleashed, and Captivating Skin Day Spa in Southlake is here to show you how!