Nothing shows our true age or the lifestyle we’ve lived, more than our skin. Whether we were sun worshipping teenagers, out partying and burning the midnight oil in our twenties, like it or not, the tell-tale signs will be there by the time we reach our mid 30s and 40s. Fine lines, wrinkles, sagging, thickened skin – it happens to us all, but it doesn’t mean we have to take it lying down.
The bad news is that our skin starts to show the very first signs of ageing as early as our mid-20s. Cell turnover and collagen production begin to slow down, and the skin slowly starts to lose its tone and elasticity. By the time we reach our 40s and 50s our skin really starts to change. Hormonal changes (oestrogen is responsible for cell renewal and is depleted dramatically during the menopause), sun damage, and environmental factors such as pollution and smoke cause it to thin and dry out, collagen fibres stop repairing themselves resulting in lines and wrinkles, and cell renewal slows right down.
But why do some of us age better than others? ‘There are many factors which will affect the way in which a person ages,’ explains Cosmetic Doctor, Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh. ‘A genetic predisposition is certainly key but so too are environmental factors and lifestyle choices, such as exposure to UVA and UVB light, diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, and also whether you have taken good care of your skin over the years’.
So what can we do to boost cell renewal and put some life back into our skin? The good news is, plenty. Because as we age, the skin does not rejuvenate itself as well as it used to, dead skin layers sit on the surface making it look dry, dull and lifeless. According to Dr Sebagh, exfoliation is key. ‘Exfoliation will ensure that dead skin is efficiently removed, allowing healthy skin renewal’, he explains.
Exfoliation is nothing new, in fact, it is probably one of the oldest anti-ageing treatments in the world. According to historians, the Romans, Egyptians, and Ancient Greeks rubbed their skins with a mixture of oils and sand which they then removed with a strigil (a curved metal scraper). In more recent times, most of us remember the Aapri Facial Scrub from the 1980s, which involved sloughing our skin with a peachy coloured, apricot smelling cream full with crushed apricot kernels. While most skincare experts would now advise a more gentle breed of exfoliator, it has stood the test of time and is still available. Aapri Exfoliating Facial Scrub Cream, £3.99.
But exfoliation has come a long way since the Aapri days. From exfoliating cleansers and masks to chemical peels, laser treatments and microdermabrasion, skin has never had it so good.
Next week.....Blast Off - microdermabrasion explored
