This is how skin ages – and what can slow down the process

Like any organ, skin ages and becomes more susceptible to disease. A dermatologist gives tips on how to keep skin fresh and wrinkle-free for longer.

The skin changes with age: while dryness and the first fine lines appear from the mid-20s onwards, from the mid-30s onwards the elasticity of the connective tissue increasingly decreases and the wrinkles deepen. As we age, our tone, blood circulation, moisture content and sebum production continue to decline.

In addition to age spots and age warts, skin cancer is also one of the possible skin changes as we age. Various factors accelerate skin damage. What changes occur in the skin as we age and how the process can be slowed down.

The skin makes up around a seventh of the body weight – making it the heaviest organ in the body. Depending on body size, it weighs between 3.5 and 10 kilograms. Among other things, it serves as a protective covering for the body, regulates body temperature, enables sensory impressions, stores fat and water and is involved in hormone production. The skin is made up of three layers of skin:

• Epidermis: It consists predominantly of horn-forming cells that seal the skin from the outside. The body’s own UV protection melanin is also produced in the epidermis, which tans the skin. Defense cells and nerve cells are also found in the epidermis.
• Leather skin (dermis): The dermis lies beneath the epidermis. It is a dense network of tear-resistant and elastic collagen fibers. The dermis ensures the strength of the skin. Sweat glands, tactile cells, nerve fibers and small blood vessels also run through the dermis.
• Subcutaneous tissue (subcutaneous tissue): The subcutis lies beneath the dermis. It consists primarily of connective tissue and fat as well as stored water. The fat serves as a heat cushion and shock absorber. The fat also produces hormones, such as vitamin D from sunlight. Also in the subcutaneous tissue are nerves, sweat and sebaceous glands, blood and lymph vessels and hair roots.

As the body’s protective covering, the skin is exposed to many influences that affect skin aging. The extrinsic influencing factors include UV light, climate, stress and toxic substances such as nicotine and alcohol. The intrinsic influencing factors include genetic factors and skin diseases. The older the skin gets, the poorer the blood supply and the slower the cell metabolism becomes. The skin:

• regenerates more slowly,
• becomes drier and wrinkled,
• itches and feels increasingly tense,
• becomes more susceptible to inflammation due to the weakened skin protective barrier,
• loses elasticity due to weakening connective tissue fibers,
• becomes thinner.

“The skin begins to age as early as the age of 25. This early aging process usually occurs unnoticed or is manifested by isolated dry patches of skin or increased skin sensitivity,” says Dr. Uta Schlossberger, dermatologist from Cologne. “Around the age of 30, the skin tends to become drier because sebum production decreases and water-binding capacity decreases. At the same time, collagen production decreases. The first lines appear on the skin.”

The older the skin gets, the weaker the connective tissue becomes, the lower the water binding capacity, the sebum production and the collagen production and the slower the regeneration takes place. The wrinkles become more visible, the pores become larger, the skin is scaly and shows increasingly less elasticity.

“There are also typical signs of aging in the skin, such as age spots, age warts and vascular dilatations,” says the dermatologist.

There is often increasing pigmentation in the skin. These can be liver spots, but also age spots. The complexion generally appears more irregular. Wounds heal more slowly and the dryness can cause fine cracks in the skin, which become more easily inflamed – also because the immune system becomes weaker. Hair loss is also a sign of aging.

“Skin diseases such as rosacea, couperose, age-related acne, actinic keratosis and skin cancer also become more common with increasing age,” says Schlossberger. “Black and white skin cancer, for example, are dangerous consequences of too much UV exposure from the sun and tanning beds. Malignant melanoma is particularly a risk. It can spread and cause cancer in other areas of the body if it is not detected and removed early.”

UV light is one of the biggest risk factors for the skin. Too much UV light and frequent sunburns accelerate skin aging and increase the risk of skin cancer.

UV-A radiation is primarily responsible for aging of the skin. It has a longer wavelength and penetrates deeper into the skin layers than UV-B radiation. There it promotes the breakdown of collagen in the skin. At the same time, too much sunlight promotes not only inflammatory reactions but also DNA damage to the skin. “Good sun protection is essential for the skin – both to protect against cancer and to protect against age spots and accelerated skin aging,” explains Schlossberger.

According to the dermatologist, in addition to UV light, smoking and alcohol are other important risk factors for the skin. Both disrupt skin renewal, promote inflammatory processes and impair the supply of nutrients and oxygen. For healthy and fresh skin, the dermatologist advises paying attention to a healthy and balanced diet, sufficient exercise, good hydration, enough sleep and stress reduction.