5 Reasons Why Your Skin Has Given Up

Sadly, there are many factors that contribute to your skin ageing and unfortunately deteriorating to some degree. While there are a raft of causes that are beyond our control, the good news is, there is quite a bit we can do to slow (and hide!) the process of skin ageing – so don’t panic, all is not lost!

Now, we should point out that we’re not fairy godmothers – we can’t control the natural ageing process! Time marches on and will certainly cause an undesirable myriad of changes to your skin.  Slowly, fine lines and wrinkles will creep in and your skin will begin to lose its natural fullness, appearing thinner and drier. Genes play a key role (thanks mum!) in what experts call “intrinsic aging” and this will dictate how quickly you will notice these changes in your skin.

But enough of the doom and gloom, let’s talk about Extrinsic ageing. This is ageing we CAN control! This type of ageing you can do something about to ensure your skin doesn’t age before it should. The two biggest culprits for premature aging are environment and lifestyle choices but there are other factors that can cause our skin to give up too.  Here’s our top 5:

1. Collagen Degradation

As your body ages, the amount of collagen in our skin breaks down reducing its elasticity.  This results in skin becoming saggy, generating those pesky wrinkles as the collagen that was providing volume and fullness to your skin degrades. Getting too much sun can also cause collagen degradation so it’s essential to apply sunscreen (at least SPF 30), wear a wide-brimmed hat and if you can, stay in the shade as much as possible.

2. Sun Damage

We live in the sun-worshipping country and we know it’s so very tempting to get out into the sunshine as much as possible. BUT, the fact is, sun damage is one of the leading causes of premature skin ageing. Exposing your skin to UV-A spectrum light will do the most damage as opposed to UV-B light, BUT all sun exposure exposes you to both spectrums! Exposure to sunlight also causes the skin to produce high amounts of melanin that can result in skin darkening (aka that not so healthy tan). UV exposure also penetrates layers of the skin causing (collagen-rich) skin cells to die (known as collagen degradation). The combination of these factors can result in your skin losing its youthful firmness and an increase in the appearance of unwelcome blemishes and/or freckles.

3. Unhealthy Diet

You know the old saying “you are what you eat.” Well, this also applies to the health and appearance of your skin! In actual fact, a poor diet, high in sugar and processed foods can (and will) result in you looking older than you actually are. And, to add insult to injury studies also show that alcohol, caffeine, dairy and gluten (to list a few) also significantly affect the health and ageing of your skin. We’re talking a whole raft of unsightly skin horrors such as fine lines, dark spots, uneven complexion and many more that no amount of active skincare or treatments can help to keep at bay.

But, before you freak out… luckily, eating the right types of foods can cause your body to react positively in ways that affect your skin. You want to aim for foods rich in nutrients such as collagen, Vitamin A, C, and E which all have a positive effect on your skin health. Collagen’s naturally found in foods including meat, bone broth, and oysters (that’s a win!). Vitamin A is found in cheese (yay!), eggs and oily fish. Green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits are great sources of vitamin C and nuts and vegetable oils will provide you with plenty of Vitamin E.

4. Dehydration

Collagen reacts to the level of water in your body and, put simply, this means that if you’re well-hydrated, your skin should appear smoother, clearer and more youthful. If you’re dehydrated, on the other hand, your skin can feel tight and dry and even start to sag – we don’t want that. 

While drinking a thousand litres of water a day may seem like the easy answer to your hydration problems, there are other factors to consider. Keeping the moisture locked into your skin will require SOME discipline and an improvement to your diet and your daily skincare routine. If you’ve been a bit less than diligent and your skin is already dehydrated, you may need additional treatment to boost your skins moisture levels, prevent trans epidermal water loss (TEWL) and treat dryness or irritation.

5. Genetics

Yes, it’s true, your parents may be to blame for your ageing faster than other people your age! Intrinsic ageing (which involves genetics) means your DNA may predispose you to be more likely to react to certain environmental factors than other people. Including;

-Sunlight
-Diet
-Fitness
-Allergies
-Pollutants

While there isn’t much you can do about your inherited DNA you could always chat with the offending family member to see how old they were when they noticed their skin starting to age, and find out what they’ve learned to help control the process. This information could be very useful in helping you to at least delay the inevitable!

Just because ageing is a natural process, doesn’t mean you should simply sit idly and accept your fate! On the contrary, there are a lot of things you can do to combat and slow the ageing of your skin. Start small with the basics, such as starting a healthy diet and staying out of the sun, or at least, wearing a wide-brimmed hat.  From there, you can move onto professional treatments and a dedicated home care routine that will not only aid in the delay of ageing, but also restore your skin’s youthful glow.

Skin Clinic Blyss offer the latest technology in professional skincare treatments and can tailor a home care routine to help achieve your skin care goals.

Let us help you become the best version of yourself.  Drop by our clinic today.