The Five Ages Of Skin

How we care for our skin can make all the difference to the way it looks.

"Growing old isn't so bad when you consider the alternative" said Maurice Chevalier, and he had a point.
When we're in our teens and early 20s, wrinkles seem so remote it's as though they happen only to other people. But after the age of 25, when the first faint lines appear, we start taking more interest in moisturisers and anti-wrinkle products.
But how much difference can creams and potions really make? After all, it simply isn't reasonable to expect the skin to look the same at 50 as it did at 25, no matter what we put - or spend - on it.
The fact is that the skin, like the organs of the body, eventually begins to show signs of wear and tear. The surface becomes drier, as both the oil and sweat glands shrink in size and number and are no longer able to keep the skin surface so smooth and supple; it takes longer for cells to renew themselves (which is why injured skin begins to take longer to heal): and elasticity is reduced so the skin no longer bounces back quite so faithfully after repeated movements like frowning.
Think of the skin as behaving like the mattress and sheet on a bed. When it is young, the thick lower layer (or dermis), which is the supporting structure, is firmly sprung and resilient - just like a new mattress. As it ages, the supporting fibres lose their elasticity, strength and resilience, and - like a mattress - begin to compress, flatten and sag.
The skin's thin top layer (or epidermis) then follows these indentations in the same way as the sheet follows the mattress.
Of course, this doesn't happen overnight. The ageing process is largely - though not entirely - genetically determined, and the changes are so gradual as to be imperceptible.

However, every five to ten years, there are visible changes. Although these vary from individual to individual, we've prepared a rough guide to the changes you can expect.
Of course, skins don't all age at the same rate. And some always look wonderful no matter what their genetically fortunate owners do - or don't do - to them. But apart from the fact that our individual body clocks have programmed us differently, there are other factors which contribute to skin looking wrinkled before it was designed to. Central heating, air-conditioning and cold winds do tend to dry unprotected skin and create a dull flaky surface.
Some experts also believe that poor health habits also show on the skin. Smoking in particular has been singled out as a possible cause of premature ageing, although opinion is divided as to how (or even if) this happens.
"There is some evidence to indicate that heavy smokers do show an increased rate of wrinkling", says Dr Richard Logan, a dermatologist at St. John's Hospital for diseases of the Skin in London. "But this has not yet been studied scientifically".
However, all the experts agree that by far the worst enemy of the skin is the sun. "The most potent inducer of wrinkling - part from natural ageing - is exposure to ultraviolet rays", says Dr Ian White, consultant dermatologist at the same hospital as Dr Logan. "That is why so many preparations now contain UV-screens".

Certainly, sunscreens have suddenly appeared in every kind of cosmetic, from moisturisers to lipsticks, but is this sudden sun paranoia warranted? Do we really need sunscreen every time we hang out the washing or take the kids to school?
Dr Logan doesn't thin so. "If you're fair-skinned and living in Australia or South Africa, or have a villa in Spain, you may be vulnerable," he concedes. "But the average woman in the street needn't get upset about it. Anyway, sunscreens are not added to cosmetics like moisturisers just for the consumer. They're sometimes included as a preservative to prevent the breakdown of the cream by sunlight while it's still in the pot!"

With or without sunscreens, moisturisers still play a valid part in protecting the skin from a hostile environment, as well as soothing a dry surface. There are different kinds of moisturisers, none of which, incidentally, really adds moisture to the skin, since the skin is, fortunately, waterproof. (Just imagine what would happen in the bath if it weren't!!)

The simplest kind just adds an oily film over the surface of the skin and helps prevent water loss. However, there are other more complex varieties which operate at a deeper level (though none can penetrate deeper than the level of the epidermis) and claim to help the skin renew itself faster, reconstitute itself faster, reconstitute intracellular cement, revitalise the skin, and so on. Many use impenetrable jargon and have prices which boggle the mind. The results sound impressive. But do they really work? Can anything make us, or keep us, looking younger?
Well, the short - and very unsatisfactory - answer is that we don't really know. Only time will tell if any of them can genuinely help slow the ageing process.
Dr Ian White, however, has very definite views on the subject. "Glycerine and rosewater, petroleum jelly or baby lotion - any of those type of products are just as effective. The constituents of moisturisers are generally similar, and the effects are much of a muchness. By delivering water to the skin it's possible to hydrate the stratum corneum and any added oily components may add a slight film to stop evaporation. But cosmetic preparations can make no permanent difference to an ageing skin". continued........
As the equally outspoken American guru of dermatology, Dr Albert Kligman, says, "Moisturisers are items of propaganda. We make them up in Madison Avenue. The only trouble is, they all work".
What is missing from these down to earth descriptions is any mention of the psychological value of such products. Although we're all intelligent enough to realise that no miracle cream can really take 20 years of living from our faces, the psychological benefits can sometimes be sufficient to provide a visible one. After all, if we particularly like a product and it makes us feel good, then, as with a favourite dress, we'll look good too.

So if you've always been loyal to Elizabeth Arden or Clinique or whoever, then never mind any spoilsport dermatologists, carry on using them. And I'll be right behind you at the counter!!

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The Five Ages Of Skin