Our skin is changing every year and it will gradually start to appear less plump. Skin texture will not be as smooth as before when we start to lose collagen and fats.

Your skin becomes thinner, and wounds will heal slower as we mature in age. Ageing usually occurs at the age of 25 but it varies from individuals and can happen earlier or later than the average age.

How Does Your Skin Age?

Skin changes are among the most obvious signs of ageing. Our skin starts to show signs of ageing when the collagen that produces naturally in our body begins to slow down and generate less each year as we get older. The reduction of collagen produced has lessened as we mature in age which can cause the skin to lose its firmness and elasticity and appear saggy and loose.

Creases on the face such as fine lines and wrinkles will also start to show up when the skin experiences dehydration. Skin dehydration is another sign of ageing that causes obvious and prominent lines on the skin when our body does not have enough consumption of water intake per day. With no ability for the skin to provide moisture, the skin is not able to stay plump and smooth, and that results in saggy skin.

What Are The Signs Of Ageing?

Signs of ageing can vary from individuals and show different types of ageing signs.

• Dull Skin is a sign of natural ageing with age when the once glowy, bright and youthful looking skin loses its moisture level on the outer layer of the skin, resulting in a dull complexion.
• Rough Skin Texture happens when the skin starts to change from a soft, smooth and baby-like skin texture to an uneven and bumpy skin texture due to the slowing process of the cell renewal as our skin matures. Our body naturally goes through renewal of cells everyday that causes dead skin cells to form and accumulate.
• Uneven Skin Tone can cause the skin to look older than its original age as the skin produces more melanin than other areas of the skin.
• Dehydrated Skin leads to older looking skin because of dehydration and a lack of moisture to help maintain a glowy and youthful skin.
• Fine Lines and Wrinkles starts to show when the natural oil produce by the body starts to decrease and causes the skin to become drier, and lines around the eye area starts to form.
• Droopy Eyelids and Saggy Skin happen when the amount of collagen produced naturally in the skin starts to reduce due to age and leads to a loss of volume in the skin with saggy and droopy skin slowly showing up around the face, eye and neck areas.
• Dark Circles and Eyebags start to show when the elasticity on the skin starts to decrease and thin out due to age and while the fluid and fats around the eye areas starts to pile up, this leads to the forming of dark circles and eyebags.
• Age Spots also known as liver spots or solar lentigines are usually harmless but it can be a sign of skin damage from the ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Age spots usually appear as flat, brown, or black spots on the areas that are exposed to the sun.

What Is The Ageing Skin Process Like?

Ageing skin usually appears as thin, pale and translucent as the skin on the outer layer starts to thin out when we age even when the amount of cell layers remain the same and this is known as epidermis, containing keratinocytes that make up the structural component. Epidermis refers to the very first outer layer of the skin which acts as a protection for the skin barrier to secure the substances inside the body.

Epidermis is subdivided into 5 layers:

• Stratum Basale is the deepest layer of epidermis that is responsible for all the cell’s generation.
• Stratum Spinosum is the second deepest layer of epidermis that is responsible for making the skin strong and flexible.
• Stratum Granulosum is a thin layer that lies in between the 5 subdivided layers in epidermis and keratinocytes contains granules that can be seen under the microscope and under this subdivided layer.
• Stratum Lucidum is a thin and transparent layer of keratinocytes that makes it less round with and towards a flatter shape.
• Stratum Corneum is the layer of epidermis that we see. Under this layer, keratinocytes turn into corneocytes that are strong and protect the skin from abrasions, light, heat and pathogens, and also contain fats to allow water to enter or leave the body conveniently. As keratinocytes turn into corneocytes, it will shed into new keratinocytes and the new cycle of the layer starts again.

Pigmentation spots such as age or liver spots start to appear because the amount of pigment-containing cells also known as melanocytes starts to reduce while the size of the remaining ones increases.

Connective tissue also known as elastosis inside the body acts as a support and protection which provides other tissues to the body and gives shape or structure for the body. The tissue also helps to contain fats and restore damaged tissues as the nutrients and other substances in the body moves between the tissue and the organs. However, connective tissues are more prone to individuals that love to spend time under the sun. It is more noticeable for areas that are exposed to the sun that cause changes to the connective tissues, leading to a decrease in the skin’s firmness and laxity that appear as loose or saggy skin.

Which Body Part Shows The First Sign Of Ageing?

Ageing is inevitable for all of us and will catch up with age. But do you know that there are 3 parts of the area on the body that can be the obvious signs to show ageing? It’s the neck, eyes and hands area!

The neck area is usually the first to show signs of ageing because the skin on the neck is more thin and fine than the other areas of the body, leading the skin to sag on the chin or neck area and can happen earlier than expected.

Fine lines and wrinkles that appear on the eye area is another easy sign to tell that ageing is occurring. The skin around the eye area is very vulnerable and with no proper and lines on the eye can form easily if there is no proper or enough care to it which makes a person look old and tired.

It is surprising that hands are also another area to show fast and obvious signs of ageing especially when the skin on the area gets drier due to constant washing.

It is always important to make sunscreen or sunblock a habit to apply onto the areas that are exposed to the sun to prevent any damages of the sun rays that is the culprit behind the formation of wrinkles, saggy skin, uneven skin tone or changes in skin texture.

What Causes Skin Ageing?

There are many factors that contribute to skin ageing including our daily lifestyle and diet. But the main cause of skin ageing is due to the reduced amount of collagen produced naturally by the body and the regeneration of cells starts to slow down. With the possibility of these happening as early as the age of 25, the moisture in our skin will start to reduce and cause drier skin and elasticity reduction, leading to a perfect timing for blemishes to grow. Spots also begin to appear as cells in the skin and eyes that produce and contain the pigment called melanin, also known as melanocytes decreases with time.

Factors that causes ageing:

• Smoking does multiply the time our skin ages because it damages the skin mechanism and its production of collagen where it is the key factor that keeps the skin looking glowy and young to maintain its elasticity. Smoking affects the skin’s elasticity as the enzyme’s production increases and breaks down the collagen, leading to saggy skin and wrinkles.
• Alcohol dehydrates the skin and makes it lose its moisture leading to dry skin. Dehydration can affect and lessen the collagen production, where skin starts to lose its elasticity.
• Poor Diet with an imbalanced nutrition causes skin to age. Foods that are processed speed up the skin ageing because the high amount of hydrogenated oils contains trans and fats that leads to chronic inflammation. Over-consuming sugar also causes skin to age faster because amino acids are linked by Glucose and fructose that are present in the collagen and elastin that support the dermis.
• Lack of Sleep decreases the capability of the skin to repair and rejuvenate itself.
• Genetics plays a part in ageing. Some people age faster due to genetics in their family history.
• Sun Exposure also known as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, is one of the biggest factors for skin ageing. The UV radiation causes the DNA in the skin to change, causing premature aging such as fine lines and wrinkles. UV radiation is classified into three primary types:

• UVA Light: Damages skin of all levels from the surface to the most bottom layer and affects the collagen that contains within the layers that is responsible for skin laxity.

• UVB Light: Irradiates the outer layer of the skin. It also damages DNA in the epidermis and can be more harmful than UVA light as it can create premature skin ageing and cause skin cancer.

• UVC Light: Does not have much health risk because solar radiation is absorbed by the ozone layer and atmosphere.

Aesthetic Treatments For Anti-Ageing

Ageing is inevitable and as we age, our skin loses important elements such as collagen and elastin that are responsible for skin tightening and elasticity that keeps our skin firm, supple and youthful looking.

Most of the aesthetic treatments target the stimulation of collagen reproduction and improves skin texture, skin tone, as well as skin lifting to revive a youthful appearance again.

• HIFU is a non surgical face lifting treatment that targets ageing saggy face and achieves a V-Shape face by removing fat cheeks and double chin fats. HIFU is an energy-based treatment that tightens and lifts up saggy skin to reduce fine lines, wrinkles, dark eye circles and boost skin tone and texture.
• Injectable Neurotoxin (BTX) reduces wrinkles and jaw size to give a more defined appearance. This treatment can temporarily paralyse the muscles and soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and also helps with face slimming and jawline contouring.
• Profhilo acts as both filler and skinboosters that rejuvenate and lift the skin to provide a firm and lifted looking skin. Profhilo also hydrates the skin to provide radiance and quality for the facelift, it also helps in repairing damaged skin and acne scars with a minimal downtime.
• Rejuran Healer is a skin rejuvenation treatment for skin healing and stimulating collagen reproduction. Rejuran Healer is a special treatment that uses salmon DNA that contains strong regenerative properties.

How To Slow Down Skin Ageing?

• A Healthy and Well Balanced Diet can help to slow down the skin ageing process. The food that we consumes Food like salmon, kale, potatoes, beef liver, chicken breast and more as it contains lots of nutritions in combatting ageing. Food that contains nutritions is beneficial in reducing cellular damage and strengthening the body’s capability to repair cellular damages. It is encouraged to consume lots of vegetables or fruits to prevent any premature skin ageing and reduce in consuming food that contains sugar or other refined carbohydrates which accelerate ageing.
• Exercising regularly can help fight ageing because it can increase serotonin and boost skin’s natural glow to reduce the appearance of premature ageing.
• Reduce Alcohol Intake to slow down skin ageing and achieve a better looking skin because alcohol dries up and dehydrates the skin, leading to grey and dull skin.
• Taking Care Of Your Skin is very important in order to maintain a healthy and youthful looking skin. Keeping the skin clean by cleansing at least twice a day is a great way to slow down skin ageing as it removes dirt, oil, makeup and other unwanted substances on the body.
• Skincare is one important factor to keep the skin glowy and healthy. V Medical Aesthetic Clinic produces skincare products to keep your face young!

• Skin Refresh Cleansing Wash targets free radicals and removes unwanted surface impurities and restores the moisture balance, providing protection and soothes the skin so it feels refreshing.

• Skin Restore Calming Serum helps in moisturising the skin and keeping it hydrated to prevent tightness during the recovery stage and is most suitable for post aesthetic treatment aftercare.

• Skin Repair Moisturizer can relieve sensitive and irritated skin and provide protection against oxidative stress by moisturising the skin and strengthening the skin barrier.

• Skin Perfect Soothing Mask promotes youthful vitality and Strengthens skin barrier function, allowing it to soothe and comfort the skin to restores suppleness and radiance.

Conclusion

Skin ageing is a natural process and it is unpreventable, but we can always do our best to delay the ageing process. It is always important to understand the DOs and DON’Ts to maintain a healthy skin. Skincares is especially important because it provides lots of benefits and nutrients to the skin.