OK I’ll try to keep this simple and jargon-free, but it does involve one or two medical terms. But bear with me. It does make sense and helps to explain why you need to do/ avoid certain things.
Your skin, although thin, is the largest organ in/ on your body (no jokes please). Yes it is an organ.
It’s complex and serves quite a few functions. There are three layers to it:
- Epidermis
- Dermis
- Subcutaneous tissue
Epidermis
This is the outer-most layer, the bit that you can see. Much of what you can see consists of dead skin cells. Lovely!
But these dead cells are protecting what the more delicate layers beneath. So they’re good. Learn to love them.
For most people these dead skin cells are brushed or blown off as the are pushed further to the surface.
Dermis
This is the structural part of the skin providing the strength and elasticity. It includes collagen – the ‘glue’ that holds our bodies together (not to be confused with the fatty stuff that is further down).
Subcutaneous tissue
As far as wrinkles are concerned, this is perhaps the most directly relevant part (though all three layers are essential to healthy skin and fewer wrinkles).
The subcutaneous (‘sub’ = beneath, ‘cuts’ = skin) layer contains the fatty bits that insulate the body and plump up the skin i.e. help to reduce wrinkles.
As you get older this sub-skin layer tends to get thinner. The thinner the skin the more prone to wrinkling and the less able to protect and heal itself.
What can you do?
This is NOT an invitation to over-eat in order to pad your skin out. That would be silly.
But here are some simple steps that you can consider:
Sunlight
Don’t completely avoid natural sunlight. There are lots of scare-stories about skin cancer and while that is a genuine threat, your skin does need natural daylight and sunshine.
Just don’t overdo it. Don’t spend hours and hours on sun beds or frying on a beach. If you overdo it then you are, one could argue, baking yourself. Your skin needs the vitamins generated by natural sunlight, but it can only protect you from a certain amount of harmful rays.
So as with everything else, sunlight in moderation is very healthy.
Smoking
Guess what. It’s bad for you!
Have you noticed how people (especially women it sometimes seems) who smoke have those little creases all around their mouths?
Cigarette smoke contains all sorts of terrifying toxins and rubbish. So don’t smoke. End of.
Moisturising
Guess what. It’s good for you!
BUT, you want to be careful with what you use and how much of it you use.
If you can, you might want to use moisturisers that don’t contain parabens. I’m not aware of any conclusive evidence confirming their relation to cancer, but there is some anecdotal evidence suggesting that there might be a relationship.
Parabens are used to preserve the moisturiser. But the more organic ones don’t use it.
Moisturising is good because it helps protect the skin.
HOWEVER, you might also find that the skin gets used to being moisturised and reduces the amount of fat/ moisture that it produces naturally.
So speak to your doctor about it and try different moisturises to see which one works for you.