Visible Ageing Signs: Causes, Anti-Ageing Ingredients, and Routine
Ageing is an inevitable biological process that none of us can voluntarily skip. However, certain factors can contribute to the acceleration of the ageing process in the skin. Ageing skin bears visible signs to appear, including fine lines, wrinkles, smile lines, and other noticeable changes.
We cannot pause the clock, but we can work smart to slow down the ageing process. This includes understanding the phenomena of ageing, underlying factors contributing to it, and ways to combat it.
This blog covers In this blog, we will go through the This blog covers the reasons behind ageing and how to combat them.
What are the Visible Signs of Ageing
Your skin visibly changes with time in its texture and overall appearance. Let's break down the most common and visible ageing signs.
Fine lines & Wrinkles
Fine lines and wrinkles are the tiny creases or folds on the skin, specifically the forehead, around the eyes and lips that usually begin as premature signs in your early 20s or 30s.
Sagging skin
The dropping or loose skin around the jawline, cheeks, and eyes is due to the natural reduction of collagen or elastin. Loose skin typically becomes visible in the 40s or 50s.
Thinning skin
Thin skin looks fragile and commonly appears on hands, under eyes, and arms. Loose or thin skin is more prone to bruising and wounds.
Uneven skin tone
When your skin tone becomes irregular, having dark and light regions on different parts, this is called uneven skin tone. It can also possess redness, dark spots, and patches.
Dullness & Dehydrated skin
Dull and dehydrated skin looks tired, unhealthy, and rough with no glow. This needs to be treated internally and externally.
Pigmentation
The excess of melanin in the skin can cause pigmentation, post-acne hyperpigmentation, and freckles. This can be inflammatory and non-inflammatory and often described as a sign of ageing.
What Causes the Ageing Signs on the Skin
According to research, ageing happens due to combined internal and external factors and takes time to show up on the skin. If you are attentive in skincare, treatments, and your lifestyle, the process can be slowed down.
Decline in Collagen & Elastin with Age
Estrogen receptors have been detected on the cellular components of the skin, and lower levels of estrogen influence the skin-cell metabolism, making it look thin, dull, and aged. Changes in the skin collagen lead to diminished elasticity and skin strength.
Repair functions in skin are regulated by a group of chemicals called 'cytokines'. Included in these are epidermal cell growth factor (ECGF), transforming growth factor (TGF), and angiogenesis factor. AF stimulates the rebuilding of the microvascular system within the skin. TGF and EGF stimulate rapid cell proliferation for the replacement of dead or damaged cells.
Menopause
There is a distinct reduction of collagen production after menopause. Changes in vascularity are found following menopause. Dermal blood flow decreases significantly in postmenopausal women.
UV Rays & Air Pollution
Excessive exposure to UV rays causes oxidation of the collagen and elastin fibres in the skin. This, in turn, causes 'crosslinking'. Cross-linking causes the collagen in the skin to become tangled and stiffen. This results in sagging and loss of skin elasticity, and allows facial expressions to put deep lines and wrinkles in the skin.
Poor Nutrition
A diet high in sugar, sodas, excessive caffeine, and processed foods can sabotage your skin's texture with time. These foods can encourage the inflammation and glycation in your skin that further damages the elastin and collagen. Having poor food habits can also weaken the skin barrier and delay the skin's repair process.
Continous Stress
Stress can leave marks on your mind as well as on your skin. It can lead to facial muscle tension around areas like brows, mouth, and eyes, contributing to expression lines. A good sleep is crucial to the skin's repair phenomena, and stress heavily affects the sleep cycle.
Ingredients to Fight the Ageing Signs
Skin ageing can be avoided by preventing excess exposure to sunlight and pollutants, as well as providing skin with the nutrients it needs to repair itself. Provide your skin with the building blocks it needs by maintaining adequate consumption of the following anti-ageing ingredients:
Zinc
Zinc is required for collagen production and elastin synthesis, as well as DNA repair. It contributes to DNA duplication, which is necessary for cell division. It is a powerful antioxidant that fights inflammation, oxidative stress, and promotes youthful skin.
Copper
Copper helps to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, helps to thicken the dermis, and increases vascularity and oxygenation. It improves the skin's tone and texture and speeds up its repair process.
Vitamin A
It’s an essential vitamin for healthy skin, primarily used in anti-ageing formulations. A serious lack can cause dry, rough skin, followed by other problems. Topically available as retinol, retinaldehyde, tretinoin, etc, in skincare products, vitamin A does a lot for the skin, from tackling teen acne to premature ageing signs.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C protects the skin from oxidative stress caused by UV rays and environmental pollution. It boosts the collagen production, making your skin plump, soft, and younger looking. In addition to that, it also fades pigmentation and brightens the skin.
Also read: How to Choose Vitamin C Serum?
Vitamin D
Vitamin D can reverse skin damage and increase wound healing. It is produced in the body in response to sunlight and has been proven to have a beneficial effect on skin repair. Vitamin D helps maintain a healthy, intact skin barrier. 15 minutes of daily low-sun exposure can stimulate adequate production of this hormone-like vitamin.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant. It may protect against the degradation of collagen, and prevent skin damage from premature ageing.
CoQ10 (Ubiquinone)
Topical application of CoQ10 has a beneficial effect on photoaged skin. CoQ10 penetrates into the viable layers of the epidermis and reduces the level of oxidation. Reduction in wrinkle depth following CoQ10 application has also been shown in clinical trials. CoQ10 prevents oxidative DNA damage and suppresses the degradation of collagen.
Skincare Routine to Combat Visible Skin Ageing
Some of the UV damage can be prevented by the use of sunscreens and sunblocks. While the other concerns like dark spots and pigmentation can be helped with 'peels' – where the outer layer of the skin is removed by the use of mild acidic formulas, which removes the damaged layers and stimulates the production of a stronger, thicker layer of skin.
A disciplined skincare routine has no competitor when it comes to healing your skin. Let’s help you create an anti-ageing routine to combat wrinkles and fine lines.
Step 1: Begin with mild cleanser according to your skin type. You can go with Clarifying Cleanser with 2.5% AHAs, including lactic acid and glycolic acid. It suits all skin types. You can use it both AM & PM.
Step 2: Follow with any of the vitamin A serums in your nighttime routine to target the signs of ageing directly.
The Starter Vitamin A serum with 0.25% retinaldehyde caters to beginners. MiraclePro Vitamin with 0.5% retinaldehyde is made for intermediate vitamin A users, and Advanced Vitamin A with 1% retinaldehyde is formulated for pro vitamin A users.
Choose accordingly and start applying them one to two times a week. If your skin tolerates vitamin A, you can increase the application frequency with time.
Step 3: Use Advanced Repair Advanced Rejuvenating Night Cream with tetrapeptide-30 - 30, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, and cucumber seed oil. It's a complete age reversal complex.
Step 4: Wrap up with Eye Restore brightening eye serum to diminish the ageing process around the eye area, which helps with dark circles and puffiness. SNAP-8 is a remarkable peptide SNAP-8 that encourages relaxed and smooth skin.
Conclusion
Ageing is an obvious process and cannot be paused, but your lifestyle choices can make a difference in how your skin ages. A consistent skincare routine with anti-ageing ingredients, including vitamin C, vitamin A, and CoQ10, combined with nutritious food and a stress-free mind, can help.
References:
Griffiths TW, Watson REB, Langton AK, “Skin ageing and topical rejuvenation strategies”, 2023 Oct 30
Zargaran D, Zoller F, Zargaran A, Weyrich T, Mosahebi A, “Facial skin ageing: Key concepts and overview of processes”, 2022 Aug
Farage MA, Miller KW, Elsner P, Maibach HI, “Intrinsic and extrinsic factors in skin ageing: a review”, 2008 Apr
Kafi R, Kwak HS, Schumacher WE, Cho S, Hanft VN, Hamilton TA, King AL, Neal JD, Varani J, Fisher GJ, Voorhees JJ, Kang S, “Improvement of naturally aged skin with vitamin A (retinol)”, 2007 May