Beautiful skin is a greater signifier of youth than being free of lines and wrinkles. However, the skin is quick to show the visible signs of ageing, commonly known as the Seven Signs of Ageing.
While some of the skin-related factors can be reined in with healthy lifestyle choices and a good skincare regime, many of the characteristics of ageing are a matter of genetics.
1. Fine lines and wrinkles
Fine lines, crow’s feet and wrinkles are the most evident and often most concern-causing signs of ageing for men and women. Wrinkles are a result of the elastin and collagen fibres, which keep our skin firm and taut, weakening. This leads to skin looseness and laxity and the subsequent wrinkles.
2. Dullness of skin
The glowing, dewy skin of youth slowly fades with age. The result is a dulled complexion due to the depleted moisture levels in the top layer of the skin, which naturally occurs with age. While young skin renews itself at every three to four weeks, older skin is slower to renew itself at every four to six weeks.
3. Uneven skin tone
Ageing causes the complexion to become uneven in certain places. This may be due to parts of the skin harbouring more melanin than others, or the function in the hormonal levels in females. This unevenness can lead to skin looker older than its years.
4. Dry skin
Young, healthy skin has a high moisture content, leading to a fresh, dewy and radiant appearance, Over the ageing process this depletes as the skin loses its ability to retain the moisture. Older skin is often characterised by dryness and dehydration.
5. Blotchiness and age spots
Thinning skin associated with ageing leads to the increased visibility of tony bloods vessels that appear. Age spots or liver spots, which are reddish or brown in colour, are caused mostly by over-exposure to UV rays and become more evident in ageing skin. They produce a blotchy look that contributes to an aged appearance.
