How Do We Age?

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

18 Jan 2008 06:03 PM

Do you know the mechanics of how the skin ages? Here's a quick look at the process.

Throughout life, your skin naturally sheds dead cells and replaces them with younger ones. The new cells are generated within the top layer of the skin and migrate to the surface. In young, healthy skin, the cells take about twenty-eight days (four weeks) to reach the skin's surface; they flake off almost two weeks later. In older skin, cells aren't produced as quickly, forcing the old skin cells to stick around longer.

After the age of forty, a few major changes affect your skin:

• The rate of collagen production slows down. Collagen is a type of protein that teams up with elastin to help keep your skin plump and elastic. Without collagen, skin can lose volume, forming creases and wrinkles.
• Estrogen production slows down. This affects the sweat glands, leaving your cells with less moisture. Your cells tend to lose moisture faster as you age.
• Thyroid function slows down. This affects sweat glands, too! Without moisture, your skin can feel rough and look dull.

Those are all internal factors. There's one more factor to the age equation, and this one comes from outside: free radicals. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that come from pollution, cigarette smoke, and sun damage. Stress can also result in the formation of free radicals. As they move through the body, free radicals can cause irregularities in cells ranging from simple discoloration to cancer.

There's no way to look young forever -- nature and environment are working against you. But that doesn't mean you have to give in to wrinkles and liver spots, either. If you want to help your skin appear young and healthy, there are some things you can do. Check out the skin care section here at the Families.com Health Blog for starters.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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