Treatment Methods for Crepey Skin
What is Crepey Skin?
Skin that is looking crepey appears more crinkly or saggy than usual. As the name suggests, it looks somehow similar to a crêpe or a piece of thin crepe paper. The reason for the crepe skin appearance is due to low levels of collagen and elastin. These are the proteins with a role in helping your skin to stay plump looking, stretch and bounce back. A drop in the production of these proteins as well as a thinning of skin’s both deeper dermis layer and top epidermis layer create that crepey appearance.
Skin wrinkles should not be confused with crepey skin. As singular marks, wrinkles are caused by one area of skin’s repetitive motion. For instance, you may have heard that worrying can get you worry lines. The crease forming between people’s eyes occurs on the spot where the worrying expression takes place, being called the “worry crease.” Other common wrinkles are the smiling creases that tend to appear at the outer edges of the eyes or around the corners of the mouth. However, crepey skin is different, affecting skin texture and resulting in crinkly and saggy areas, as opposed to a furrowed line or crease.
In general, for people entering their 30s, their skin’s protein production begins to gradually drop. The drop in those proteins that allowed once their skin to maintain a youthful suppleness, to stretch and bounce back, results in thinner skin that is now less efficient at bouncing back. This is somehow similar to an overstretched hair tie or waistband that over time gradually stops snapping back.
It may take years for crepey skin to develop. This appearance may often become noticeable in your 40s. However, this is not a rule, and crepey skin may show up later or earlier. A significant part in when you will first notice the crepey skin signs is played by genetics. Crepey skin is most often visible around areas that are naturally thinner skinned such as the face, hands, décolletage, or neck.
Lifestyle Causes
We have already mentioned the physically causes of crepey skin. We will cover now what causes crepey skin to become worse or brought on earlier. Outside of genetics and age, there are many other factors that can destroy the very sensitive elastin and collagen proteins, vital to maintaining skin’s youthful appearance. Among them are included the following:
• Dry Skin – As less oil is produced with age, skin may often become much drier. Crepey skin may be triggered by dehydrated skin.
• Drastic Weight Loss – Loss of fat can cause a thinning of skin, resulting in the crepey skin aspect. Loss of fat can be caused by yo-yo dieting or can be due to aging.
• Sun Exposure – Crepey skin tend to be experienced faster by fairer skin tones. On the other side, the skin of African Americans may offer more protection against “photo-aging” due to UV light.
• Cigarettes – Skin is deprived of oxygen by cigarette smoke. Skin elasticity is broken down by the toxins. This is more evident in a long-time smoker.
• A high sugar diet – Glycation can be caused by a diet high in sugar, leading to the stiffening of the proteins elastin and collagen.
• Hormones – Dry skin can be also caused by a decrease in female hormones, creating the risk to experience crepey skin.
Crepey Skin Treatments
Here are some options you have in how to fix crepey skin:
• Become sun smart – even in the cooler months, it is recommended to use sunscreen every single day. It is also advisable to wear protective clothing in the sun and don’t use tanning beds or sunbake.
• Moisturize – ensure you are moisturizing your face and body twice a day and combat dry skin. Use a cream that contains lactic acid, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, glycolic acid, or salicylic acid that improve the skin’s appearance, deeply moisturize and gently exfoliate the skin.
• Check your cleansers – use gentle body and face cleansers that do not strip your skin of its natural protein and lipid barrier.
• Watch your diet – make sure to consume a low sugar and high in omega-3 healthy fats diet that helps preventing dehydration in cells.
Specialist Options
There are also some complex specialist options for crepey skin. They offer no guarantee and could be rather expensive. However, some people are successful at combating crepey skin with them:
• Fraxel (Fractional laser treatment) – small areas under the skin are heated by lasers, encouraging new collagen growth.
• Ultrasound – deep within the skin, collagen growth can also be stimulated by Ulthera ultrasound treatment that relies on heat.
• Fillers – fillers such as Sculptra or Radiesse can be injected into the skin in order to stimulate collagen growth and improve the thickness, texture, and appearance of crepey skin.
The best time to start preventing crepey skin and ensure your skin health is in your 20s. In case that you already experience the sings of crepey skin and are already a little older, there are still plenty of measures you can take.