Aging - What it Means to Your Skin

Aging is a natural part of life. While some people do not exhibit the signs of getting older as soon as or to the same extent that other individuals do, eventually we are develop wrinkles, lines, and areas of sagging skin. There are several reasons that these signs of aging appear.

There is a form of aging that is known as intrinsic aging. This type of aging is tied with a person’s biological clock. The whole metabolism slows down, and many of the organs of the body cannot repair themselves as easily as they did in your youth. This is especially true of your skin and hair. The hair may begin to turn gray, while every morning you find another wrinkle or line on your face.

Unfortunately, there is not much that you can do about this type of aging. Many of the signs of this are hereditary, which can explain why some people may get a whole head of gray hair in their thirties while others may not have hardly any at all.

Extrinsic aging, however, is caused by a number of external factors that can accelerate the aging process in the skin and other organs. There are preventive measures that you can take to slow the process of this type of aging.

One of the major factors that can cause extrinsic aging is the sun. Long hours spent in direct sunlight without the use of sun block and other protective products can result in the destruction of your skin cells due to the effects of dangerous ultraviolet rays. Limiting the amount of the sun that you are exposed to as well as wearing protective products whenever you are outside can eliminate these harmful side effects.

Cigarette smoking can also cause damage to your skin not to mention the damage that it does to your heart and lungs. The nicotine causes lower levels of oxygen to be present in your blood, causing your skin to have limited access to this valuable nutrient. By quitting smoking now, you can stop any further damage being done to your skin and organs. Some experts estimate that the oxygen levels in a smoker’s blood can increase within ten minutes after he quits lighting up. So even if you have smoked for years, some of the effects of the nicotine can still be reversed.

Repetitive facial movements can also leave lines and wrinkles in your face. By becoming aware of these expressions and movements, you can also help to eliminate these further signs of aging.

Aging is a natural process in the cycle of life. By taking care of your body as well as your skin, you can help to slow at least the extrinsic part of getting older.