You’re washing your face one morning, and there it is…a fine line that wasn’t there last year, or a patch of uneven tone that seems to have appeared overnight. In reality, your skin has been slowly changing for years. From your mid-20s onward, your skin begins to lose its natural collagen, elasticity, and ability to retain moisture. By your 40s and 50s, these changes become more noticeable.
As skin ages, it undergoes several changes, including thinning, wrinkling, sagging, and the appearance of age spots. These changes are due to a combination of natural aging processes (intrinsic aging) and damage from external factors like sun exposure (extrinsic aging).
Here's a more detailed look at the changes to the skin:
Thinning: The outer layer of skin (epidermis) becomes thinner, making it more fragile and prone to injury. The dermis, the layer beneath the epidermis, also thins, leading to a loss of elasticity and firmness.
Wrinkles and Sagging: Collagen and elastin, proteins that provide skin structure and elasticity, break down with age. This breakdown, combined with the thinning of the skin layers and the effects of gravity, leads to wrinkles and sagging skin.
Age Spots and Discoloration: Sun exposure over time can lead to the formation of age spots (also called liver spots or lentigos), which are areas of hyperpigmentation. Additionally, skin may become paler and more translucent due to decreased melanin production.
Dryness: Oil glands (sebaceous glands) produce less oil as we age, which can lead to dry, rough, and itchy skin.
Fragility and Bruising: Blood vessels in the skin become more fragile, making older adults more susceptible to bruising.
On a deeper level, structural changes to your face further contribute to aging as we know it.
Facial Fat Pads Lose Volume and Shift: The fat pads that sit under your skin (providing contour and support) start to shrink, thin, or migrate downward due to gravity and weakened connective tissues.
This shows through hollows under the eyes (tear troughs), flattening of the cheeks, nasolabial folds (lines around the nose and mouth becoming more pronounced), and jowls appearing along the jawline as fat redistributes lower in the face.
Facial Muscles Weaken and Lose Tone: Repeated facial expressions (smiling, frowning, squinting) strengthen some muscles while others weaken. Over time, muscle tone decreases overall. This shows through the midface sagging as support structures loosen and dynamic wrinkles (like crow’s feet, frown lines) etch into static wrinkles, ie, lines that remain even when you’re not moving your face.
Ligaments and Support Structures Loosen: The fibrous bands that tether the skin and fat pads to the bone become lax. This results in a heavier appearance in the lower face and more noticeable “bags” under the eyes and around the mouth, and facial features losing their defined, youthful contours.
The facial skeleton itself loses density with age, particularly around the eye sockets, midface, and jaw. This creates more “space” for soft tissue to sag and shift downward.
While these changes are a natural part of the aging process, healthy lifestyle choices, such as sun protection, a good skincare routine, and avoiding smoking, can help minimise the visible signs of aging and maintain healthy skin for longer.
Why Does Skin Age?
There are two main reasons skin changes as we get older:
Intrinsic aging: the natural process controlled by genetics. This affects everyone, even if you live the healthiest lifestyle.
Extrinsic aging: caused by environmental and lifestyle factors such as sun exposure, stress, smoking, lack of sleep, or poor nutrition. These speed up visible aging, making fine lines, pigmentation, and sagging appear sooner.
Over time, your skin cells renew more slowly, the dermis (middle layer) produces less collagen and elastin, and the barrier that locks in hydration becomes less efficient. This combination leads to thinner, drier, less resilient skin.
But here’s the good news: understanding what happens to skin as you age is the first step to caring for it properly. While you can’t stop time, you can slow its visible effects and even restore a healthy, radiant glow with the right treatments and skincare routine.
How Hormones and Menopause Affect Skin and Aging
For many women, skin changes accelerate during perimenopause and menopause. A drop in estrogen causes a rapid decline in collagen production, up to 30% in the first five years after menopause.
This can lead to thinner, less elastic skin, more pronounced wrinkles, and dryness. Tailoring your skincare during this stage is essential, with a focus on nourishing and strengthening the skin barrier and stimulating new collagen production through advanced treatments.
Can You Slow or Reverse Skin Aging?
You can’t stop the clock, but you can slow its effects and improve the look and feel of aging skin.
Lifestyle essentials you’ll want to adopt if you haven’t already:
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Wear SPF daily, even in winter.
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Eat a nutrient-rich diet with plenty of antioxidants.
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Manage stress and prioritise good sleep.
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Avoid smoking and limit alcohol.
Medical aesthetics and skincare:
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Injectables: to smooth deeper lines and prevent new ones from forming.
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Profhilo: a next-generation injectable that hydrates from within and stimulates collagen and elastin.
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Professional peels or dermal needling: to refresh dull or uneven skin, boost collagen and allow better absorption of skincare products.
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Sunekos: an advanced skin bio-regeneration treatment designed to restore and rejuvenate with a natural, radiant finish.
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Cosmeceutical skincare: active products like the Synergie Skin range that change how skin functions, rather than just sitting on the surface.
At Precision Skin, we have a range of highly effective skincare products to keep your skin looking as youthful as possible.
Cult Classics are the fundamentals for radiant and healthy skin. This handy pack contains daily essentials your future face will thank you for, including Ultracleanse, Vitamin B, and Uber Zinc in a premium cosmetic case to keep your toiletries organised at home or on the go.
Super Serum is a cutting-edge serum that mimics the visible effects of muscle relaxants, reduces the appearance of fine lines, and increases firmness to restore a smooth, plump, and youthful complexion.
Press Pause is a lightweight, milk serum concentrate designed for women navigating perimenopause and menopause. Ideal for women over 40, it fortifies skin structure, promoting a firmer, smoother appearance with enhanced resilience and youthful radiance.
A rich moisturiser like Synergie Skin HyDrolock can help restore the barrier, but it’s equally important to address internal hydration and lifestyle factors.
Ready to Reclaim Your Glow?
Aging is natural, but you deserve to feel confident in your skin at every stage of life. Whether you’re just starting to notice changes or you’re ready for a full skin refresh, we can help.
Book a personalised consultation with Kath at Precision Skin to uncover what your skin needs and create a tailored plan that fits your lifestyle and goals today!
