Nothing can alter the passage of time. But it is not just
time that affects our skin. The age an individual appears
to be depends on many factors. The genes are important, but
even more crucial is the way the skin and body are treated throughout
life. When we say some one is in the 'bloom of youth' it is
usually because the skin exudes a certain kind of radiance and
vitality. For most of us this tends to diminish naturally over
time: from our skin's point of view at least, nothing is as
good as pre-adolescence.
Scientists can explain this. What we
call 'radiance' is a visual effect, mostly from the face, which
implies a perfectly normal well-functioning skin. When the bloom
fades it is because with age the skin begins to lose its ability to retain
moisture. It becomes drier and more flaky, and shows the results
of exposure to the environment, accumulated over many years. |
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was lucky in the lottery of gene inheritance, has been able
to protect and look after the skin well, and that it has not
changed as much since childhood as has that of others.
In former times only the 'idle rich'
could concentrate on caring for their skins. Until this century
most other people in the world worked on the land and were exposed
to the elements. This is no longer true for most people in the
developed countries.
How skin changes with age
Changes
in skin appearance
We all know that as we get older, there can be dramatic changes
in the way our skin looks.
The reasons why the skin of a child
looks so healthy (at least, before the teenage spots come) are
that the epidermis is highly translucent, it works very efficiently,
and it easily retains water. |
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If we say someone has 'good skin', it often
means that that person
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| More importantly, at this age there has been
little or no obvious damage to the dermis |
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'Radiance' is the optical effect of light reflected from an undamaged
dermis and well-organised epidermis. As we, age our skin, if well looked
after and protected from the sun, may be preserved better than that
of our peers. Higher levels of pigment in the skin help to protect
it but are not a total safeguard. |
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