The skin changes over time for many reasons. Things like hormones play a part, but external influences such as sun exposure can damage the elastin and cause pigmentation, smoking will damage cells which can lead to premature wrinkles, and repeated facial movements will all cause lines and wrinkles to eventually set. Other factors like genetics can also play their part.

Ageing causes the skin to change because:

• Over time our skin loses collagen
• The loss of the elastin in the skin can cause the skin to become slack
• Hyaluronic acid production slows down
• Skin becomes more transparent as the epidermis starts to thin
• The skin texture becomes rougher
• Volume loss causes the superficial and deep mid-facial fat pads to slip down the face

Over time the skin produces less moisturising oils and dryness begins to sets in. Due to ageing, we also lose a lot of volume around the cheeks, temples, chin and around the eye area and this often results in loose, sagging skin and a sunken facial appearance.

It doesn’t matter how well we look after our skin, or how much we change the way we care for it, sometimes that’s just not enough, and we have to think about a bit of cosmetic intervention.

There are three stages to help keep the skin looking young and healthy:

Correction – especially age-related spots like sun spots and freckles, acne scars, fine lines and skin pigmentation – microdermabrasion and chemical peel treatments can help with these symptoms.

Maintenance – keeping the skin hydrated, stimulating collagen and maintaining the skin’s elasticity will all help to keep the skin looking younger and healthier – hyaluronic acid dermal fillers keep the skin looking firmer, hydrated and will replace lost volume. Botox can ease the fine lines and wrinkles on the face.

Prevention – protecting the skin with UV sun screen will prevent ageing skin, sun spots and future skin problems – Sun creams, moisturisers and serums will help protect your skin and keep it in a great condition.

We should aim for uncomplicated skin care routines, having a solid skin care routine doesn’t have to take up hours of your time. In fact good skin care should just involve: a good facial cleanser, exfoliating, using an effective moisturiser, a serum for your particular skin type and a basic sun screen protection. A simple routine taking ten minutes is usually enough.

Our skin has to last us for a lifetime, so we should do our very best to take care of it.