What Causes Your Skin to Age? The Intrinsic & Extrinsic Factors

The aging process is inevitable and it usually starts in your mid-twenties. Some of the first ways you will notice aging is from the changes that appear in your skin. There are two main factors that cause your skin to age: they are the genetic factors (intrinsic) and the environmental factors (extrinsic). You can do a lot to influence both and remain youthful longer!!
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Intrinsic factors of skin aging
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Intrinsic aging is also called chronological aging or endogenous aging. It is influenced by your body's many internal processes, including:

• genetic factors
• cellular metabolism
• hormonal changes

Intrinsic aging of the skin is a slow process that happens over many years. The skin loses its ability to repair and regenerate and it has a less efficient immune system. The aging process involves degeneration of the two main layers of the skin and the skin’s support systems including the bone, cartilage, and subcutaneous fat.  

(Learn all about the structure of your skin and how wrinkles form in my previous post HERE.)

Specifically, intrinsic aging inside the skin involves:

• thinning of the epidermis
• destruction of collagen fibers
• epidermal and dermal atrophy (wasting)
• a reduced number of fibroblast cells (they create collagen and elastin)
• thickening of the elastic network of fibers
• a loss in water content 

The primary features associated with intrinsic skin aging include:

• Dry skin
• Pigment changes
• Fine wrinkles
• Thin and sagging skin
• Loss of underlying fat
• Reduction in bone mass

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Your genes will make you predisposed to some health conditions (which can influence our rate of aging), however, our genes are not our destiny! We CAN significantly influence our gene expression by the foods we eat, lifestyle we live, and the thoughts we think. This is the emerging science of epigenetics, which is the study of how we can turn our genes "on" or "off".  Some genes are more susceptible to change than others.  For example, you can’t ever change your eye color, but you can influence how your body stores fat and how balanced your hormones are. In fact, hereditary factors only account for approximately 3% of aging. So, the better we maintain our health, especially by nourishing our bodies, being physically active, and managing stress, the slower we will intrinsically age.
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Extrinsic factors of skin aging
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​The other aspect of skin aging is extrinsic aging (also called exogenous aging), which will accentuate or magnify all the effects of intrinsic aging on your skin. Thankfully, you have a great deal of control when it comes to mitigating extrinsic aging, too.

The sun’s ultraviolet rays contribute up to 80% of extrinsic skin aging.  This is also called photoaging. It is the premature and accelerated aging process that you see in someone with chronically sun-exposed skin. The effects of photo-damage are often evident many years before intrinsic aging is apparent. (Read more about healthy amounts of sun exposure HERE.)

The rest of extrinsic aging occurs by other factors such as cigarette smoking, gravity, facial expressions, sleeping positions, poor nutrition, sleep deprivation, alcohol intake, humidity and temperature, pollution, chemicals, and toxins.

The primary features associated with extrinsic skin aging include:

• Dry skin
• Pigment changes and raised lesions
• Deep wrinkles
• Elastosis
• Leathery skin
• Laxity (loose skin)
• Abnormal blood vessels and spider veins
• Skin tumors (benign and malignant)
• Sebaceous (oil) gland lesions/growths
• Atrophy (flattening of the epidermis and a loss of underlying dermis or subcutaneous fat)

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On a positive note, our wrinkles and other skin features tell the unique story of our life. If we have deep laugh lines or stretch marks, we can consider ourselves lucky. And I'll never regret the fun I had in the sun with the people I love.

​But, you still have a great deal of control over how well your skin ages. If you strive to live a healthy, non-toxic, natural lifestyle, it will hopefully help you live a long, happy life.  It's never too early or too late to make positive health changes.  -Jenny

In my next post HERE, you can learn much more about the 6 specific characteristics of aged skin (both cosmetic and medical in nature). Go check it out!!
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Want to learn much more?

​Take my e-course about the skin & how to age gracefully:

​Time Defying Skin discusses the causes of aging that you have control over. The keys to youthful skin and feeling healthy may not be that complicated or expensive after all. A nourishing diet and healthy lifestyle practices are the natural solution. It's never too early or too late. ​Take the course today!

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Article sources:

• Anthonavage, M., Benjamin, R., & Withee, E. (2015, November). Effects of Oral Supplementation With Methylsulfonylmethane on Skin Health and Wrinkle Reduction. From http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2015-11/effects-oral-supplementation-methylsulfonylmethane-skin-health-and-wrinkle-reduction
• Scali, E., & Iorio, A. (2014). Anatomy and the Aging Process of the Face. In Minimally Invasive Procedures for Facial Rejuvenation. Foster City,CA: OMICS Group eBooks.

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