How to Fix Crepey Skin

Elephant skin, paper-thin skin or Grandma skin…you can call it whatever you want but it’s all the same...sagging and crepey. It’s the thinning of the dermis and epidermis that make skin look like this. Crepey skin is one of the most difficult signs of skin aging to prevent because it has many different causes and can occur on different parts of the body. However, just because your skin is starting to have a mind of its own and lacks the firmness it used to have doesn’t mean you have to live with it like that.

Why Does Your Skin Change?

As you enter your 40s, the thinning of your skin accelerates. You won’t see this change take place overnight. It’s likely to take months for the texture of your skin to transform. The sun, loss of collagen and elastin, chronic use of medications like steroids and a decline in moisture due to the natural aging process can all cause changes in skin texture. Crepey skin becomes more pronounced when there is a significant amount of fat loss in a particular area or areas from weight loss. A decrease in female hormones, which leads to dry skin, contributes to crepiness on the arms and thighs more so than on the face.

Everyone is susceptible to crepey skin, but some skin tones and types are more likely to experience it than others. Individuals that have little melanin in their skin, especially fair and lighter toned skin types, are more prone to crepey skin. Those who bake in the sun or use tanning beds may see signs of it faster and more intensely. Latinas, African Americans and Asians have thicker skin compared to other ethnicities which may hinder the effects of crepiness to some degree.

Crepey Skin on Your Face, Eyes and Neck

The skin on your face gets more sun exposure than other parts of your body, making it more susceptible to crepiness. If you don’t use a good broad-spectrum sunscreen or sunblock daily, then you’re putting your skin at risk for damage. Sun damage affects collagen and elastin and can accelerate fat loss. When you lose facial fat, you experience deflation, similar to how a balloon deflates when it loses air. UVA damage also triggers the production of an interleukin (a group of proteins that regulate white blood cells) that causes fat to be lost too.

The quality of skin on your face is affected by sun damage, repeat muscle movement and the natural aging process. The eyes and neck are most likely to show crepiness first. Over time, cheeks start to thin as well. Many women have crepey skin on their faces that come with sunspots. This is a dead giveaway that sun exposure has basically eaten away at the collagen, leaving the skin little elasticity.

So how can you fix the crepiness on your face, eyes and/or neck?

Using quality skincare products with ingredients such as alpha-hydroxy acids, hyaluronic acid, retinol and collagen-promoting peptides can help restructure skin’s underlying architecture so that it’s tighter and improves results over time. When it comes to the super thin skin around your eyes, it’s best to use an eye cream with peptides and hyaluronic acid specifically formulated for the eyes to reduce the risk of reaction and irritation. An at-home microneedling tool such as the AMP MD roller system is great for firming and tightening crepey, sagging skin on your face and neck.

If you want to go the procedure route, chemical peels, ablative fractional laser treatments, dermal fillers such as Sculptra and injectables such as Botox and hyaluronic acid fillers are all options to consider. CO2 laser treatments can be done on eyelids with a series of chemical peels but you will be put under anesthesia so you won’t feel anything and need a few days off to fully recover from home.

Crepey Skin on Your Body

Crepey skin on the body is formed the same way as on the face, but the biggest difference is the role that weight loss plays in it. You’ve already got the sun damage and collagen loss and when you add weight loss to the mix; you can be left with skin that is thin, stretched out and mushy. It’s also harder to treat skin on the body with anti-aging products on a daily basis because of the amount of skin that needs to be covered with product.

Hands, knees, legs, thighs, chest, arms and elbows. Use ultra moisturizing products daily that contain ingredients such as alpha-hydroxy acids, retinol, Vitamin C, urea, shea butter, dimethicone, peptides and hyaluronic acid. Exfoliate the skin on your body one to three times a week as this is so important when it comes to getting rid of dull, dead skin cells that stay on the surface of your skin.

If you want to go the procedure route, dermal fillers such as Radiesse and Sculptra can be used on hands or Ultherapy, a non-invasive ultrasound treatment that tightens and lifts skin is being used to treat crepey hand skin. Invasive injectable laser treatments can be used to treat crepey skin around the knees. Ultherapy, Fraxel and microdermabrasion treatments can be used on the chest area. For arms and elbows, skin tightening treatments, radio frequency treatments and microinvasive skin tighteners such as ThermiTight can be used to treat crepiness on arms and elbows.

Prevention is Key

Moisturize regularly. Hydration is so important for maintaining healthy skin. Properly moisturized skin looks fuller, plumper, more resilient and snaps back into place. On the flipside, a lack of moisture will make crepey skin look worse – drier, thinner and difficult or unable to snap back into place. In addition to keeping skin moisturized, preserving the integrity of your skin’s collagen and elastin is key. The best way to do this is through daily and consistent use of anti-aging ingredients.

You also want to maintain a stable weight. Fat loss will increase the appearance of lines, wrinkles and crepey skin. With less of a cushion to support the skin, changes in skin quality and texture become more evident.

Because the sun is directly responsible for degrading healthy collagen and elastin, protect your skin from the sun! Sun damage makes skin look crepey, loose, weathered and alligator-like. It is crucial that you use broad-spectrum sunscreen or sunblock daily on both your face and areas of your body that are exposed.

Using premium products with the right ingredients in the right formulations in the right order is so important when it comes to taking care of your skin. If crepey skin is a problem, these nine ingredients can help improve the look and feel of your skin.

1. Alpha-hydroxy Acids: Besides brightening skin, AHAs like glycolic acid help repair collagen and bring new skin to the surface.
2. Ceramides: Naturally found in skin, ceramides lock in water so moisture doesn’t escape.
3. Glycerin: With its slick feel, glycerin draws on water in the air to lock it into your skin, which is why these work best on damp skin.
4. Hyaluronic Acid: This ingredient helps to lock in moisture by attracting water to the area and plumping up the skin.
5. Peptides: Peptides promote collagen production, which leads to stronger, firmer and smoother skin.
6. Petrolatum: Super thick, petrolatum is in a lot of moisturizers. It helps keep moisture in the skin by creating a seal to lock in moisture.
7. Retinol: Whether you use an OTC or prescription strength version, this Vitamin A derivative thickens skin.
8. Shea Butter: An intense moisturizer, shea butter is loaded with essential fatty acids that keep skin hydrated and pliable.
9. Urea: It works to thicken skin, address changes in skin texture and exfoliate too.

When it comes to correcting crepiness, it’s important to know that treating it is one of the most difficult things to do in aesthetic medicine. There is only so much improvement that can be done due to its biological components. Keep your expectations realistic. The crepier the skin, the less healthy the collagen and elastin is.

Learn more about clinically proven multi-med therapy skincare products containing the above ingredients that address your crepey, sagging skin concerns.