What is crepey skin? And how can it be reversed?

While there’s nothing wrong with ageing – in fact, we should consider ageing as a privilege – it can come with some bothersome side effects. Crepey skin being one of them. When our skin loses collagen and elastin – proteins that are responsible for keeping our skin smooth, plump and supple – our complexion can appear saggy, crinkled, and loose.

Crepey skin is often confused with wrinkles, which are related to genetics, facial movement, and some sun damage. But crepey skin, on the other hand, is related only to sun damage where the sun has broken down elastin.

Luckily, several treatment options and great skincare ingredients help prevent and treat crepeyness. This is everything you need to know about how to get rid of crepey skin.

What is crepey skin?

When your skin thins over time due to a lack of collagen and elastin, it takes on a tissue-paper-like appearance. The skin looks wrinkled, fragile, and weak. It may also sag or feel loose. This usually occurs in the most sun-exposed areas of the body, but common areas include the upper arms, cheeks, eyelids, and neck.

Factors like skin type, sun exposure, and smoking can all influence skin health and the degradation of collagen and elastin. Gaining and losing substantial amounts of weight can also contribute to the appearance of crepey skin.

How to effectively reduce the appearance of crepey skin

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

Profhilo is the perfect treatment for injecting hydration back into the skin to diminish a sagging, dry and crepey appearance. As Profhilo has one of the highest concentrations of HA for any product on the market, it is essentially pure Hyaluronic Acid, which naturally occurs in the body to keep skin hydrated. When injected, it flows and distributes itself evenly to keep skin hydrated and plump, helping to diminish dryness and ‘crepeyness’.

Exfoliate

Using an exfoliant can make a big difference in the appearance of crepey skin. AHAs – specifically lactic acid and glycolic acid – are chemical exfoliants that increase skin cell turnover, improve the skin’s moisture content, and reduce the appearance of fine lines.

Retinol

Retinol stimulates collagen and helps thicken the skin’s foundation, making fine lines and crepeyness less apparent. One of our favourite Retinol products is the SkinBetter AlpahRet Overnight Cream. It’s an investment product, but it’s well worth it.

Stimulate collagen with energy-based treatments

For crepeyness, skin-resurfacing treatments, like RF microneedling, are very effective. They improve skin texture by using tiny needles to prick the skin before heating the deeper skin tissues, triggering collagen repair. We use Profound RF, the only proven proven technology capable of generating all three components of healthy skin – collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid – to optimally stimulate skin repair.

Can it be prevented?

Start by moisturising and exfoliating regularly, as well as applying topical antioxidants (like vitamin C) to maintain healthy collagen levels. As you age and your skin becomes naturally drier, pile on the hydrating ingredients, like hyaluronic acid, which is a moisture magnet and will help with the appearance of crepey skin. Most notably, though, you can and should take preventive measures from the inside out, with hydrolysed collagen supplements, quality sleep, stress management and sun protection.

If you’d like to learn more about improving crepey skin’s appearance, click here to enquire or book a consultation with a practitioner.