Over time, your skin begins to show the signs of both internal and external influences, with the eventual result of skin that appears damaged or aged. Fine lines, wrinkles, creases, appear and eventually grow larger, as well as pigmentation problems such as age spots or other discolourations of the skin.

Without the benefit of corrective skin therapy, these conditions will continue to grow worse. Obviously, the passage of time is one of the primary factors of deterioration of the skin’s appearance, but there are many factors that can cause premature ageing of the skin, giving rise to a situation where your skin appears to be much older than your actual age. Some of the causes of this premature skin ageing include: sun damage (or “photo-ageing”), stress, environmental factors such as air pollution (including cigarette smoke), extremes of dry or humid weather; self-induced environmental factors such as smoking or these use of irritating skin products including makeup, cosmetics, lotions or the use of harsh soaps.

 

Along with these external factors, internal ageing affects the growth of new skin cells; as the slowdown in the growth of new skin cells occurs, the appearance of these signs of ageing is accelerated. Other factors, such as the loss of fatty tissue under the skin can leave skin lax or sagging or excessive, and frequent facial expressions can lead to permanent lines or wrinkles (“laugh lines” or “frown lines”) which can have further negative effect on the skin.

 

Sun exposure is almost invariably a leading factor in damage to the skin however wind and air pollution are also risks associated with the external environment. The effects of this combination is obvious when you examine the skin of someone who spends a great deal of time working outdoors in the elements, they have dry, leathery and creased skin at a very early age.

In most cases, damaged skin is the result of a combination of several (or many) of these causes working together on the patient’s skin to produce damaged skin.

 

The results of these factors are a combination of problems that are routinely lumped together due to their common causes: fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots, "sun spots" or "age spots" (also known as melasma in medical terms) as well as poor or uneven skin tone. Additionally, other changes in skin texture can occur, including thin, dry skin with less elastic quality due to loss of the skins natural ability to hydrate itself.