Dry Crepey Aging Skin: Home Remedies and Prevention

As we age, our skin gradually becomes more loose and flaccid. Nonetheless, when your skin starts to feel thin like a crepe paper, the most probable cause might not be age.

Unlike wrinkles that form around the mouth area and eyes (as a result of continued muscle movement), crepey skin is often associated with sun damage. Exposure to the sun’s UV rays wears off elastin, which is the skin fiber that allows it to stretch and return to normal position.

How To Prevent Crepey Skin

Crepey skin involves loss of supportive framework underneath the affected areas, causing thin, loose, fragile skin. Here is what you can do to prevent crepey skin:

1. Avoid direct sunlight 

The most effective way of protecting your skin from damage is by staying out of the direct sun as much as you can. Besides, wear protective gear or sunscreen when you’re out in the sun.

2. Eat a Healthy Diet

Nutrition is everything! What you eat affects the health of your skin. Thus, it’s essential to ensure you eat a balanced diet by including crucial foods in your diet, such as omega 3 fatty acids, leafy green veggies, Potassium-rich foods, amino acids, fermented foods, and foods rich in vitamins A, C, D, and E. You can also take collagen supplements and antioxidants, such as tocophenols, carotenoids, and flavonoids .

3. Quit smoking

There’s nothing fancy about smoking. A cigarette contains toxins that damage your skin’s collagen. This speeds up the aging process and can cause more serious issues such as skin cancer.

4. Stay hydrated 

Hydration is a natural remedy for dry, crepey skin. If you don’t drink enough water, the collagen in your skin becomes susceptible to damage by UV rays.

Besides water, you can keep your skin looking young and healthy by using a good moisturizer to trap moisture under the skin. Using topical creams that are enriched with retinol can also help restore your skin’s elasticity and thicken collagen, reducing the risks of developing crepey skin.

5. Vitamin A products

Topical Vitamin A products improve the overall health of the deep thin layer of your skin that protects you from ageing and skin damage. Some of these products include eucerin cream, Retinol, Alpha hydroxyacid cream, and Alpha care essential oil lotion.

Natural Home Remedies For Crepey Skin

Besides ultraviolet rays from the sun, other factors contributing to crepey skin include rapid weight loss/gain, lack of enough moisture, smoking, pollution, sleep deviation, poor diet, and Prednisone intake. Here are effective crepey skin home remedies:

1. Green tea

Green tea is a good natural cure for crepey skin. Simply take a used tea bag and rub it on your face. Leave it for a few minutes and then wash your face with clean water. The antioxidants from green tea cleanse your skin.

2. Ginger

There’s an antioxidant found in Ginger called gingerol, which is a natural remedy for dry, crepey skin. Ginger protects you from anti-aging effects from UV rays, leaving your skin looking radiant and young.

Other home remedies that have been found useful in preventing and treating crepey skin include:

• Reducing stress
• Massaging the arms, face, and legs
• Engaging in regular physical exercise
• Exfoliating with sugar and olive oil homemade scrub
• Using natural moisturizer made from honey, mud, etc.

 The Takeaway

There are various treatments and lotions for crepey skin depending on what caused it, how severe it is, and where it has occurred on the body. However, to know which course of treatment is best for your situation, you should speak to your dermatologist to help make a more informed decision and bare in mind, that there are numerous factors that can contribute or worsen the skin condition, so prevention is key.