Crepey skin, elephant skin, grandma skin call it what you will, it is not attractive on any level. In fact, we would pretty much do anything to avoid it. But what if you already have crepey skin? Crepey skin is difficult to prevent because it has so many different causes and is not limited to any one particular area of the body. If your skin is starting to lack the firmness it used to have, doesn’t mean you have to live with it. Thanks to modern science there are ways to lift, firm and plump up the area once more.

When Will You First See Crepey Skin

In your forties, the skin ageing process accelerates, and visible skin thinning becomes apparent. This is not an overnight change but rather a process which will creep up over time. It will take weeks, or even months, for the texture of your skin to transition from plump and stretchy to thin and crepey.

What Causes The Skin Ageing

Ageing of the skin is attributed to a slowing down of collagen and elastin production, hormonal changes, prescription medication, as well as, external aggressors such as the sun and pollution. Crepey skin becomes more evident as our bodies loose their ‘fullness or volume’ in the area (from either ageing or weight loss).

What it Looks Like

Crepey skin is thin, lacking elasticity and loose in appearance with a certain degree of visible sagging. The condition itself a reference to the thinness of a piece of paper or a crêpe giving its name.

How Is Crepey Skin Different

It first appears as an increase in skin wrinkles, which look like little dots around the hair follicle that start to merge into linear or diamond-shaped marks and connect the dots together (triangular). Over time, these subtle creases and pores become exaggerated as the breakdown of collagen and elastin becomes more evident. From that point on, the skin folds accumulate and expand, and the skin starts to thin out and lose volume.

It is best described as follows: A stretch mark or dermal tear is a scar in the skin and a loss of elastin, and a wrinkle forms from repeat muscle motions in one area, whereas crepey skin, is a lack of skin thickness.

Who it Effects

Everyone is susceptible to crepey skin. However, some skin tones and skin types are more likely to experience it than others. Fair-skinned people are more prone to sun damage; they have little melanin in their skin and as a result very little resilience. Those who bake in the sun or use artificial tanning beds may see signs of it far quicker than those who avoid the sun.