Elderly Skin – Beyond 70s

Older skin is more sensitive and susceptible to a lot of skin diseases and conditions. Our skin becomes thinner and naturally dryer, making it much easier to damage and dry out. When this happens, it takes much longer to heal.  This means that elderly skin is more prone to irritation, scaling, and infection. Without a proper skin care routine, we can end up with a variety of problems. While everyone’s skin is different, there are some conditions that are common in elderly skin, and some conditions that we should be aware of such as the following:

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Dermatitis

Although dermatitis can affect anyone at any age, it can be more prevalent in those with elderly skin as the skin is thinner and dries out more easily.  Sometimes, dermatitis can just be an itchy irritation, and other times it can cause peeling or blistering of the skin.  In many cases, keeping hydration levels both internally and topically are paramount to avoiding this type of condition.

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Pigmentation

There are a few different types of pigmentation that we get as we age.  The first, and most common are sun spots, and are of course, damage from the sun.  Unfortunately, the effect of sun damage was not as well known back when we were younger as it is now, and so there are still a few generations of people around today that suffer many of the harsh consequences from not being sun safe.  You can read more about sun damage here.

Another form of pigmentation that we can suffer from as we age is pigmentation caused by long term use of medications.  Reasons for this are that some medications can cause a melanin synthesis when you are exposed to sunlight.  There are also some studies suggesting that the processing of medications through the liver can cause an inflammatory response that brings about pigmentation that is more obvious in thin skin.

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Senile Purpura

I really dislike the name of this condition, but it is very common in elderly people.  It is where the skin becomes so thin that the capillaries and blood vessels become very visible, thus causing discolouration in spots.  This often affects the arms and legs, but it is also common on the hands and face.

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Skin Growths

Again, a very common occurrence as we age.  You may notice that one day your skin is clear and the very next day you have a brand new skin tag, blemish or mole.  While most growths like these are benign, it is always best to get them checked out from your doctor.  Skin growths, such as skin tags, occur when our hormones are very diminished.  They can occur all over the body but many pop up in inconvenient places such as the eyelids, neck and under the breasts.

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Rosacea

Once again, this condition can affect all ages, but often it is elderly clients who complain of this condition.  While rosacea appears as red, inflamed skin on the face, particularly on the nose and cheeks, it has been linked to gut health in more recent years.  It can be helpful to keep a low inflammatory diet by removing or minimising sugars, refined carbohydrates and alcohol to reduce the symptoms of rosacea.  It can be hereditary but most commonly it occurs over time as the skin becomes dry and inflamed and more susceptible to the elements.  We have a lot more information on rosacea here.

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Restoring and Strengthening

When we are looking for skin care for clients in their 70’s and above, the most important factor is to maintain a strong epidermal barrier and to increase and maintain moisture levels.  Our epidermal barrier is the protective layer of skin that we have that stops moisture from getting out and from pollutants from getting in.  When we age, this barrier becomes thin and impared.  It therefore loses its ability to keep our skin safe from environmental pollutants and we can become prone to infections.  Moisture is not stored as well in elderly skin as the fatty pockets which help to store moisture and keep our face plump and hydrated are all but gone.  When we have inadequate moisture, our barrier cracks, we get inflammation and our skin does not have the ability to repair itself.

 

Repairing Damage  

Sun damage and pigmentation spots are also something to consider when deciding what products you need, so a good vitamin C is important as it is an antioxidant that will not only help to repair the damage of the years gone by, it will also assist in preventing further environmental damage.  Another important antioxidant is vitamin A, and not only will this help with repairing damage, it will also assist in stimulating collagen production, keeping those fine lines at bay.  Vitamin A also offers wonderful resurfacing properties, turning cells over faster, which is important as we age.  Cells tend to hang around for a little too long once we get to a certain age, so a vitamin A will speed the whole process up, meaning that dead cells are being replaced by newer cells a lot faster. 

 

Gentle Products

Given that we have talked about the fragility of elderly skin, we need to ensure that the products that we choose are gentle.  Choosing gentle products does not mean that you are choosing products that are less effective.  Gentle products are usually encapsulated in delivery systems that ensure that the active ingredients are delivered into your dermis and epidermis without causing inflammation.

 

Here are our top products, in order of use, for fragile, elderly skin:

 

Morning:

• Osmosis MD Cleanse.  A gentle gel cleanser that removes dirt and makeup without stripping
• Osmosis MD StemFactor.  Using stem cells to rebuild your skin, particularly your epidermal barrier, making it strong and functioning as it should
• Société Skin Hydration Complex.  This is a hyaluronic serum that can hold 1000 times its weight in water.  It will gather water molecules together and give you a lovely plump look
• Osmosis MD Catalyst AC-11.  This is a vitamin C combined with essential nutrients and amino acids that will totally transform your skin and repair DNA.  It will assist in reversing sun damage, pigmentation and fine lines.
• Osmosis MD Protect.  A lovely daytime moisturiser with SPF in the form of zinc, which is a natural anti-inflammatory.  SPF is an absolute must for anyone, but especially for those with thinning skin.

 

Evening:

• Cleanse as above
• Apply StemFactor as above
• Apply Skin Hydration Complex as above
• Osmosis MD Renew.  This powerful vitamin A will dramatically improve the skin. It restores dermal thickness, remodels scarring from photodamage, increases skin’s nutrient and immune support, protects skin from UV rays, restores the epidermal barrier, hydrates, normalizes oil, reduces fine lines and shrinks pore size.
• Osmosis MD Enrich.  A beautiful restorative face and neck cream that will leave your skin feeling soft and hydrated.  
• Osmosis MD Refresh is an eye cream that will soften fine lines by adding moisture and help with the appearance of dark circles. 

 

Best Selling Skin Care Options For Elderly Skin

If you need any help in choosing your skin care, you can email us at info@theskincareclinic.com.au.

 

 

 

 

 

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