Skin Aging

Aging of the human skinEnlarged versionThe formation of lines and wrinkles in light-exposed areas throughout the body,such as on the face, throat, décolleté and hands is a well-known sign of skinaging. Lines and wrinkles are influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.The numerous intrinsic factors are age, gender, genetic disposition and race. Inexposed and unprotected zones of the body such as on the skin of the handsand the face, extrinsic factors such as UV light, weather and climatic influences,nutrition, tobacco and alcohol abuse, effect the formation of lines and wrinkles.With increasing age, the physiology and appearance of the human skin willchange. Alterations in structure, loss in tightness, smoothness and a decrease inthe skin's functional capacity are phenomena which may be attributed to theaging mechanism. An increase in dryness and thus roughness as well as a lossin elasticity and even pigmentation are also a sign of increasing s kin aging.Wrinkles on flaccid skin develop with growing age. There is a decline in thesubcutaneous fatty tissue. Today, relatively little is known about the exactbiochemical processes of skin aging. Mature skin is characterized by adecreasing barrier function, slower metabolic activities in all cells, a strong loss inhumidity as well as a decrease in activity of the sebaceous and sweat glands.Primarily, changes in the skin's appearance are a result of a general agingprocess of the connective tissue of the subcutis. This leads to an atrophy of theepidermis which adjoins the papillary layer and to an irregular decrease in theelasticity of the elastic nets which are structures accompanying the collagenfibres in the connective tissue. As a result of the changed amount and chemicalcomposition of the basic substance of the connective tissue, a loss of liquids isthe result, which consequently leads to a decrease in glycosaminoglycans, thebasic structures of the...