Is ageing skin actively shaping your health?

Recent research is turning the traditional view of skin on its head with a plot twist: instead of merely reflecting our internal state of health, our skin is now seen as an active player in it. The signs of ageing - wrinkles, dryness and sunspots - may actually contribute to the ageing process itself, rather than just being symptoms of it.

- Lolita Walters

Is the skin merely a record of our past lifestyle choices or is there more to the story? Your skin is often viewed as an outer layer, but it's far more than a simple barrier. When it comes to ageing and disease, people often focus on the well-known culprits of smoking, drinking, overeating or poor food choices and lack of exercise, however poor skin health is the hidden factor that frequently goes unnoticed.

Science has now unveiled its complex role in the ageing process and how ageing skin is implicated in your overall health. Skin health doesn't just affect your appearance, it influences various systemic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders.

What this means is that aside from the benefits of maintaining youthfulness - looking after your skin and preventing its ageing could actually play a role in maintaining your health, while the opposite potentially worsens wellbeing on a grander scale.

By understanding these intricate connections, which involve an array of chemical processes and reactions in the skin, you can transform how you approach skincare and wellness. The encouraging news? You have plenty of opportunities to make a significant difference.

Beyond the surface

Your skin serves as a mirror of your body's internal condition. It's common to think of skin health in terms of appearance simply being a reflection of what's going on inside. For example, prematurely aged skin may signal unhealthy lifestyle choices, while breakouts could signal hormonal or gut imbalances. While this is certainly true, the implications of our skin health go much deeper. Skin does more than just exhibit your inner state, it plays an active role in shaping it.