Those fundamental forces of the universe, time and gravity, govern everything we know—and leave little opportunity to combat them. When it comes to how they change the face, and how our facial features change over time, you may wonder—how does your face change as you age?
Knowing what face changes to expect—and why they happen—can help you keep your skin supported no matter the decade you’re in. To help you face the changes, we’ll explain how your facial appearance may transform in the coming years, and what you can do to keep it vibrant no matter what life brings your way.
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At What Age Does Your Face Change Most?
Different factors can impact how fast our skin ages. We start to see signs of aging on the face as early as 25 years old. However, you can minimize signs of aging with preventative methods like wearing a daily SPF moisturizer or using a personalized skincare set dedicated to anti-aging concerns. Let’s explore the reasons why you may see premature aging skin.
5 Signs of Aging on the Face
1. Your Skin May Begin to Feel More Dry
Even if you had supple, glowing skin for most of your youth, you may experience a change in skin texture and hydration as you grow older. Some of these changes may simply result from the effects of your environment over the years, such as excessive exposure to sunlight or living in a very dry climate [1].
However, others may result from natural changes in our skin as we age—such as a reduction in our skin’s ability to sweat and produce natural oils [2]. Other times, dryness may result from certain health conditions or medications more common for those in their elder years [3].
Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions to dry skin. Invest in a personalized night cream infused with powerful ingredients to target both dryness and dark spots. Finding skin care products that consider your age, lifestyle, and environment can help you to replenish hydration no matter where you are in life.
2. Your Eyes Undergo Transformations
Eyes are windows to the soul is a cliché we use to observe someone from the outside, looking in. But from the inside, our “windows'' are composed of physical eye sockets and our skin. This means that our muscles can show fine alterations over time, and even our eyelashes can begin to change—they represent a switch not unlike changing your real windows’ curtains to drapes on the sheerer side [4].
Like other facial features, our eyes show signs of age in our:
- Skin – The skin around the eyes and eyelids is among the thinnest, most sensitive of your face at any age [5]. As such, your lids may appear more hooded over time as skin begins to loosen. Increased translucence in your lower eyelid may reveal blood vessels, and crow’s feet may appear at the sides of your eyes.
- Fat – Fat deposits around the face create a plumping effect in the face that usually reveals your youth to the world at large. Yet, the fat around our eyes eventually decreases, especially where the lower lid turns into the cheeks. Dark circles can form where your skin is at its thinnest [6].
- Muscles – The muscles around your eyes also loosen with time, losing strength after decades of use. Repeated motions may have etched fine lines around the fragile skin of the eyes. The elasticity of the muscles succumb to gravity, and in your elder years, you may experience a dropping of the brow and upper eyelids [7]
Be proactive about the skin around your eyes by investing in a quality eye cream. PROVEN Skincare’s advanced technology creates personalized skin formulations that target your skin concerns. Each product is unique to your skin, environment, and lifestyle – so you can restore your radiant skin.
3. Your Facial Bones Naturally Change
- Cheeks – This may be one of the first areas in which you notice signs of aging. Your cheekbones may gain hollowness and appear more defined as fat deposits sink downward with time [9].
- Mouth – The skin around your mouth and near your eyes is among the most delicate on the face [10]. Proper moisturization can help lighten the appearance of laugh lines and wrinkles that form at the mouth after repeated facial expressions—such as a smile.
- Jaw – Bone shrinkage can cause the jawline to retract, which may result in looser skin in the area and less structure in the neck, where ligaments in muscles may also loosen and appear less firm.
4. Your Face May Reveal Time Spent in the Sun
UV radiation in sunlight is responsible for 90% of aging-related skin changes, and you may begin to notice it as soon as your 30s and 40s [11]. If you spent the majority of your life basking in the sun unprotected, then you may see wrinkles and delayed changes in the texture of your aging face as time marches onward. Additionally, many of us neglect measures to protect our lips and ears with an SPF moisturizer, even if they’d been diligent with other areas [12].
The signs of sun damage may include:
- Lip lines – Our lips naturally lose volume and start to seem less plump as early as our 30s and into our 40s. Coupled with sun damage, lines can form and deepen at the upper lip [13].
- Age spots – Appearing like oversized freckles, age spots can show up prominently on the face, but also on your hands, arms, and feet—anywhere subject to more sun exposure than the rest of you [14].
- Wrinkles – While wrinkles can also form from natural changes in your skin as you age, sun damage can speed up the process significantly.
- Skin texture – As we mentioned earlier, sun exposure can contribute to skin dryness as you age. However, it can also give the skin a more leather-like appearance, reducing skin elasticity and causing it to look rougher [15].
5. Expressions Appear In Your Skin
Our faces transform in big, yet temporary ways each time our expressions change. In the moment, those transformations may reverse themselves. But over the years, the repeated shifting and loosening of muscles and skin can become readily apparent in the creases of your face. Over a lifetime, hours spent smiling or in contemplation, brows furrowed or otherwise raised in surprise, may show easily in the development of wrinkles and “expression lines.” [16]
How to Support Your Skin Through Aging
Some of the effects of aging may be inevitable—after all, a life without smiling or any time spent in the sun is no life at all. By giving your skin the protection and support it needs throughout your life, however, you can help it stay healthier, stronger, and more supple. The essentials for skin support include:
- Sunscreen – Throughout your life, you can limit your exposure to the sun’s rays by wearing a minimum of SPF 30 every time you go outside. You can also take measures like wearing protective clothing, shading your face with a hat, and seeking areas of shade when you’re outside for prolonged periods of time [17].
- Moisturization and hydration – Always of vital importance is the establishment of a skincare routine. Use rich moisturizing creams with hydrating ingredients that directly target your skin cells. Drink the water you need every day to keep hydrated from the inside out [18].
- Nutrition – Never stop nourishing your body from within. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and water content—such as watercress, bell peppers, blueberries, papaya, broccoli, spinach, avocado, sweet potatoes, and pomegranate seeds. You can also consider taking vitamin supplements to strengthen your daily health [19].
- Exercise – Regular exercise to strengthen muscles and improve overall health may provide bonus benefits on the appearance of aging [20]. Not only can exercise increase bone density, helping with issues such as osteoporosis, but it can also improve cognition and assist in the slowing of brain-related aging. Exercise also increases the body’s capacity to repair itself. Activity as non-invasive as a daily walk or aerobics can certainly yield the benefits you need, so get moving!
- Sleep – Getting enough sleep every night allows your body the crucial time it needs to repair itself. Exercise and sleep often go hand-in-hand in terms of attaining the high quality of sleep needed to feel the full effects of repair in the bones, muscles, and especially in the skin [21].
Nourish Your Skin with PROVEN
The aging process is natural. As we grow older or go through different life experiences, our bodies sometimes tell us what they need —that we need more rest, to slow down, or to eat differently. But much of the changes happening in your face may not be visible right away. That’s why starting now (wherever you are in life) is the best way to achieve healthy skin later.
Tempting as it may be to skip the sunscreen or your moisturizing routine some days, healthy habits that you can maintain are key to making skin transformations you want to see—like more hydrated, more protected, and more supple skin. Learn more tips about skin care for older women from our experts.
To aid your face and skin even further, consider products that take your needs to heart. At PROVEN Skincare, we formulate your custom products just for you. With our products customized for your specific needs, taking care of your skin is easy at any age.
