10 Ways to Care for Your Skin in Your 60s and 70s
HAVE YOU NOTICED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN YOUR SKIN NOW THAT YOU ARE IN YOUR DIAMOND OR PLATINUM YEARS? ARE YOU TREATING YOUR SKIN THE RIGHT WAY?
The most apparent signs of aging are changes in the skin and hair. As someone gets older, pigmentation, wrinkles, dryness, and sagging skin becomes more evident. Graying and thinning of the hair is also inevitable. These changes in the skin and the hair are influenced by several factors, such as genetic makeup, nutrition, and environmental factors.
The skin undergoes tremendous changes when you reach your 60s and 70s. These are the cumulative effects of what your skin has been through in your younger years. Your genes are responsible for roughly 30% of your aging process.
What are the other factors that affect skin aging?
Photodamage/Photoaging
Photodamage happens when UV light hits the unprotected skin and causes. It may take many years for the damage to be visible because it occurs in the dermis, which is the skin's deepest layer.
Environmental Factors
Pollution
According to a study, the air, especially in urban areas, contains tiny particles like nitrogen dioxide and chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that cause skin aging such as age spots, wrinkles, and even skin cancer.
Lifestyle-related factors
Smoking
The nicotine in cigarettes damages skin cells and hinders their healing process. Smoking decreases the production of collagen and significantly accelerates advanced glycation.
Glycation is the process that involves the sugar in your blood, attaching to essential proteins forming advanced glycation- by-products (AGEs), which causes severe illness such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
Sleep
A clinical study found out that post-menopause women who slept for less than 5 hours a day are more prone to trans epidermal water loss and weakening of the skin barrier. Sleep is essential for cellular growth and repair. Low sleep quality disrupts the circadian rhythm and damages numerous tissues, including the skin tissues.
Low Antioxidant Diet
A study found out that a diet rich in potassium vitamins A and C is correlated to fewer wrinkles.
A diet with red meat and refined sugar was associated with more facial wrinkles, while a diet loaded with vegetables, fruits, and olive oil was associated with fewer wrinkles.
As we age, there is a more significant loss of micronutrients such as folic acid, Vitamin D, and B12 as there is a decreased capacity of the body to absorb such nutrients.
Long hot baths with harsh soap
Dry skin is common in older adults and becomes worse with hot baths or showers and alkaline soaps. A long hot bath weakens the skin barrier and makes other skin conditions worse.
What are other health conditions that affect skin aging?
Diabetes
Diabetes can make the skin look older. A study revealed that elevated glucose level makes the body age faster than the usual. The study also found that a person may look five months older than their actual age due to the rise in their blood sugar level.
Obesity
Obesity is common in older age groups because they have lower metabolic rates and limited physical activity. Obesity can cause chronic unfolded protein response. Proteins support skin health. Obesity can also cause hormonal imbalance that could impact skin health.
Menopause
Low levels of estrogen during menopause significantly affect the skin, especially the epidermal cells and sebaceous glands. The skin becomes dry and dull during this period.
Stress
Chronic stress elevates cortisol levels in the blood. Stress can increase the oxidation of lipids, which results in wrinkles and sagging.
Sedentary lifestyle
Moderate exercise improves circulation and reduces glycation. A sedentary lifestyle may be stressful and may lead to obesity.
What skin conditions do you experience when you are in your 60s and 70s?
Actinic Keratosis – This skin condition is caused by ultraviolet rays of the sun or tanning beds. It manifests as raised and crusty growths on your skin, most of which turn red or pinkish. Consult your doctor if you see them as they could potentially lead to skin cancer.
Seborrheic Keratosis – These are brown spots that usually appear on the chest, arms, and back. Keratinocytes are cells that consist of epidemics. The growths may be slightly raised and well defined from the surrounding skin. Keratoses tend to run in families so that the cause may be genetic. They can irritate when rubbed by clothes.
Age spots – If you spent a lot of time in the sun when you were younger, these small dark patches start showing up when you are over 50 years old. They are also called liver spots that appear in places exposed to the sun, such as the face, hands, shoulders, and arms.
Cherry Angioma – They are small red bumps that appear anywhere in the body, especially on the chest, belly, and back. When the dermis' blood vessels become weaker, it leads to bruising and bleeding under the skin. They are not painful but might bleed when hit or scraped. They are harmless but can be eliminated through laser procedure.
Skin Tags – These small flaps of tissue hang from your skin but can get irritated when rubbed against clothes or jewelry. They are common on our chest, back, neck, armpits, or groin area.
Solar Elastosis – Prolonged sun exposure can cause damage by turning your skin yellow, causing bumps and deep creases. This condition is noticeable for people with light skin, but it could happen to any skin color. It becomes worse for tobacco smokers as nicotine causes harm in the deeper layers of the skin.
Varicose Veins – They mostly appear on the legs and are caused by impaired blood vessels that swell twist, or bulge. They are not usually harmful, but the inflamed veins can cause superficial blood clots that may be painful.
Spider Veins – These clusters of broken blood vessels often crop up on your legs, ankles, feet, and even your face. The known common causes are back up of blood, hormonal changes, or injury. They are not harmful, but you could feel itchiness or burning sensation because the sebaceous glands produce less oil.
Itchy Skin – Our skin gets drier as we age. Dryness could cause itchiness, and if it persists for more than a couple of weeks or covers the entire body, it could be a sign of kidney, liver, thyroid problems, or iron insufficiency.
Leg Ulcers – The skin on your lower legs easily gets injured if there is a blood flow problem. Bacteria could cause infection on the broken skin. Underlying health problems like diabetes makes it difficult for the skin to heal and end up with an open sore and ulcer.
Contact Dermatitis – There are two types of this skin condition.
- Allergic reaction of your skin to irritants such as fragrances or chemicals in laundry and cleaning products.
- Irritant – This happens when skin moisture decreases, causing chapped lips or rashes
Bruising – You get a bruise when the tiny blood vessels on the epidermis break. Older people bruise more quickly because the skin gets thinner and loses fat. This condition is not severe.
Wrinkles – The appearance of wrinkles could be slowed down with a healthy lifestyle such as proper diet and regular exercise.
WAYS ON HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR SKIN WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR 60s or 70s
1. Limit your bath or shower time
Cleanse your skin with a mild fragrance-free cleanser or emollient. Wash with warm, not hot water as hot water will make your dry skin worse by stripping its natural oil. Limiting your bath or shower time to ten minutes also prevents drying out your skin. Mature skin quickly loses moisture as there are fewer sebaceous glands as you age.
Pat your skin gently with a soft towel after washing. Damp skin will help better absorb other skincare products. Apply a fragrance free-moisturizer after bathing while the skin is still damp. Moisturizing relieves dryness and restores your skin barrier. Mature skin quickly loses moisture as there are fewer sebaceous glands as you age.
2. Use a humidifier
Dry and itchy skin becomes worse when the skin is dry. Switch on your humidifier when the air feels dry. The humidifier adds moisture to the air, which prevents dryness and cracking of the skin. Maintain the humidity of your room between 45% to 60%. Measure your humidity by a hydrometer.
3. Protect yourself from the harmful UV rays
Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 every day regardless of the weather. Try as much as possible to stay away from direct sunlight between 10 AM to 2 PM.
If you can not avoid staying out of the sun, it is necessary to cover up. Wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your face from the UV rays and cotton pants and a long sleeve shirt to protect your body. Protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses to avoid crow’s feet and fine lines. If possible, wear gloves to protect your hands.
Stop using tanning beds and sun lamps. Although a tanning bed gives you a lovely skin color, it emits high doses of UV rays in a short period. It also causes premature skin aging, such as wrinkles, age spots, and skin texture changes. The more serious effect is skin cancer.
4. Quit smoking
Giving up smoking can significantly improve your skin health. Blood flow becomes better, effectively delivering oxygen and nutrients to the skin. Blemishes caused by nicotine become lighter. The stains on your fingers caused by cigarettes also slowly fade away.
5. Eat healthy
Load up your diet with fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, dairy products, and healthy fats. A healthy diet supports the synthesis of collagen, which is crucial for skin health.
6. Get enough sleep
Eight to ten hours of sleep a day is sufficient enough for your body organs to repair and heal, and for your cells to regenerate. The body can self-repair due to the increased blood flow during sleep. The skin benefits from this process, which results in fewer wrinkles and dark spots.
7. Go fragrance-free
Stop using cologne or perfumes and other skincare products containing fragrances and alcohol as they may cause irritation or wrinkles.
8. Protect your hands with rubber gloves when doing house chores
Protect your hands from sunlight and other harsh chemicals from cleaning products. It will also prevent you from getting bruised or wounded.
9. Do your AM and PM skincare routine regularly
- Cleanse with a mild cleanser in the morning and the evening. Pat dry. Never rub your towel to your skin.
- Use a toner. Restore the PH balance of your skin by spritzing some toner.
- While the skin is still damp, slather on your serum.
- Pamper your neck with a neck firming cream.
- Use an eye gel or eye cream to prevent puffiness and dark circles.
- Put on some moisturizer and don’t forget your sunscreen every day.
10. Engage in low impact exercise
impact to moderate impact exercises are excellent options for those who are extra careful of injuries. An opportunity for socialization could also be a perk of exercising, such as walking with family and friends.
For people in their 60s and 70s, yoga and pilates are recommended by experts for improving posture and flexibility.
Exercising improves the texture of the skin. If done regularly.
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