3 Body Parts That Age Faster Than Your Face
In most cases, when you fight the signs of aging, you begin by targeting the face. We think it’s time that you broaden your sights and include other parts of the body that can show years of damage just as quickly. Your elbows and knees are prone to looking dull and rough as you age, thanks to the thick buildup of dead skin on its surface. Your hands and chest area may lack the smoothness that you expect. But don’t concern yourself just yet. There are simple, super-effective tactics to target these areas with the right skin care ingredients. Here are three body areas that are often overlooked and can age even faster than your face — plus the best natural ingredients to look for in your skin care products.
Elbows & Knees
The skin around your joints is subject to constant bending and stretching that eventually leaves it loose and downright droopy. Unlike your face, the skin elsewhere on the body gets less attention until later on in life. Suddenly, you’ll notice the crepey, dry skin and loss of collagen on your elbows and knees. In addition to dryness and years of active use, these areas tend to be exposed to the sun and other external factors during the summer months, resulting in skin damage. The skin might become dry in texture and sometimes saggy.
Our Solution:
Your current skin care routine may not be enough to revitalize knee wrinkles or the cracked, sandpaper-y elbows most of us have. If you’re wondering how to make elbows and knees look younger, here are some of the best skin care ingredients to look for:
- Coconut water is a moisturizing and toning ingredient that is a source of Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.
- Coconut milk is moisturizing and nourishing, and softens the look of skin.
- Argan oil is rich in antioxidants and smooths and moisturizes the look of the skin.
- Shea butter is a moisturizer that is high in triglycerides and fatty acids. This emollient moisturizing ingredient helps to revitalize and repair the skin.
- Grape seed oil is an antioxidant that combats wrinkles and fine lines.
Our Coconut Firming Body Lotion contains coconut, shea butter and grape seed oil, which leaves your skin looking tight and firm, while providing deep and lasting hydration.
We also recommend the Monoi Night Body Cream, which takes advantage of your body’s overnight repair process with its exclusive Argan Stem Cell Complex. This complex contains argan stem cells and nutmeg seed, known to be rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids and polyphenols which helps visibly firm and tighten the look of healthy skin. This ultra-rich night body cream leaves the skin on the elbows and knees feeling firmer, denser and smoother by morning.
Chest & Neck
It’s a fact: over time, skin begins to wrinkle. And with age, the decrease in production of collagen and elastin means that skin loses its ability to bounce back and hold its shape. Since the skin along the chest and neck is especially thin, the pull of gravity quickly reveals signs of age as the skin begins to sag and wrinkle. Certain habits, like smoking, can also prematurely wrinkle the skin on the chest, neck or any part of your skin.
Our Solution:
Hydration is very effective in preventing and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. As previously mentioned, shea butter, argan oil and grape seed oil are moisturizing and hydrating ingredients that nourish all areas of the skin including your neck and chest. Evening primrose oil is a high-performing moisturizing ingredient while jojoba oil supports and hydrates the skin.
Moisturizing night creams are an essential part of a hydrating skin care routine. During the night, the skin is known to be in recovery mode, and it is the ideal time, especially for mature skin, to use rich creams with a higher concentration of ingredients to help boost hydration and reawaken dry-looking skin.
Our Monoi Age Corrective Night Cream for Face and Neck works on your skin in the chest and neck area overnight, nourishing, replenishing and reducing signs of wrinkles. This rich cream includes an Argan Stem Cell Complex to tighten and firm the skin. It also contains a Natural Retinol Alternative. This is a unique ingredient that offers visible immediate and long-term improvement of aging skin by reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
During the day, you can turn to the Hibiscus Ultra Lift Neck Cream. The Advanced Instant Lift fX formulation gives an immediate look of firmness to the neck and chest wrinkles, leaving it looking rejuvenated and tightened. Your chest's skin is thinner compared to the rest of your body, so when applying neck cream, extend the product down to your chest to ensure this delicate area is also moisturized.
Product Picks
Your Hands
Skin is affected by two factors, namely, our age and sun exposure. The skin across the body is composed of the epidermis (the outermost layer), the dermis (middle layer) and the subcutis (bottom layer). The dermis supports the structure of the skin, consisting of collagen, elastin and other fibers, which gives your skin that smooth, bouncy appearance.
Irritatingly, no body part is more telling than your hands since wrinkles and age spots tend to appear here quickly as you age. Speaking to Healthy.com, board-certified dermatologist Kally Papantoniou, MD, FAAD, says: “Hormonal changes result in a loss of skin elasticity and volume loss on the backs of our hands. These changes cause the crepey appearance of skin and also make the veins very prominent.”
Specifically, it’s the gradual loss of oil glands in this area that results in hands becoming dry and wrinkled with age. In addition to natural aging, your hands are exposed most of the time, leading to sun damage — the biggest culprit in premature aging.
Our Solution:
Boost hydration and protect the skin by applying a sunscreen that contains hydrating ingredients. Key ingredients to look for include:
- Zinc oxide is a natural mineral that blocks UV rays to protect skin.
- Aloe vera is a moisturizer and soothes dry skin, alleviating the appearance of damage from sun exposure, while also hydrating and softening the look of the skin.
We recommend our Lilikoi Mineral Defense Sport Sunscreen SPF 30, not just for all-over body use, but also to improve the visible signs of aging on your hands. As well as aloe vera and zinc oxide, this organic formula contains lilikoi (passion fruit) seed oil, which offers Vitamin C and antioxidants to help with the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. The inclusion of raspberry seed oil provides your complexion with another skin-repairing ingredient, one which harnesses antioxidants to help minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This mineral sunscreen is non-greasy and water-resistant for up to 40 minutes. Plus, it’s highly effective for outdoor activities like swimming and high-performance sports.
For more information about targeting the signs of aging from head to toe, visit our Spa Locator to find your nearest Eminence Organics Spa Partner.
This article was originally written in November 2016.
