Skin's barrier doesn't age (much)

As skin ages, its look might be changing. But its ability to serve as an excellent barrier against environmental factors remains strong.

This is a skin science post of ultimate positivity: we don’t need to worry about aging of the upper most layer of our skin, the stratum corneum. Based on the studies conducted to date, it appears that the skin’s barrier function doesn’t age, or, at least, there tend to be no significant differences in the barrier function between people aged 20-25 and those who can boast with 30-40 more years of life experience.

While the composition of the stratum corneum change (younger people have more lipids, while older people’s skin has larger and flatter corneocytes, the non-living “bricks” that form the uppermost skin layer), the researchers have been not able to detect a difference in the epidermis’ ability to perform its main function (which is absolutely vital for our whole body)- as measured by trans-epidermal water loss and substance penetration through the stratum corneum.

The bottom line is: our epidermis is awesome and is perfectly equipped for a very long and healthy life!

Photo by  Catrin Johnson