Can you improve skin elasticity and firmness with topical skincare?
As we age, our skin naturally loses some of its bounce and elasticity. Can topical products help? Yes - but only to a degree. Topical skincare can help our skin produce only two of the three major “building blocks” of skin elasticity. Because of these, any product that claims to help “get rid of sagging skin” or “restore the skin firmness” is promising a little too much. Keep reading to learn more about skin elasticity and how to set realistic expectations for your topical skincare.
What is skin elasticity?
Imagine your skin as a rubber band. Skin elasticity is its ability to stretch and bounce back to its original shape. This translates to the overall plumpness, firmness, and "springiness" of your skin. Dermatologists can measure skin elasticity using a device called cutometer. It uses suction to create a little vacuum that pulls your skin. After keeping it in this vacuum for the right amount of time, the cutometer releases it to measure how quickly it bounces back.
What gives our skin elasticity?
Elastin, collagen, and water-binding components like hyaluronic acid work together to give skin its bounce and elasticity. Collagen provides structure, strength, and support to the skin, while water-binding compounds help it stretch more easily. Elastin is a protein that forms elastic fibers; these are the main tools that the skin relies on for stretching and bouncing back. Elastin and elastic fibers are special because, unlike collagen, their turnover is very slow. In other words, our skin mostly relies on the same elastic fibers that we produced in our childhood. These long-lasting fibers endure a lot of wear and tear over time, and, unfortunately, the skin does not have the ability to fully replenish or repair these fibers naturally.
Can topical treatments help restore skin elasticity?
Our skin produces less of all of the three "elasticity players" as we get older. Luckily, topical skincare - for example, retinoids, - can help our skin produce more collagen and water-binding compounds.
But things are more difficult with elastin. There are no proven topical treatments that help skin's elastin production. This is because elastin production is more complex and requires the crosslinking of multiple components to form elastic fibers. This makes it harder to stimulate and regulate the assembly process. The science has not figured it out just yet.
This is why topical skincare can have only a limited effect on restoring our skin elasticity: it can only help us with the 2 out of 3 required components. Topical treatments can give us more collagen and hydration, but they cannot help our skin repair elastin. Keep it in mind when evaluating product promises about skin firming, restoring skin elasticity and reducing sagging skin.
Since we cannot at the moment help the skin restore elastic fibers, the best “pro-elasticity” skincare strategy we have is protecting the elastin that’s already there. What can we do to protect our precious elastin stock? There are three main things:
Focus on maintaining overall health through a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition.
Protect skin from the harmful effects of sun damage by using daily sunscreen and antioxidants in topical skincare routine.
Avoid skin irritations, as inflammation can cause damage to elastin over time.
When it comes to products that promise to rejuvenate or restore elasticity, take the promise with a grain of salt. Yes, you can get more collagen and hydration, which helps skin elasticity, but unfortunately, they cannot help get rid of sagging skin or dramatically restore skin firmness. Rather than looking for a pile of potions - focus on your overall health, stick with a daily sunscreen and good nutrition.
Source:
Clinical Relevance of Elastin in the Structure and Function of Skin https://academic.oup.com/asjopenforum/article/3/3/ojab019/6275566