Scary skin facts: Things you need to know to properly protect your skin

By Aisling Keenan
14th Feb 2020

Scary skin facts: Things you need to know to properly protect your skin

Scary skin facts don’t need to scare you when you have the tools to improve things. However, it doesn’t mean there aren’t shady things out there ready to mess with your body’s largest organ…

If you laid your skin out end to end, corner to corner, it would cover about 22 square feet, making it your skin’s largest organ by far. Not a pretty visual to imagine, but good to know when you think about how much protection and care it needs.

FACT: Your skin starts ageing when you’re 20

Scary, or what?! From the age of about 25, your collagen production starts to slow down and your stores deplete, which then leads to skin sagging and the onset of fine lines. Antioxidants such as vitamin C can help you keep your skin from ageing as fast, so get a great serum into you, STAT.

Image Skincare Vital C Serum

€72.50 from millies.ie

FACT: Good genes aren’t everything

Genetics do play a part in how well (or how poorly) your skin ages, but external and environmental factors play an even bigger role. Things like pollution and sun exposure can account for a huge percentage of premature skin ageing, and smoking and diet can factor in to how quickly your skin ages, too. Use SPF daily, and steer clear of smoking and sugary foods to delay the process.

Skingredients Travel-Friendly 04 Skin Shield SPF 50 PA+++

€42 from skingredients.com

FACT: We’re always shedding like mad

We shed thousands of skin cells each minute. Between about 30,000 to 40,000 every minute flakes off our bodies, into our clothes, onto furniture or hanging around and giving us texture problems and causing blockages. Using an acid or an enzyme peel to remove dead skin cells is healthy for your skin.