Tackling Thinning Skin

Hormones often have the last word on how your skin behaves, regardless of your life stage. But that’s not to say their effects can’t be minimised. Liz Dwyer looks at what fluctuations dominate in your fifties and sixties, and how best to safeguard your skin from hormonal havoc.

Thinning skin-why now?

Hormonal and oestrogen dips diminish the collagen and elastin levels, making skin thinner, less pliable and more prone to wrinkling. The eye area is even more susceptible now, as there are virtually no fat cells under the skin here anymore, so crepey texture and bags become a concern.

How to handle it

If you take a look at skin cells in this age under a microscope, you’ll see that their shape has changed from a youthful, star-shape to spindly, causing slacking and deeper lines, so the key to boosting skin density is to inject structure back into the cells. Clarins Super Restorative Night Cream, €94, right, boasts patented enzymes whose main objective is to rebuild the star shape, so that the cells and overlying skin remains taut, plus it boasts a powerful anti-brown spot active.

Paradoxically, while it may seem logical to use a thicker cream to help skin density, in fact rich, heavy creams will actually weigh skin down. So light layers of nourishment first via a serum, sealed in with a light, hydrating moisturiser is a better combination. No7 Restore & Renew Day and Night Serum, €33 for both, left, contains a blend of skin identical lipids, which help to increase skin’s thickness by adding some much-needed fat to the mix. Use alongside No7 Restore & Renew Day Cream €30.50, left, for day-long hydration and to keep the skin barrier strong.