The skin is usually the first organ to show signs of ageing. How quickly this occurs depends on many factors including genetics and lifestyle. However, the ageing process can be slowed significantly if you address your health holistically. I refer to this as the skin trilogy: what you apply to your skin; what goes into your body; and your state of mind. To achieve healthy, glowing skin you need to aim for harmony within your whole body.

What’s so appealing about youthful skin is the clarity and vital energy it radiates. However, this vitality can be achieved at any age, whether you’re 35 or 65, if you’re careful with your lifestyle: eat a diet rich in organic and biodynamic foods; employ the healing and rejuvenating qualities of botanicals in skincare; have facials and massages; swim in saltwater; get controlled sun exposure, exercise and good sleep; drink plenty of purified water for detoxification; achieve a balance between work and play; laugh a lot; and cultivate inner peace and contentment. Feeling comfortable in your own skin will give you a radiance that no amount of cosmetics can replicate.

Structure of the skin and ageing

The skin is divided into two main layers: the exterior epidermis and the dermis beneath. The stratum corneum (the horny, outermost layer of the epidermis) comprises dead cells that are flat and scale-like in shape and arranged in overlapping layers to create a waterproof-like barrier.

Beneath these layers is the germinative or basal cell layer, where new cells constantly form and old ones are pushed to the surface. The old cells are then shed when you rub against sheets and pillows or removed when you cleanse and exfoliate your skin. When you’re young this rejuvenation process occurs about every four weeks. As you mature it slows significantly.

The dermis is made up of a connective tissue framework in which blood vessels, nerves, glands, cells and the proteins collagen and elastin are embedded, providing strength, resilience and flexibility to the skin. Unlike the epidermis, the dermis is vascular and provides the skin as a whole with energy, nutrients and water.

When you’re young, collagen is mattress-like — firm and bouncy — and elastin is flexible. As you mature, collagen breaks down, the elastin fibres fragment and both substances cross-link and become matted like a coarsely knit jumper. The skin then becomes less able to take up moisture, collagen breaks down and elastin loses flexibility. The subcutis (the innermost layer of the skin comprising a network of fat and collagen) then begins to shrink. The epidermis responds by becoming wrinkled and furrowed.

Other factors besides advancing age contribute to the rapid cross-linkage and dismantling of collagen: poor nutrition, poor elimination of toxins, lack of oxygen and moisture, weak circulation, hormonal changes, emotional stress, environmental toxins, cigarettes, alcohol, dehydration, medications, synthetic chemicals in cosmetics, congestion of the body’s systems, drinking impure tap water, swimming in chlorinated water, ultraviolet radiation, emotional burdens and inherited factors. The more stress you put on your body the more the collagen breaks down and the elastin loses flexibility.