When we think of the catalysts for visibly aging skin, one specific word tends to come to mind: loss. Whether it’s collagen loss, water loss or loss of radiance, we often associate skin-aging concerns with a loss of some sort, and rightfully so. But have you ever considered that your skin health issues could be a result of deeper damage instead?
Last month, at an event with medical-grade skin-care brand Obagi, I had the chance to learn about its new skin-care technologies aimed at correcting damaged elastin—a term I hadn’t heard—and it got me thinking: How do you know if your elastin is damaged? How does that differ from something like collagen loss? How does elastin become damaged? Ahead Dr. Suzan Obagi, walks us through all things elastin damage.
How Do You Know If Your Elastin Is Damaged?
It’s long been known that elastin and collagen are the foundations of healthy skin and we’ve been taught the importance of maintaining and boosting the production of these proteins. But, as Dr. Obagi explains, damage to elastin in the skin is just as detrimental to our complexions’ overall look and feel. “Elastin is a very important structural protein made by the fibroblasts in the dermis,” Dr. Obagi begins. “Elastin allows the skin to ‘snap back’ into place after being pulled or stretched and gives skin its bounce.” Just like collagen, our elastin production decreases with age, Dr. Obagi notes. “Our skin’s ability to produce a large amount of elastin peaks at age 18. After that age, we start to produce about 1 percent less elastin per year.”
But the loss of elastin is not the only thing we need to worry about, Dr. Obagi flags. “As we age, we not only make less elastin (a process known as intrinsic aging), we also accumulate damaged elastin from smoking, sun exposure, poor diets and environmental pollution (extrinsic aging). Damaged elastin or loss of elastin begins to manifest as looser skin, crepiness, fine lines and sagging skin or skin laxity.”
Damaged Elastin Versus Lack of Elastin: How Does It Impact Skin Health?
While it’s clear that both the lack of elastin in the skin and damaged elastin can reap negative consequences on the skin, it’s important to understand the difference between the two, especially in terms of how they come to be. “Healthy skin should have little to no damaged elastin, whereas people with a lot of exposure to tanning beds, sun, smoking and unhealthy diets will start to show an accumulation of damaged elastin fibers,” Dr. Obagi says. “This shows up under the microscope as areas in the skin where the elastin fibers have lost their nice, dense architecture. Instead, we start to see less elastin fibers and an increase in damaged elastin fibers that don’t have the ability to keep the skin firmer or tighter.”
The loss of elastin production in the skin we experience as we age, as Dr. Obagi mentioned before, is in some ways unavoidable, whereas you can prevent damage to elastin. “If a person takes care to minimize the amount of environmental damage in the skin, they will have more of the healthy elastin compared to someone who smokes or tans their skin, even at the same age,” Dr. Obagi affirms.
Products to Combat Damaged Elastin
If you think you might be dealing with the impacts of damaged elastin on the skin, don’t fret—tons of products from Obagi Medical, are designed with healthy elastin in mind. “Many products within the Obagi family of skin-care products can help improve skin health and offset some of the environmental damage that can alter elastin as well as collagen and other skin components,” Dr. Obagi assures. “Antioxidants like the Professional C Serums ($77) can help reduce oxidative damage to the skin, thus protecting against elastin degradation. “
“The Elastiderm family of products, featuring a patented Bi-Mineral Contour Complex, supports the three necessary stages of healthy elastin, giving skin the power to bounce back,” Dr. Obagi continues. “These products work on improving elastin production, enhancing the assembly of the elastin fibers and making sure that the fibers are oriented properly to function at their best.”
Finally, Dr. Obagi emphasizes the importance of retinol-based products for elastin health. “Retinoids such as prescription tretinoin and or non-prescription retinaldehydes like Retivance help to enhance collagen and elastin production by the fibroblasts in the dermis. These agents help offset the drop in elastin production as we age.”
