The Skin and Extrinsic Aging

The skin is made up of three main layers, each of which has a different role in keeping it healthy and youthful. In young, healthy skin, all of these functions behave optimally, but as we age, things start to slow or change, altering the way skin acts and looks. This triggers the natural development of signs of aging, such as lines, wrinkles, pigmentation, dull, rough skin, and a mottled or uneven skin tone. This natural body slowdown is known as intrinsic aging, and it happens to everyone. It begins internally in our 20s, starts to show externally for the first time in our 30s or 40s, and nothing in our beauty arsenal so far can stop it completely- although you can slow and reverse it a little. That might sound like very bad news, but it’s not- because intrinsic aging alone actually accounts for very little of the aging we see on our skin.

What ages us is exposure to external factors, such as sunlight, pollution, poor diet and inadequate hydration. This is called extrinsic aging and it’s the main reason most of us age. Even though they occur internally in the body, all the reactions triggered by poor gut health, excessive inflammation or hormonal changes that I discuss throughout my book are also classified as extrinsic aging. When it comes to aging prematurely, extrinsic aging is what you need to prevent and fight against.