Your skin is your body's largest organ, and though it may seem like it's not doing much, your skin works hard every day protecting you from the environment around you, helping you maintain a healthy body temperature and picking up messages about touch, pressure and pain to send to your brain. As you get older, the signs of this work starts to take its toll on your skin, leaving it thinner and more vulnerable to wrinkles and injury.
Causes
Your skin thins as you get older for several reasons. The layer of fat that cushions the top layer of your skin gradually diminishes over time, making skin appear thinner. Your body also slows down production of elastin and collagen, connective tissues, which makes skin thinner and less capable of repairing itself when it's stretched or damaged. Lifestyle factors, like sun damage, smoking, exposure to pollution and high stress levels can also cause the top layer of your skin to become thin and damaged.
Effects
The most visible -- and often, the most dreaded -- effect of thinning skin are the wrinkles and fine lines that start to appear. You may also notice dark patches of your skin, where muscles and blood vessels show through thinning skin. Thin skin is also more easily damaged and may be more prone to irritations like itchiness, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Warning
According the University of Maryland Medical Center, more than 90 percent of older people have some type of skin disorder. Though thinning skin is a normal part of aging, if you notice discoloration, moles, unusual texture, redness or other skin abnormalities, see your doctor. They could be a sign of an underlying skin disorder that requires medical attention.
Prevention/Solution
You can't stop the process of aging, but you can slow down the rate at which your skin thins by taking a few proactive measures, according to Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. One of the most effective ways to slow down thinning skin is to protect your skin from the sun by avoiding spending time outdoors between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the sun's peak hours, wearing sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher every day and wearing a broad-brimmed hat when you spend time outside. Maintaining a healthy diet and getting regular skin check-ups as you get older can also help.
Expert Insight
Your eyes are usually the first place on your body to show signs of thinning skin as you get older, says David E. Bank, associate professor in clinical dermatology at Columbia University/Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, in "Allure" magazine. Bank explains the naturally small amounts of collagen and elastin around your eyes can be depleted by even a small amount of skin damage, causing skin to thin and form wrinkles.
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