At least twice in the past few days I’ve said something out loud to my kids that sounded just like my mom. You know… “Close the door or pay the utility bill!” (…It’s 105 degrees outside!)
And now I’m looking down at my hands as I type. There are my mom’s hands… thinner, drier skin than I’m used to, with spots and colors I’m not used to seeing. My grandson Baby Benjamin has fat, smooth, plump skin, and here I am slowly looking like a raisin.
If your hands (or neck, or arms) are starting to look crepey – they look thin, dry, and finely wrinkled like crepe paper – you’re not alone. Here’s what’s actually happening to your skin as it ages, and what you can realistically do about it.
Why does skin get dry, thin, and crepey with age?
Three things are happening at once:
1. Your skin produces less oil
As skin ages, it produces fewer natural moisturizing oils, partly due to declining hormone production. Sebum output drops steadily after our 30s, and the skin’s natural moisturizers (like hyaluronic acid) diminish along with it. Add cold, windy weather, and you’re bound to have skin that feels chapped and raw.
2. Collagen and elastin decline
We gradually lose the fatty layer below the epidermis, along with collagen and elastin. These are the substances that keep skin smooth, plump, and springy. That’s what creates the thin, crepey texture, and it’s why aging skin bruises and tears more easily. I’m not to the point of paper-thin, but I know it’s coming.
You’ll see anti-aging products promising to stimulate collagen replacement with peptides. Whether they penetrate deeply enough to make a real difference is still unclear, so I’d rather focus on protecting the collagen you have.
3. Skin cell turnover slows down
Young skin replaces itself roughly every 28 days. As we age, that slows, so dead cells linger on the surface, making skin look duller and rougher, and making it harder for moisturizers to absorb.
What about age spots?
Once you hit your 40s and 50s, age spots start showing up on the skin that gets the most sun, which is why they’re also called sun spots. The good news: true age spots are harmless, and honestly, they probably bother you more than anyone else. No one else notices.
What you CAN do for dry, thin, aging skin
You can’t turn back the clock, but your mom was right about this: habits you build now make a real difference later.
Seal in moisture after a warm shower. Because aging skin loses water faster through its thinner surface, the single most effective habit is trapping moisture in. The best time to apply a Beesilk hard lotion bar is right after a warm shower, when your skin is warm and ready to absorb the ingredients. The beeswax acts as a natural sealant that holds hydration in far longer than a thin water-based lotion can. For larger areas like arms and legs, where crepey texture tends to show first, the softer Beesilk Jr glides on more easily.
Replace the oils your skin no longer makes. An oil like jojoba closely resembles our skin’s own sebum, so it can take over in our hair and skin where natural oils have failed us.
Skip irritating ingredients. Aging skin has a weaker barrier, so fragrances, alcohols, and harsh detergents hit harder than they used to. Using products free of irritating ingredients keeps your skin from having to battle the outsider. (This is exactly why I keep our bars to a handful of recognizable ingredients.)
Protect yourself from injury. Since thin skin bruises and tears easily, be a little more careful around sharp corners and rough yard work than you used to be.
Eat well and hydrate. Like your mama always told you: healthy fats, whole foods, and plenty of water. Skin is built from the inside first.
One more bit of advice from my good friend and long-time customer, Allie: “Always be vigilant about self care, healthy whole food, filtered clean water for hydration, keeping stress low, priority on sleep, keeping possessions paired down so they don’t own you, keeping the home naturally clean, organized and tidy, forgive, and live for God (most important)!”
Common questions about aging skin
Can crepey skin be reversed? Not fully. No cream restores lost collagen to youthful levels. But consistent moisturizing with barrier-sealing ingredients like beeswax, daily sun protection, and gentle care can noticeably improve how thin, dry skin looks and feels.
Why do my hands age faster than my face? Your hands get near-constant sun exposure and frequent washing, and most of us moisturize them the least. They’re often the first place thinning and spots appear, and the first place a hard lotion bar makes a visible difference.
What ingredient should I look for in a lotion for aging skin? Look for occlusives that seal moisture in (beeswax, shea butter) and oils similar to skin’s own sebum (jojoba). If your skin tolerates it, dermatologists also point to retinoids for slowing thinning; just introduce them slowly.
Sources: MedlinePlus: Aging changes in skin, Cleveland Clinic on crepey skin