What really helps against skin ageing?

UV radiation from the sun and sunbeds is the single biggest cause of visible skin ageing. Wrinkles, pigment spots and loss of firmness build up over years, sometimes remaining invisible for decades. Long-term exposure also raises the risk of skin cancer by damaging the DNA of skin cells.

Using sunscreen every day is the best-supported way to slow that process down. Both chemical filters and certain natural ingredients, such as lignin and melanin, absorb UV radiation. However, stand-alone natural ingredients generally offer weaker protection than ordinary commercial sunscreen, and their side effects have not yet been studied thoroughly enough.

Lifestyle is the second major lever. Smoking, drinking too much alcohol, poor sleep and an unhealthy diet all measurably accelerate skin ageing. These factors reinforce one another and interact with genetic predisposition and UV damage. Pinning down the exact contribution of each factor individually is difficult, but the combined effect has been clearly demonstrated.

Your skin also ages from the inside: skin cells gradually lose their ability to divide, protective structures at the ends of your DNA wear down, and hormone levels fall. The result is less collagen, causing the skin to become thinner and less firm. This process cannot be stopped, but the pace varies from person to person and may be partly influenced.

Honey in cosmetic products has shown interesting properties in experiments with cells, but solid evidence in people is still lacking. Thread lifts, where threads are placed under the skin to lift sagging areas, can produce visible results. The risks are real, however: bruising, infections, painful lumps under the skin, nerve damage and threads moving out of place. The outcome depends heavily on the experience of the practitioner.