Crepey skin is one of the most common skin concerns many of us face as we get older. It appears as delicate, crinkly, loose, fragile, and aged skin
Thankfully, just because our skin crepes with age doesn’t mean we can’t help it look better. From knowing what causes crepey skin to fine-tuning your **skin care** routine and picking the right products, there are ways you can encourage firmer, smoother-looking skin.
Does your skin seem to be thinning? Do you notice fine wrinkles that resemble crepe paper? If so, you’re likely dealing with crepey skin. In this complete guide to crepey skin, we discuss causes, prevention, and the best skincare ingredients and products to help improve your skin’s appearance.
What Is Crepey Skin?
Simply put, crepey skin is thin, loose skin that has developed fine wrinkles and texture similar to crepe paper. Crepey skin often has a duller look and can appear dry.
You’ll typically see crepey skin develop on thinner areas of the body like:
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Neck
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Décolletage
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Under eyes
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Upper arms
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Hands
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Knees
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Elbows
Unlike wrinkles that develop due to facial expressions, crepey skin is often attributed to skin that has lost collagen, elastin, and moisture.
What Causes Crepey Skin?
Curious about what causes crepey skin? While age plays a large role in crepey skin development, there are a few other factors that contribute to why our skin creeps as we age.
Natural Aging
Our skin is naturally equipped with collagen and elastin. These are proteins that help keep skin firm and allow it to bounce back when pulled.
As we get older, our bodies produce less collagen and elastin. Our collagen production starts to slow in our twenties. By the time we reach our forties, fifties, and sixties, we’ve lost a significant amount of collagen. This loss of collagen and elastin causes skin to lose some of its bounce and become thinner and weaker. As a result, wrinkles and crepey skin are more prominent.
Sun Damage
Chronic sun exposure is one of the most common causes of premature skin aging and also one of the answers to what causes crepey skin.
Sun damage, or photoaging, occurs when the ultraviolet (UV) rays break down collagen and elastin fibers deep within the dermis. As these fibers weaken, skin starts to show the visible effects of aging such as:
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Sagging
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Fine lines and wrinkles
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Uneven skin tone
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Crepey skin
If you’re someone who spent a lot of time outdoors in your younger years without wearing sunscreen, you may have developed crepey skin earlier than others who made an effort to wear sunscreen daily.
Loss of Moisture
When your skin is well-hydrated, it looks plumper and smoother. Dehydrated skin loses that radiant plumpness, which can cause wrinkles and crepey skin to be more visible. As we age, our skin has a harder time retaining moisture.
Weight Gain and Loss
Extreme weight gain and weight loss can stretch out skin and weaken the support structure beneath. If you’ve experienced significant weight fluctuations throughout your life, your skin may start to sag and appear crepey.
Pollution, Lifestyle, and Other Factors
If you spend a lot of time outdoors in a polluted city, smoke, eat a poor diet, or live with chronic stress, your skin is at a higher risk of showing premature signs of aging. Pollution, smoking, poor diet, and stress can lead to oxidative stress, which damages cells and skin collagen.
Genetics
Everyone ages at different rates. Some are just born with skin that tends to creep later in life.
Where Does Crepey Skin Usually Appear?
Crepey skin can appear anywhere on your body. However, there are a few common places where people tend to develop crepey skin, including:
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Neck: The neck is one of the first places most people notice crepey skin. Skin on the neck tends to be thinner than other areas of the body. It’s also not typically covered by skin care products like your face often is.
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Chest: Just like the neck, our chest and décolletage see a lot of sun over our lifetime. As mentioned above, sun damage can cause premature skin aging and crepey texture.
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Arms: The upper arms are another area of the body where crepey skin is commonly noticed. It often occurs after drastic weight loss or as skin produces less collagen with age.
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Under Eyes: Under-eye skin is another area where crepey texture is very noticeable. Skin under the eyes is some of the thinnest skin on our body.
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Hands: Our hands face the sun and environmental elements all day long. Over time, these factors can contribute to crepey skin on the hands.
Can Crepey Skin Be Prevented?
There’s no surefire way to prevent crepey skin since it’s a natural part of the aging process. However, there are things you can do to slow down the development of crepey skin.
Apply Sunscreen
One of the best ways to prevent skin from losing collagen and elastin is to wear sunscreen every day. Not only will sunscreen prevent premature skin aging, but it will also protect your skin from UV damage that can cause skin cancer.
When applying sunscreen, be sure to apply it to your face, neck, chest, and hands. Don’t forget these often-forgotten areas!
Drink Water
Drinking water and using hydrating skincare products help support skin hydration. Hydrated skin looks plumper and smoother, whereas dehydrated skin will show wrinkles and crepey texture more.
Eat a Balanced Diet
Eat plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. Your diet should also include fatty fish like salmon, nuts, seeds, and lean proteins. These foods help provide your body with nutrients that promote collagen production and fight off oxidative damage.
Don’t Smoke
If you smoke, stop. Smoking ages your skin much faster than not smoking.
Maintain a Good Skincare Routine
Using a good skincare routine that targets the changes you want to see in your skin can help improve your skin texture. Below we share some tips on how to treat crepey skin.
How Do I Get Rid of Crepey Skin?
Many of you search for how to get rid of crepey skin once you start to see the signs. While there’s no magic cream that will reverse the signs of aging, there are products with proven ingredients that can help your skin look better over time.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Helping your skin retain moisture is one of the best ways to reduce the appearance of crepey skin. Look for skincare products that contain hyaluronic acid, glycerin, squalane, and aloe vera. These ingredients help attract moisture to the skin and lock it in.
Try Retinol
Retinol is one of the best skincare ingredients when it comes to reducing the appearance of wrinkles and improving skin texture. Retinol helps improve cell turnover and stimulate collagen production. Eight Saints' Smooth Sailing Retinol Serum is packed with skin-loving ingredients designed to improve the appearance of fine lines, texture irregularities, and help your skin look firmer.
Using a retinol product consistently can help improve the appearance of your skin over time.
Support Skin Barrier Function
Your skin’s barrier is what helps retain moisture and protects your skin from harmful environmental elements. You can help strengthen your skin barrier by using skincare products that contain ceramides, peptides, shea butter, and plant oils.
Moisturize With Rich Creams
This one should come as no surprise. If you want to know how to get rid of crepey skin, moisturize! Thick creams are great for restoring moisture to the skin and helping improve the skin’s texture. Rich creams help plump the skin, which can temporarily reduce the appearance of wrinkles and crepey skin.
What Is the Best Lotion for Crepey Skin?
Many of you are wondering what the best lotion for crepey skin is. This is a common question because body skin is more prone to developing crepey skin. Areas like the arms, legs, and chest often show the first signs of crepey skin.
Ideally, you want to find a body lotion that contains ingredients that will help improve hydration and support the skin barrier. Take a look at our recommended product below.
Our Cocoa Cream Body Butter is one of the best products for those looking for the best lotion for crepey skin. This luxurious body butter deeply hydrates the skin with nourishing ingredients that help soften skin and improve the appearance of rough texture.
Benefits of using this body butter include:
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Long-lasting hydration
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Skin softening benefits
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Supports dry, aging skin
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Improves overall appearance of skin
Applying body butter is a great way to help reduce the appearance of crepey skin. When skin is well-hydrated, it’ll look fuller and smoother.
What Is the Best Cream for Crepey Skin on the Face?
Searching for the best cream for crepey skin? When picking out skincare products to help improve the appearance of crepey skin, you want to make sure the products you use hydrate your skin and support the natural cell turnover process.
Our Up the Anti Night Cream is formulated to help provide your skin with intense hydration while you sleep. It also works to improve the appearance of aging skin by combining powerful hydrating ingredients with antioxidants that work overnight.
Using a night cream is important when it comes to your skincare routine. Your skin does a lot of repairing while you sleep so why not give it the products it needs to do its job? Consider our Up the Anti as part of your nightly crepey skin treatment routine.
What Is the Best Cream for Crepey Neck Skin?
The neck is one of the hardest areas to treat due to how thin the skin is. That being said, using a lightweight yet hydrating moisturizer can make all the difference when showering your neck with skin-loving nutrients.
Our Firm Intentions Neck Cream was specially formulated for the thin skin around your neck and décolletage area. Using this targeted crepe skin cream can help improve the look of:
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Loose skin
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Fine lines
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Neck wrinkles
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Crepey texture
Just like the face, don’t forget to apply a moisturizer to your neck. Our Firm Intentions Neck Cream can help improve the appearance of aging skin on the neck.
What Ingredients Should You Look for in a Crepey Skin Treatment?
Crepey skin treatment doesn’t have to be complicated. Look for products that contain a mixture of the following ingredients.
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Retinol: Retinol helps improve cell turnover and stimulates collagen production.
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Peptides: Peptides are known for helping support the skin’s structural proteins. They may also help your skin appear firmer.
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Hyaluronic Acid: This skincare superstar helps attract moisture to the skin. Helping your skin retain moisture will make it appear plumper and reduce the appearance of wrinkles and crepey skin.
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Antioxidants: Antioxidants like vitamin C and green tea help protect the skin from environmental damage that can lead to skin aging.
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Ceramides: Help strengthen the skin barrier and improve skin’s ability to hold onto moisture.
How Long Does It Take to See Improvement?
This truly depends on how consistent you are with your skincare routine. You can expect to see results in as little as a few days if you’re focusing on improving skin hydration. However, when it comes to collagen production, it may take weeks or even months to notice a change.
Most people will notice a difference within 8-12 weeks of using products with skin-boosting ingredients and applying them consistently.
Expect improvements in:
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Skin smoothness
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Hydration
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Firmness
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Texture
Final Thoughts on Crepey Skin
So what causes crepey skin? As we mentioned above, age, sun damage, dehydration, and environmental factors play a big role in contributing to crepey skin. But that doesn’t mean you can’t improve the appearance of your skin.
If you’re looking for how to get rid of crepey skin, focus on products and skincare practices that promote skin hydration and collagen production. Look for skincare products like Eight Saints' Firm Intentions Neck Cream, Up the Anti Night Cream, Smooth Sailing Retinol Serum, and Cocoa Cream Body Butter to help support your skin from head-to-toe.
There’s no magic cure for crepey skin, but taking care of your skin daily by sticking with a solid skincare routine can make a difference. Just remember, like any skincare concern, consistency is key.
Don’t let crepey skin get you down! Eight Saints Skincare has got you covered with clean, effective products that are designed to help combat visible signs of aging, including dry skin, crepey skin texture, and loss of firmness. Check out Firm Intentions Neck Cream, Up the Anti Night Cream, Smooth Sailing Retinol Serum, and Cocoa Cream Body Butter to start your routine today!