Crepey skin, wrinkly, papery, crinkly—whatever you call it, the tissue paper-thin skin that starts to appear on places around your body, from neck to knees, is one of the most difficult signs of skin aging to battle. You may experience loose crepey skin on your legs or even upper arms. As you age and your skin gets thinner, your skin can begin to “crepe,” making you look like an elephant.
Our ceaseless desire for smooth, soft, glowing skin has led to an explosion of anti-aging surgeries and cosmetic products on the market. But do you really need to go under the knife or pay hundreds of dollars for special products?
Some say it is the face that gives away a person’s age and troubles us the most but it actually is the neck that make us most unhappy when we look in the mirror. You want to eat crepes, not wear them. Most people know crepey skin when they see it. There are many names for the thin skin that develops on our bodies as we age- crepey skin, thin skin, elephant skin or grandma skin. The area from the chin to the bust is particularly prone to its appearance. It tends to suddenly show up when we least expect it. At first glance, this type of skin may seem a little scary, but it is both preventable and treatable.
Creeping is different from wrinkling. While wrinkles form from repeated movement in a specific area of the body. Creeping is when your skin gets stretched out and can’t return to normal. Fortunately crepey skin can be prevented and treated by using sunscreen, moisturizing, drinking water, and even some topical cremes.
Related: Freeze-Dried Skin Care Is the Wave of the Future—Here’s What We Found On This New Treatment
But lets have a closer look at crepiness. What makes this type of wrinkling unique? This type of wrinkling is associated with old age. As we age, our body’s production of oil is reduced, and our skin becomes dry and crepey. Crepey skin is different from permanent wrinkles in that the skin appears crinkled, fragile, and paper thin. When you pull the skin at each side, the tiny wrinkles tend to flatten out.
What Can Cause Crepey skin:
Both skin type and genetics can determine whether a person gets crepey skin and it is more common in older people, not usually appearing until people are at least in their 40s.
Lack of moisture in the skin can create crepey skin, hydration should be a priority in preventing crepey skin.
The ultraviolet light in the sun’s rays break down collagen and elastin can increase crepey skin visibility
Pollution, stress, and smoking cigarettes all can contribute to visible signs of crepey skin.
Gaining and losing substantial amounts of weight changes can help create crepey skin.
One of the first signs of aging is crepiness. This happens when the cohesion between the two outermost layers of our skin breaks down. As the cohesion weakens, crepiness first appears in the neck and eye area where skin is the most fragile and thinnest. Most over the counter moisturizers do little to fix this.
If you are wondering if your crepey skin needs treat, understand that you can also live with it in the same manner and treat is like other skin. Crepey skin can be tattooed, with a skilled tatto artist, good hygiene to prevent infection, and moisturizing ¹.
Crepey skin treatments:
There are many different treatments for crepey skin, your particular skin, the cause of creping, and the location on your body will determine what treatments are best. You can tighten crepey skin without surgery. In the past, treatment consisted of rich emollients to protect the fragile area with perhaps the addition of a few nutrients and caffeine to kick start the fragile skin. Sadly this did not do much to correct or reverse the problem. This unique form of aging requires more precise and consistent treatment.
Knowing how to reverse crepey skin naturally will be far more effective. The sooner you treat crepey skin, the easier it will be to create a noticeable change in its appearance. Knowing what to use for crepey skin is also critical. Check out this video or see our recommendations below:
1. Moisturize
Adding moisture to your skin is an excellent way to prevent crepey skin. It’s certainly not the only way, nor even the most effective, but it’s a strong start. Use moisturizers that have either:
Vitamin C
Aloe
DIY Moisturizer for Crepey Skin
Though this moisturizer considered a face cream, the rest of your body will benefit from it as well, and has the prefect ingredients to eliminate crepey skin and you can indulge and lavish on your entire body.
The recipe calls for distilled water. You can use tap water, but it often has contaminants (molds or bacteria) that may develop on the cream when left at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 2⁄3 cup distilled water, rose water, or another hydrosol 1⁄3 cup aloe vera gel
- 1–2 drops essential oil of choice (see essential oils for crepey skin below)
- 500–1,000 IUs vitamin A
- 500–1,000 IUs vitamin E
- 3⁄4 cup carrier oil (like almond or grapeseed)
- 1⁄3 cup solid or semisolid oil (such as coconut oil, shea butter, and/or cocoa butter)
- 1⁄4 teaspoon lanolin (optional)
- 1⁄2–1 ounce grated beeswax (or other solid wax), for thickening
Directions
- Combine the distilled water or hydrosol, aloe vera gel, essential oil, and vitamins A and E — in a glass measuring cup. Whisk together. Set aside.
- In a double boiler over very low heat, mix the carrier oil, solid or semisolid oil, lanolin (if using), and beeswax. Heat just enough to melt the solids. Stir well, and then set aside and let cool to room temperature. This can take a couple of hours. It is recommended to melt these oils and waxes the night before and then let them sit overnight. (You can hurry the process by placing the cooling mixture in the refrigerator, but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too cold. It needs to be room temperature when you begin to emulsify.)
- When the oil mixture has cooled to room temperature, pour it into a blender. Be sure the lid is on tightly, and then turn on the blender at its highest speed (a high-speed blender works best). Slowly, in a thin, steady drizzle, pour in the waters mixture, aiming the stream of liquid into the center vortex of the whirling oil mixture. Be sure to do this steadily and slowly, so that the water molecules can emulsify and blend with the oil molecules.
- When you have added most of the water mixture to the oils and the cream has begun to thicken, listen to the blender and watch the cream. When the blender coughs and chokes, and the cream looks thick and white, like buttercream frosting, turn off the blender. If there is water remaining in the glass cup, you can slowly try to add a little more, beating it in by hand with a spoon, but don’t overbeat! The cream will thicken as it sets.
- When it has cooled, package your cream in clean, dry glass jars. The cream, even though it has no preservatives in it, will last for several months if stored in a cool location; it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
2. Retinol
The best treatment for crepey skin on arms and legs is topical creams that contain retinol (vitamin A) or its prescription-strength counterpart tretinoin may help address the look of crepey skin. these compounds work to thicken collagen and elastin, providing the skin with a more structured, stretchy feel.
3. Water
To improve the overall texture of your skin increase how much water you drink each day. A common cause of crepey skin is dehydration. Keeping hydrated is crucial for health and well-being, but many people do not consume enough fluids each day. We may be 60 percent water already, but we still need to drink up. Water helps out your kidneys, improves your focus, and a heck of a lot more. Make sure you drink between eight and 10 glasses of water each day for the best results.
4. Sugar Scrub
You can significantly minimize its visibility using a simple scrub that contains only sugar and olive oil. When consistently exfoliating your skin, your skin tries to protect itself from the friction and scrubbing pressure by producing increased amounts of collagen, which help your skin look younger and plumper. The olive oil hydrates your skin and the sugar contains alpha hydroxy acid that helps revitalize your skin and make it look younger.
5. Essential Oils
The top essential oils for crepey skin are frankincense, rosewood, patchouli, and myrrh. They are extremely effective at removing your crepey skin by increasing the elasticity and tightness of your skin.² Their primary uses include:
- Alleviates pain from sunburn
- Rheumatism and psoriasis
- Reduces appearance of wrinkles and crepey skin
- Tones oily skin
- Decreases itchiness caused by eczema
- Detoxifies the liver
- and prevents water retention
Try rubbing diluted essential oils over the areas of your skin that appear crepey. Although essential oils will not get rid of crepey skin completely, they may be able to reduce their appearance. They are also a natural alternative to chemical creams and lotions.
6. Cupping
You can also try cupping for crepey skin. Cupping stimulates the production of collagen and elastin deep in your skin layers. Cupping is an ancient healing practice that uses heated or suction-pumped cups to pull up and stimulate the body tissue beneath. People get it for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage. Over time this practice improves the complexion and diminishes crepey skin.
7. Dry Brushing
Dry brushing can help crepey skin by boosting the skin’s natural regenerative processes. As many exfoliants do, dry skin brushing gives your face that “instant glow” that makes you look younger. It prevents the body’s natural breakdown of collagen and restores natural elasticity. Dry brushing is the juice cleanse of the beauty world. Brushing the skin on the face and neck to help combat lines and wrinkles. Exfoliating assists the skin in shedding old cells, allowing the new to be revealed.
Knowing the causes of crepey skin and working diligently towards avoiding them early on in life can help us preserve our skin. While no magical serum will take your skin backward in time, a healthy lifestyle regime that includes living foods, an abundance of fun and joyful exercise, and a good skin care program can keep you radiant and glowing from the inside out, so that your skin reflects your inner health and vitality. The best method is prevention – make healthier decisions, and do your best to avoid drastic weight gain or loss, sun exposure, smoking, use sun protection and a daily moisturizer.