The Skin Nerd: Can you make skin more elastic to prevent sagging?

As we age, our skin loses some of its "snap back" capabilities — here's how you can help restore it

sagging is natural and for many inevitable, and although we cannot completely prevent it or eradicate it, we can definitely help to improve it with a multi-pronged approach.

Ageing is an honour and a privilege — however, the effects of skin ageing can affect the confidence of people, especially if we notice our skin starting to sag before we think it should. 

Sagging skin, or as its more commonly titled, a loss of skin elasticity, is caused by the degradation of elastin and collagen. 

We don’t want to lose our elastin and collagen, as elastin gives our skin elasticity and collagen makes our skin plump, but it’s a natural part of ageing. 

It’s believed we lose collagen at 1% per year, and we also start to make less of these proteins as we age too.

Now, this does happen naturally, but it can also become accelerated due to our lifestyles: high sugar diets, for example, smoking, UV exposure and even stress. Alongside the losses here, we also lose fat from certain areas of our face.

It’s a bit like a teddy bear that’s lost some of its stuffing. In the areas that don’t have as much stuffing behind them, the material will drape and sag. 

We’ll often see skin sagging under the eyes and around the jaw and neck, as well as around the nose. Sagging can occur across the body too. So, what can we do? Is there anything we can do?

For sagging, it’s unlikely that topical skincare products alone will have the best effect for any given human. However, in terms of skincare ingredients, you’re looking for ingredients that can work to stimulate collagen and your own reservoir of hyaluronic acid (which can improve skin volume).

My key recommendations would be vitamin A and peptides. Vitamin A can stimulate the skin to synthesise collagen, and we need heavy hitters when it comes to sagging. 

I recommend beginning by using a retinyl palmitate serum such as Skingredients Skin Protein (€42, skingredients.com) or Environ SkinEssentiA AVST Moisturiser (€57, theskinnerd.com) and over time, stepping up the levels of vitamin A. 

With Environ, you can simply move up the programme — with Skin Protein, I’d recommend adding a retinol such as Neostrata’s Retinol Repair Complex (€83.50, theskinnerd.com) a few nights a week alongside it.

Skingredients Skin Protein also includes a pro-collagen peptide, that works to send signals to the lower layers of the skin to synthesise more collagen.

Our clients in Nerd Network see results they are very happy with using the ASAP Skincare DNA Renewal Treatment (€90, theskinnerd.com). Why? It contains specific telomere technology to help to repair the skin’s DNA, while also introducing a multi-peptide complex to help restore the firmness of the skin.

Alongside your topical skincare, introducing technology can really elevate your results. The Décolite LED Décolletage and Neck Mask (€355.25, andymillward-skincare.co.uk) uses two clinically-proven light wavelengths (red and near-infrared) to stimulate collagen and elastin and improve blood flow to help tighten the skin on the neck and décolletage over time. 

Don’t fret if your neck isn’t stressing you, there’s also the Facelite LED Face Mask (€326.66, andymillward-skincare.co.uk).

If you want to see even further enhanced results, there are plenty of treatments that are super effective at tightening the skin — such as microneedling, in-salon or in-clinic LED and Ultherapy.

Although you may hate to hear it every time, but the best mode to prevent sagging is to wear SPF every single day from birth, as UV damage greatly contributes to the degradation of collagen and elastin.

So, sagging is natural and for many inevitable, and although we cannot completely prevent it or eradicate it, we can definitely help to improve it with a multi-pronged approach.

Nerdie Pick

Patchology FlashPatch Restoring Night Eye Gels (€20 for 5, spacenk.com)

You know when you need to be up early-early which is going to guarantee that your eyes are puffy and dark but won’t have time to fix it? These have been a godsend for me —  they contain retinol, arnica and squalane for smoothness, de-puffing and a lot of hydration to plump out any lines.

I would say that these are best for the temporary effect, so save them for when you really need them, but the hydration element will stay in the skin for the remainder of the day.

Patchology FlashPatch Restoring Night Eye Gels (€20 for 5, spacenk.com)