One of the questions my patients ask most often is: “Does the skin on the face age faster than the skin on the rest of the body?” My answer: It appears to. The truth is it’s the way we treat our skin-not the aging process-that “ages” facial skin the most.

Scientists explain it this way: There are two types of aging, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic or internal aging is the rate of aging that occurs with the passage of time. Extrinsic or external is intrinsic aging compounded by external causes such as: sunlight, air pollution, and inflammation caused by harsh detergents, rough treatment, cosmetics and disease processes.

To understand the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic aging, you need only look at the skin on your face versus, say, the skin on your hips or your upper thighs. The prime culprit of extrinsic aging is quite apparently sun exposure. Exposed skin is generally more wrinkled and discolored and less taut then skin unexposed to the sun on a regular basis. Compounding extrinsic damage is the fact that with age your body’s ability to repair itself slows considerably. When we’re 11, our cells can repair themselves nearly perfectly from damage, but at age 50, the aging process begins to accelerate because we no longer have that ability for perfect repair. The question still remains as to why? There are preventative measures you can take to slow extrinsic aging and protect the cells. Try to avoid sunlight, harsh scrubs, detergents and other rough treatments or products. Do you make sure to wear sunscreen with at least a SPF 25 daily?