Practice & Prosper Newsletter- May 2023

Our skin cells “turnover” approximately every 28-40 days, which means the top layer of skin that we see, the epidermis, is replaced by new skin cells every 4-6 weeks. Cell turnover slows down after the age of 30 and skin integrity breaks down from cellular oxidative stress caused by years of sun damage, dehydration, and inflammation which can appear decades later. These combined factors degrade the “scaffolding” protein of skin known as collagen which leads to fine lines and wrinkles and breaks down the “anti-gravity” recoil protein of skin known as elastin which leads to skin sagging. These proteins reside in the deeper layer of skin, called the dermis, which is formed from cells called fibroblasts.