They say that you should always look to your mother (and grandmother) to determine how your skin will age. And there’s a reason for that. The way your skin ages is dependent to a large extent on your genetic make-up, also known as an intrinsic factor. Intrinsic factors (those things you have no control over) determine your skin color, your skin make-up, pore size and a number of other inherited skin related traits.
But, you can’t pin everything on Mom because in addition to your genes, extrinsic factors (those you aren’t born with) are also at play. Extrinsic factors include things such as exposure to the sun, pollution and smoking. It also includes your diet, how you manage stress, how much sleep you get and what you eat. These are all things that are under your control.
Intrinsic factors will influence whether your skin is light or dark, how much melanin you produce and whether your pores are large, medium or small. But, if you spent most of your childhood getting sunburns and still don’t pay attention to your skin, even the greatest genes aren’t going to help you. Conversely, if your skin genetics aren’t of the highest pedigree, yet you watch your sun exposure, eat and live well and treat your skin to skin beneficial ingredients including antioxidants, cell communicating ingredients, exfoliants and sunscreen, then your skin will show it.
Great looking skin is under your control. And no, if it ages poorly, you can’t blame Mom.
