As you enter your 40s, your skin begins to undergo significant changes due to a combination of internal and external factors. Understanding these changes and incorporating the right ingredients into your body care routine can help you maintain a youthful, radiant complexion. In this article, we'll explore the key shifts in your skin during this decade and the best ingredients to combat them.

If you have landed on this article, chances are you are 40+, like myself. This is when we begin to notice crepe skin and worry about what can be done about it. As a sun worshipper in my youth, now in my late forties, I am paying with dark spots and crepey skin.

What is Crepey Skin?

Crepe skin is the thin, loose, wrinkled skin that we tend to find on our hands, arms, legs, face, and neck as we age. Different from the deep-set kind of wrinkles we find on our face, the wrinkles found in crepe skin tend to cover larger parts of our body and give the appearance of thin, fragile skin.

What Causes Crepey Skin?

Just as dark spots begin to emerge in our 40s due to sun damage, crepe skin is more prominent in our 40s and beyond due to sun damage as well. It's why you mainly see this skin thinning on the areas of our bodies that have had the most sun exposure. Skin that was unprotected from UVA rays - the "aging" part of sun exposure - will see more of a breakdown of collagen and elastin.

Collagen is what makes your skin look full and youthful, and elastin is what makes your skin look firm and lifted. Over time as you lose that collagen and the elastin breaks down, your skin begins to look sullen and sag. While sun damage is most often the cause, there are other reasons as well, such as rapid weight loss, long-term use of tanning beds, and medications.

Can You Reverse Crepe Skin?

As with most issues with the skin, short of plastic surgery and in-office cosmetic treatments, there are temporary things we can do to reduce the appearance of crepe skin. We cannot permanently turn back time, although today is as good a day as any to make sure you are always protecting skin exposed to the sun with sunscreen to prevent other areas of your skin from becoming crepey.

Hydration plays a major role in re-plumping the wrinkles of crepe skin and it is one way to see an immediate difference in the appearance of your skin. This is a no-brainer when it comes to our face, but we often forget the rest of our body until we begin to itch, scratch, and see flaky skin.

A good example of this was when my mom, who is in her 70s, was at my house one day and complaining about the look of her skin on her arms. Crepey skin covered the top part of her bicep and forearm. I handed her A Girl's Gotta Spa! Energizing Citrus Body Lotion, which is incredibly hydrating with whipped cocoa and shea butter, and olive oil. Her face immediately lit up as she applied it and it seemed to erase the look of her crepey skin. (We also have an unscented body lotion and lavender body lotion.)

It's not magic or a cure, but because our body lotion is deeply hydrating, it helped to plump her wrinkled skin, giving it a smoother look. Hydration will not reverse sagging skin, but it can help to make it look a bit more firm.

In the drier months, depending on where you live (desert year-round, living in the higher elevations, or fall/winter for other regions), you need to take extra care, as skin will be naturally more depleted of moisture than usual exacerbating the look of crepey skin.

Additionally, as we age and enter that "mature skin" category, our skin naturally loses oils due to hormones, leaving it drier than our youth. I highly recommend applying body lotion twice per day (during your morning and evening beauty routine to make it easier) for it to be most effective.

In summary, sunscreen and lotion are our biggest assets for treating crepe skin, as well as preventing it in the future. 

With age comes a multitude of skin issues. Dry skin is one of them, both face and body. Now combine age-related skin issues with other environmental issues, and we've got a problem. Typically I would use a night cream, which is normally thicker than a day lotion and sans SPF, and that has worked out OK. But I didn't know what I was missing until I tried Travertine Spa's Marula Night Serum. Marula, is similiar to argan oil, but provides a much deeper level of hydration and protection of the skin. It has an abundance of vitamins and minerals, something mature skin desperately needs. (Being honest, I hate calling my skin mature. It makes me feel super old.) Travertine Spa's Marula Night Serum also contains certified organic hibiscus flowers (you actually see them floating in the serum), geranium and essential oils of nerouli and lavender. My experience, where to start? I've never used Marula oil before to be honest. I've used argan oil and never really strayed because it got the job done. I've known the owner of Travertine Spa for several years now and when I was talking to him about my skin issues, he told me that Marula would make a world of difference. I agreed to give it a try because he has never steered me wrong. The serum looks maroon in the bottle, but comes out clear. The first thing you notice is the fragrance. To say I am in love with the fragrance would be putting it mildly. I applied this serum at 11pm the first time and literally considered texting him right then to ask that he make me an oil I can put in my aromatherapy diffuser with the same scent. Lucky for him, I chose to wait until the next morning. The directions say to use 3 drops, but I found that one pump (a little more than pea-sized) was sufficient for my skin. I smoothed it over my entire face and neck. One night, after a week of using it, I remarked to myself after applying it how much better my skin looked. Almost like a few years have turned back. Not being comfortable with this whole aging thing, this was motivation enough for me to make sure I am consistently use it nightly. The serum is not greasy and quickly absorbs into the skin. Your skin will literally glow. All evidence of dry patches have disappeared. So much so, that I was able to wear my BareMinerals bareSkin Serum Foundation. If you are not familiar with that review, here's a quick summary - it looked great on my skin with the exception of magnifying dry patches of skin. Liquid foundation has never been my friend. However, after using Marula Night Serum for just few weeks, I was able to wear the foundation and SLAYED. Here's what you need to know - I review skin care products regularly. But when I start trying to figure out my budget so that I can purchase this when I run out and plot how I will also scoop some up for my mom (she mentioned she wanted it after hearing how much I loved it), you know that this is SOMETHING INCREDIBLE. Do your skin a favor and grab some for yourself. Girls, this will not disappoint! www.travertinespa.com Marula fans, let me hear your thoughts - leave a comment! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too!