Factors that effect skin ageing include: skin type, skin thickness, threats,
skin care, colour and genetics.

Some changes in a woman’s skin during the ageing process can also be
closely linked with the altered production of hormones within the body.
From the age of 25, the skin will start to show signs of ageing. Below is a
list of changes that occur; they will become more noticeable over the
years:

• A slow down in sebaceous and sweat gland activity causes the skin
  to become dryer and dehydrated.
• Loss of elasticity occurs as the elastin fibres harden.
• Hardening of the collagen fibres produces lines and wrinkles.
• Because the skin is not as firm, the pores appear more open & visible.
• Facial contours become slack as the muscle fibres lose their tone.
• Body contours become less defined, breast tissue starts to sag, upper arms become loose, abdomen and back areas lose their tone and form fatty pockets, fatty deposits are laid down over abdomen, upper arms, buttocks and upper thighs.
• As cell replacement slows down, the epidermis grows slower and
  appears thinner. As the skin is more transparent, broken capillaries
  are more prone and appear more visible.
• The bone structure is more prominent as the adipose, skin and
  muscle tissues become thinner.
• Fatty cells are unevenly distributed and form pockets leaving the skin to appear lumpy in places, particularly around the eye area.
• Blood circulation slows down & therefore leaves the skin to look
  sallow.
• As the metabolic rate slows down, waste products and toxins are not removed as rapidly and so puffiness often occurs.
• Due to the change in hormone levels, facial hair growth usually
  occurs on the upper lip and chin and this usually becomes coarser
  over the years.
• Liver spots and skin tags often develop and continue to increase in
  number.

During menopause, oestrogen levels decline resulting in an imbalance
within the body. Oestrogen suppresses the male hormones androgen
and testosterone and with reduced oestrogen levels, the androgens now
become more dominant. The androgens stimulate the hairs to grow
thicker and coarser in texture, become darker in colour, grow faster and
grow in the male pattern i.e. the upper lip and chin.

Ageing also limits the effectiveness of the treatments, as the body is not
as responsive to external stimulus as it gets older. Treatments are less
effective on degenerative tissue.

How Ageing Effects the Face

• The mouth area: with age, nasa-labial folds appear from the corner of the nose to the corner of the mouth, and from the corner of the lips to the jaw line. The lips develop vertical and horizontal wrinkle around them. When we smile, we show less of our teeth as we age and the lips become thinner. The corners of the mouth also begin to droop.
• Jaw and chin: with age, jowls appear and the jaw tends to merge
  with the neck. The chin has a tendency to dip downwards as we get
  older.
• Forehead & around the eyes: horizontal & vertical forehead wrinkles appear due to the expression lines formed by the frontalis muscle. The eyebrows sag and the corners of the eyes droop, giving a sad expression.
• Eye area: loose skin appears above the upper eyelid and this can
  sometimes cover the whole of the upper eyelid. Loose skin (bags) also appear below the eye area. Creases appear at the side of the eyes, which are called crow’s feet. The corners of the eyes tend to droop, giving a sad expression. Skin tags form around the eye area.
• Neck: Wrinkles appear with age and the skin forms bands. Skin tags often appear on the neck area.