That being said, it’s equally important to feel confident in how you look, for the sake of your mental health. So if crepey skin has you down, this might help you make sense of what’s going on and encourage firmer skin naturally. This is where the term crepey comes from. Though your skin isn’t as thin as a streamer, similar wrinkles and lack of structure can occur, especially as you age. Besides being thin and wrinkly, crepey skin may also sag or feel loose, board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D., tells mbg. “The exact cause of cellulite is unknown, but it appears to result from an interaction between the connective tissue in the layer that lies below the surface of the skin and the layer of fat that is just below it,” King explains. Cellulite can be genetic, meaning you can have it no matter what you use on your skin, how old you are, and how much you weigh. A gentle reminder: Cellulite is not a bad thing. While it’s completely normal to feel insecure about it—thanks to the unfortunately significant perfectionism culture around body image and Photoshop—cellulite is extremely common, especially for women. Now, on the other hand, crepey skin can be prevented to a certain extent with skin care. Like cellulite, there’s nothing wrong with having crepey skin, and everyone will get it eventually as it’s a natural part of skin aging. But if you want to delay the process, there are a few things you can do—more on that in a bit. These are areas that are often exposed to the sun as well (particularly the neck, hands, and eyes), which can mean premature aging, as we’ll get to in a second. Losing weight is also a frequent cause of crepey skin, so if you noticed particular slimming in your legs recently, then that could be why. The skin post-weight-loss has been previously stretched, so it may be thinner once the fat underneath has decreased. Smoking, diet, and exercise are all factors that contribute to general skin health, so it’s not surprising that they can lead to crepey skin. We’ll get into specifics next. If you want to skip the process of checking off all those boxes, the mbg postbiotic body lotion helps ease crepey skin with an antioxidant-packed formula that’s deeply hydrating yet nongreasy–reviewers echo its praise, too. So, you’ll want to replenish the lost collagen via nutrition. “Collagen-rich foods can significantly support skin hydration and elasticity,” board-certified family physician and functional medicine expert Alejandra Carrasco, M.D., once told mbg. And one of the best ways to internally support collagen production is through hydrolyzed collagen supplements. Research demonstrates that ingesting this form of collagen (and yes, only hydrolyzed peptides) can promote your natural collagen and elastin production1. Not all collagen supplements use this form, so shop smart. Here’s a list of 9 clean and effective options, recommended by a nutrition Ph.D. to make your hunt easier. First off, exercise can relieve stress, which is just one of the many things that can lead to decreased collagen production and accelerated skin aging. Plus, exercise increases the delivery of nutrients to your skin’s cells and helps your body produce collagen, which, as you just read, will help ease crepey skin. This is not to imply that once you add a workout class to your schedule crepey skin will magically disappear overnight. (That’s not how skin health works.) However, moving your body regularly can have significant downstream effects, including the appearance of your skin. Glycolic acid, a popular AHA, is one of King’s top choices for this purpose. “Studies have shown, for example, that six months of topical glycolic acid stimulated a 27% increase in epidermal thickness2,” she notes. If chemical exfoliating isn’t your thing, using a dry brush or a body scrub are both great options for physically exfoliating the arms and legs. What’s more, retinol improves the appearance of sun damage and increases cell turnover—so why not use it on your body, too? You’ll want to use a pre-formulated retinol cream, as mixing a retinol serum into your body lotion may destabilize the formula and make it ineffective.
