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Abstract
In the last few decades, there has been a substantial increase in the expected age of people over 60 years of age. Most of them maintain a good general health and physical activity and fitness. For these individuals there is a good number of dermatologic procedures, medications, and cosmetics that can be prescribed to improve the aspect of skin aging, providing an improvement in their self-esteem and quality of life as a result of their better look.
Human skin, like all other organs, undergoes aging. There are two main processes of skin aging: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic aging (chronological aging) refers to those processes that result purely from the passage of time. It reflects the genetic background of an individual. It is inevitable; thus, it is beyond voluntary control. These effects start to become visible around age of 30 to 35 years. While Extrinsic aging (photoaging) is primarily due to the effects of environmental ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and other external factors such as smoking, exces¬sive use of alcohol, poor nutrition.
Sun exposure is the most important factor causing extrinsic aging of the skin, hence the name photoaging. This process is not inevitable and refers to premature skin aging. It has been said that 80 % of facial aging is attributa¬ble to sun exposure.
Although primarily photoaging is an aesthetic problem with significant psychological effects, it constitutes the background for the development of precancerous and cancerous skin lesions.
Solar damage of the skin leads to epidermal abnormalities, such as lentigenes, actinic keratoses, and the degeneration of collagen, which results in the formation of rhytids and telangiectasias.
Although there are many treatments available for aged skin, prevention is still paramount and should be emphasized to all patients.