What is premature aging?Updated a year ago
Premature aging is the term used to refer to signs of aging that show up earlier than they should.
When talking about the skin, it’s a casual term for extrinsic aging - the idea that exposure to various external forces causes our skin to age faster, and show certain signs of aging that wouldn’t necessarily occur as a result of genetics.
The concept of extrinsic aging is usually used in contrast to intrinsic aging or chronological aging, which is the inevitable skin degradation that occurs as we age. Chronological aging is largely informed by individual genetics.
Premature aging is fairly simple (though not necessarily easy) to prevent, while intrinsic aging is much tougher.
That said, you might be shocked to realize just how major the difference is between premature and chronological aging. A famous 2009 twin study compared the skin of twins with different levels of skin aging - the twins who smoked or didn’t practice good sun protection habits experienced a higher level of premature aging, which correlated with significantly more and deeper wrinkles, increased skin laxity, and hyperpigmentation. The best way to understand the difference is to look at comparison photos.