There’s no escaping one’s age, researchers say. With advanced age come wrinkles. But it turns out that how wrinkled a person’s face is might be linked with something other than sun exposure, genetics, and sleep. Believe it or not, your skin’s microbiome might also have an impact on the skin’s aging process. A new study has made an unexpected discovery…
Wrinkles and Their Many Causes
So far, scientists have proven that age isn’t the only thing responsible for our wrinkles. Excessive exposure to sunlight, among other factors, can speed up the aging process of your skin. However, a new and unexpected factor has recently been discovered. It shows a link between skin aging and its microbiome. It turns out that the viruses, bacteria, and fungi living on your skin might be responsible for aging.
Researchers swabbed the cheeks of 51 women, all of whom were white Parisians. Roughly half of all women were aged 20-26, while the other half were 54-60. Experts used metagenomics to define what kind of skin microorganisms were present on each woman’s face.
The results were rather interesting… There were significant differences between microbiome structures in older and younger women. The study argues that this was due to the variation of biophysical parameters, with collagen being the most important.
Skin Aging Study Limitations
While it was evident that women of different age groups don’t share the same microbiome, it’s still too early to jump to conclusions that the bacteria on your skin are responsible for wrinkles. As researchers put it, the decrease in collagen production in later years might be caused by changes in the skin’s microbiome. Or, it could be the cause of the disappearance of some bacteria and the development of others.
Also, experts found that women in later years had more antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It’s still to be determined whether that can affect a person’s wrinkles. Researchers believe this might be because many people are exposed to antibiotics. So, over the years, the microbes living on our skin can acquire antibiotic resistance.