Put one male and one female together, both aged 40 years, and what do you get? You will probably find that the majority of men will look much younger than the women.

This is because men secrete slightly more sebum (oil) on the skin than women, making them sweat more, and allowing them to produce more hair growth (hence why they are also so sexily hairy in many areas). Therefore, the majority of men are oily skin types, and this is another reason why men have more acne problems than women do; excessive sebum is produced on the skin due to the influence of the hormones. The pores of the skin will become blocked with sebum and combined with sweat and bacteria. It is the perfect condition for the growth of acne.  

It looks like people with oily skin are the worst case scenario for women. But you are wrong.

In fact, people with oily skin have by far a better future than any of us because they have the ultimate benefit; they do not age quickly! So for women who are very age conscious and have nightmares of premature aging, oily skin is what you need!

They may have acne problems and their face is constantly shiny, but at the same time, their skin is actually constantly nourished with the skin’s self-produced natural oil ‘sebum.’ Along with moisture balance, it will never become dehydrated or dry, and you do not want to go there. I shall explain why:

  • People with oily skin generally have thicker skin layers, allowing them to store much more fat, nutrients in the subcutaneous layer of our skin, and adequate water in our Papillary Layer (also known as the ‘Water Tank’ Layer). In comparison, a person with dry or dehydrated skin will have thinner skin layers and is therefore unable to store such mass deposits. Think of it this way; our skin has several layers. We all have the same amount of layers, but the difference is that the size of these layers vary for different people with different skin types.
  • Our skin is very clever. It will help us to store food and water. “Nutrients” in our skin to help us for the future or for climate change. It is similar to how animals store food to prepare for the winter. They were never taught this because it is their nature from birth. In the same way, this is what our skin does for us every day because our skin need these nutrients to live in order to protect us.
  • The Fibroblast cells in our skin help to make proteins such as Collagen (for strength), and Elastin (for the elasticity of our skin). It is also these cells which play a critical role in wound healing. As we grow older and our skin ages with us it will become dry because our sweat glands become less active. The reason for skin becoming visibly aging with wrinkles is because of the fall of Elastin fibres. Our skin will become thinner, easily damaged, and the skin’s ability to heal itself will decrease. Therefore, those who have dry skin will age more quickly as their skin is already thin, dry, and/or dehydrated. As a result, their skin appears with more wrinkles and fine lines earlier than expected. 

This is why one of the main advices from traditional parents is to find a man at least ten years older than you. Why? Because when you hit forty, you won’t be crying when people ask you “So who’s this man you have not yet introduced us to? Your little brother?”

Please don’t worry. There are many ways to help promote a better skin condition and to fight premature aging. As always, and I stress this all the time: take good care of your skin.

Even if you have normal, or “perfect” skin, and feel that you need not do anything to it, abandoning your skin can cause your skin to change and to lack in moisture, resulting in dry or dehydrated skin.

Skin CAN change.    

Does it bother you that women age more quickly than men? Do you think you’ll take this into account when picking a significant other? How do you prevent aging quickly?