True or False: Genes Matter More than Your Skincare Routine

I found this fantastic article in Elle BY NICOLE CATANESE. 

The good news is that even if you have either one of the two kinds of genetic variations that make you more likely to have younger-looking skin, the effect that they have on how your skin ages is actually pretty small compared to your lifestyle choices! Please read below for more!

We all know the inevitable: Our skin will age. One day, it won’t be as smooth, plump, and dewy. The good news: Research shows that when it comes to what you’ll see in the mirror five, ten, twenty (eek!) years from now, genetics may not play as big of a role as once thought. That means it’s possible to take control of how your skin ages. Here’s how.

The Good Genes Factor

A study by Olay and Harvard Medical School found that out of hundreds of women studied, those who looked around 10 years younger possessed a specific gene expression fingerprint in their skin cells.

As a result, Olay teamed up with the personal genetics company 23andMe to analyze even more women (155k of them actually) who also looked at least 10 years younger. From the original clinical study, it was clear that each “exceptional ager” had a unique biological fingerprint in their skin cells. What wasn’t clear? Why.

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAD AMAZING SKIN ALSO HAD HEALTHY HABITS.

“We wanted to know if it was because they were born with genetic profiles that meant no matter what they did they would look great, or was it their lifestyle choices?” explains Olay Principal Scientist Dr. Frauke Neuser. They discovered that these women had two specific genetic markers in common; however, not everyone possessing these “forever-young” markers had amazing skin. To find the connection, each woman answered a detailed questionnaire to determine possible links between skin that looks significantly younger and lifestyle and environmental factors.

The results were not completely surprising, says Dr. Neuser. Participants who had more youthful-looking skin also had similar healthy habits when it came to skincare, attitude, and their approach to wellness. 

NYRA LANG

How To Control Your Skin Destiny

“The outcome of the study showed that even if you have either one of the two kinds of genetic variations that make you more likely to have younger-looking skin, the effect that they have on how your skin ages is actually pretty small compared to your lifestyle choices,” says Dr. Neuser. “What you put on your skin does make a difference, and that was really exciting.” (Beauty and product lovers rejoice: You have science on your side!) “Genes can only take you so far,” agrees Sejal Shah, a New York City-based dermatologist. “At some point, lifestyle can overtake what your genes are capable of.” 

GENES CAN ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR.

The bottom line: A gorgeous complexion is as much nurture as it is nature. “We cannot change our parents, but we can adjust our skincare routine,” says New York City dermatologist Joshua Zeichner. “The way we treat our skin has as much of an impact on the way the skin ages as our genetics does.”

Case in point: The women from the study that said they used sunscreen 90 percent of the time had a 78 percent higher likelihood of having skin that looked younger than those who didn’t use sunscreen as frequently.

Zeichner agrees that the number-one golden rule to have amazing skin—now and forever—is to use sunscreen every day. (We repeat—every day, rain or shine, office or beach, you get the gist.) “The single biggest factor causing skin aging is ultraviolet light exposure because it causes free radical damage, which harms collagen and leads to hyperpigmentation,” he says.

NYRA LANG

Zeichner suggests using a face cream with sunscreen daily like Olay Total Effects Whip Fragrance-Free SPF25. “Even low levels of UV light from incidental exposure during the day add up over a lifetime,” he explains. 

Dr. Neuser confirms that’s exactly what the study revealed, too. Most of the women that said they used SPF every day—or nearly every day—and didn’t frequently sunbathe had noticeably younger-looking skin than those that had the same genetic markers but didn’t use sunscreen and regularly sunbathed.