Crepey Skin: Causes, Prevention, and Management Strategies

By the time we reach old age, we’ve accumulated a lifetime’s worth of stories on our skin. Smile lines, laugh lines (the signs of a life well-lived), are an intrinsic part of ageing. Other textural changes – like crepey skin – stem from a lack of knowledge around protective care.

Characterised by thin, fragile, finely wrinkled texture, crepey skin is a highly common concern in mature skin. However, with the right anti-ageing skincare ingredients, you can support smoother, tighter, more supple skin.

In the below guide, we’re unpacking what causes crepey skin on the face and body along with prevention and management strategies to improve skin texture.

What is crepey skin?

Crepey skin is the term given to ageing or mature skin that resembles crepe or tissue paper. Crepey skin usually appears on the neck, decolletage, inner arms, hands, knees, and face – especially the eye contour where skin is already naturally thin. The first sign of crepey skin tends to appear in your forties, but lifestyle factors that deteriorate collagen and elastin can trigger textural changes in your thirties or even twenties. 

What causes crepey skin?

Crepey skin is caused by a combination of intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) factors.

Intrinsic factors include:

• Natural ageing – collagen and elastin production slows, which causes skin to lose its firmness and elasticity.
• Genetics – inherited traits can predispose you to crepey skin.
• Menopause and hormonal changes – when oestrogen levels drop, the body’s fibroblast signalling deteriorates, which means there is a notable decline in collagen and elastin production¹.

Extrinsic factors include:

• UV radiation – cumulative UV damage causes oxidative stress in skin, which breaks down collagen and elastin.
• Pollution – this also causes oxidative stress in the skin, leading to visible premature ageing concerns.
• Dehydration – this affects your skin’s volume and elasticity, accentuating textural concerns like crepey skin.
• Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption – not only does this dehydrate skin, but it also breaks down collagen and elastin, which affects the density of the dermis.
• Poor diet – highly refined sugar and heavily processed foods can also accelerate the breakdown of structural proteins.
• Significant or rapid weight loss – this causes skin to stretch and lose its ability to snap back.

¹https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12374573/

How to prevent and care for crepey skin: 6 management tips

There is no single method for how to get rid of crepey skin; instead, you can focus on building preventative and nourishing skincare habits that care for your skin long term.

From boosting collagen production at the source to daily SPF application, read on for six skincare tips to support crepey skin.

1. Apply collagen-boosting skincare

Since the gradual decline of collagen and elastin production is the primary cause of crepey skin, ingredients that supplement this loss can help improve skin firmness and elasticity. Peptides and retinol are both star ingredients in this area since they both stimulate collagen synthesis in the dermis – your skin’s middle layer that’s responsible for its structural integrity.

To make peptides a part of your skincare ritual, we recommend the 1cc* CollaShot Plumping Serum, a powerful anti-ageing serum infused with collagen peptides to promote firmer, tighter skin.

If you’re turning to retinol for your collagen-boosting care, our Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum is formulated to deliver a daily-strength dose of retinol to skin, while being gentle enough for sensitive skin or retinol beginners.

2. Use antioxidants to protect skin from photoaging

Antioxidants are your skin’s best defence against oxidative stress, since they neutralise skin-damaging free radicals that contribute to photoaging (premature ageing caused by long-term UV damage) concerns like crepey skin. Some famous antioxidants you might already be familiar with are vitamin C, vitamin E, niacinamide, and ferulic acid.  

While all ingredients are highly beneficial, vitamin C has the added bonus of also stimulating collagen synthesis – which is why it’s something of a must-have ingredient for managing crepey skin.

For all your vitamin C needs, we suggest the Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate, which is enriched with 12.5% vitamin C and hyaluronic acid to visibly diminish fine lines and wrinkles while helping firm skin over time.

3. Hydrate skin well

Although skincare ingredients that interact with your skin on a cellular level are going to be most effective in preventing and managing crepey skin, baseline care is still important – especially from a hydration standpoint. We recommend a dual-hydrating force: a plumping serum and a moisture-locking face cream.

The Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate is formulated with epidermal hydration filler and 15% glycerin to penetrate skin up to 10 surface layers deep* to visibly smooth fine lines and support uneven skin texture.

Lock in hydration with our beloved Ultra Facial Cream, which imparts a nourishing blend of glacial glycoprotein and squalane to skin. Ensure that you disperse your products all the way down to the décolletage to hydrate crepey skin on your neck.

*Study based on instrumental test within surface layers.

4. Nourish the under-eye area

Crepey skin under the eyes – along with crow's feet and other fine lines – is a common in mature skin. The skin around the eyes is especially thin and delicate and sees more sun than other parts of the body, making it particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors. As such, it’s important to care for it properly with eye-specific treatments like eye creams and serums.

You can address crepey skin under eyes with the Super Multi-Corrective Eye Zone Treatment, a lightweight eye cream infused with collagen peptide and bilberry seed extract to visibly lift and smooth crepey texture.

5. Don't neglect body care

Your face bears the brunt of cumulative UV exposure that causes crepey skin, but the skin of your body is also susceptible to damage. To help prevent crepey skin on arms, chest, legs, and hands, it’s important to nourish the skin on your body with the same level of care you would dedicate to your face.

We recommend making body care part of your skincare habits, and you can start with the essentials: Ultra Body Mega Moisture Squalane Cream. The body lotion counterpart to the iconic Ultra Facial Cream, this body moisturiser is formulated with squalane and pro-ceramides for deep yet lightweight hydration all over.

6. Wear SPF daily

While not a crepey skin treatment per se, sunscreen is essential for protecting your skin from visible premature ageing. Look for a high SPF broad-spectrum sunscreen, which will protect your skin from UVB and UVA rays (those responsible for accelerated ageing).

Make sure that sunscreen is the last skincare step in your routine and be sure to apply at least 20 minutes before sun exposure whenever the UV index exceeds two.

When using multiple serums to manage crepey skin, it’s important to layer them correctly to maximise their efficacy and reduce possible skin discomfort. You’ll find all the expert application advice you need in our guide on how to layer serums.