What Causes Crepey Skin and How Can You Treat It?

Aging, loss of elasticity, and dehydration cause thin, crepey skin, and treatments include NassifMD® Skincare products to address collagen production, hydration, and overall skin health. 

Because crepey skin is closely tied to collagen loss and skin barrier decline, treatment works best when hydration, exfoliation, and repair are addressed together.

Crepey skin can be one of the most frustrating signs of aging, but rest assured, there are several things you can do to prevent and reverse it. Understanding the causes helps inform how to get rid of crepey skin. 

In this article, we’ll explore: 

• What is crepey skin?

• What causes crepey skin? 

• Crepey skin on the legs, arms, and neck

• How to fix crepey skin

• Skincare ingredients to look for in a crepey skin remedy

• The best neck firming cream and other treatments for crepey skin

• A preventative daily routine 

• Crepey skin FAQs

What is Crepey Skin, and How Does it Develop?

Crepey skin appears thin, wrinkled, and textured, resembling crepe paper. It develops when collagen, elastin, and skin hydration levels decline, most often as part of the aging process. 

Crepey skin occurs when critical proteins, namely collagen and elastin, are depleted, leaving skin with less structural support, and affecting barrier function and skin hydration. Skin can become thinner, more lax, and less firm. Crepey skin is often associated with dehydration and impaired barrier function. 

Collagen and elastin loss occur with age and may accelerate with the estrogen decline in menopause. Other contributors to crepey skin include sun damage, dehydration, tobacco use, toxin exposure, and stress. 

What Causes Crepey Skin on the Neck, Arms, and Legs?

Crepey skin on the neck, arms, and legs has the same contributing factors as other body areas, primarily the loss of collagen and hydration, but effects may be more visible in these areas due to sun damage. 

The neck, arms, and legs may be more prone to sun damage. Even if you use SPF protection on your face, you may not always protect your neck, chest, arms, and legs, which may receive the bulk of sun exposure, especially in warmer months. Sun damage can accelerate skin aging and the development of crepey skin. 

How to Get Rid of Crepey Skin: Clinically Proven Treatment Options

Crepey skin treatment options include topical skincare products with targeted active ingredients to repair the skin barrier, stimulate collagen production, hydrate, support the skin barrier and protect the skin from future damage. 

In the next section, we’ll discuss specific active ingredients to look for in crepey skin cream and other products. We want to extend treatment to the whole body by including beneficial lifestyle habits. 

Additional strategies for addressing crepey skin include:

• Protecting your skin from sun damage by limiting exposure, wearing protective clothing, and a and daily broad-spectrum SPF protection, such as NassifMD® Simply Hydration SPF 40

• Staying hydrated by drinking enough water, including electrolytes, and limiting alcohol

• Eat a nutritious diet with plenty of plant foods because of their antioxidant content

• Quit smoking and using tobacco products

The Best Ingredients and Creams for Crepey Skin Repair

Hyaluronic acid, retinol, alpha-hydroxy acids, skincare peptides, and glycoin are among the best ingredients offering synergistic benefits for crepey skin repair. 

Let’s look at these powerful ingredients and why they are indicated for crepey skin healing: 

• Hyaluronic acid – One of the most skin-hydrating molecules. It helps the skin retain water and supports skin rejuvenation. The effect is plumper, smoother skin. 

• Retinol – A form of active vitamin A that helps support collagen production and skin renewal, improving firmness and elasticity.

• Alpha and beta hydroxy acids (AHAs and BHAs) – Support exfoliation and skin turnover for smoother texture and a more refined appearance, including improved elasticity and a younger-looking appearance.

• Skincare peptides – Signal molecules that stimulate collagen production and prevent collagen breakdown in the skin. 

• Glycoin - An advanced skincare ingredient that helps support skin vitality, hydration, and elasticity that is extracted from blue-green algae.

You can find these active ingredients throughout NassifMD® facial plastic surgeon skincare, including these products formulated to address crepey skin: 

• NassifMD® Crepe Inhibitor Triple Action Body Butter – A targeted body treatment for crepey-looking skin. The best lotion for crepey skin with shea butter, glycoin, and targeted skincare peptides. 

• NassifMD® Detox Facial Pads – Designed for daily balanced exfoliation without over-stripping the skin, formulated with glycolic acid (AHA), lactic acid (AHA), salicylic acid (BHA), bakuchiol, vitamin C, ectoin, and hydrators.

• NassifMD® Hydro-Screen Serum –Formulated with hyaluronic acid filling spheres, ceramides, and a retinol molecular film fluid – deeply hydrating, restorative, and nourishing to the skin barrier.

How to Tighten Crepey Skin on the Neck and Improve Firmness

NassifMD® Deco-Lift Neck & Décolleté Firming & Lifting Complex is the premier neck-firming cream designed to tighten and nourish crepey neck skin. 

Crepey skin on the neck and chest is often one of the most unwanted signs of aging. The skin in these areas is thinner and has fewer oil glands than the skin on the face. It may also be overlooked in a typical skincare routine. 

If you’re wondering how to tighten crepey skin on the neck, there are two strategies. First, extend your entire facial skincare routine downward to the neck and décolleté. This skin benefits from exfoliation, serums, and moisturizers just like your face. 

Second, apply a firming neck cream as a targeted treatment to the area. NassifMD® Deco-Lift Neck & Décolleté Firming & Lifting Complex is a fast-absorbing lightweight cream with Renovage peptides, vitamin C, glycolic acid, and DMAE from choline designed to visibly firm, smooth, and hydrate the appearance of the neck and décolleté.

Daily Skincare Routine to Prevent and Improve Crepey Skin

A simple and consistent daily skincare routine to prevent and improve crepey skin should focus on hydration, repair, and collagen support. 

This table summarizes a suggested morning and evening routine to improve firmness and elasticity. 

Addressing thin and lax skin is more than just finding the best cream for crepey skin, it’s about a layered approach and a synergy of active ingredients and lifestyle support to address the root causes and prevent future damage. 

Crepey Skin FAQs

As a facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Nassif believes skincare works best when skin hydration, barrier support, and collagen-focused ingredients work together as part of a consistent long-term routine.

What causes crepey skin to develop?

Crepey skin develops as collagen and elastin proteins decline with age or damage. 

At what age does crepey skin usually start to appear?

Crepey skin can begin to appear in your 30s but is often more noticeable beginning in your 40s and 50s as estrogen declines in midlife. 

Can crepey skin be reversed, or only improved?

The skin’s appearance and crepiness can be improved or reversed depending on how advanced the loss of structure becomes. Focusing on collagen support, skin barrier health, and protection against future damage is key. 

Which ingredients work best to treat crepey skin?

Treat crepey skin with a synergy of active ingredients, including hyaluronic acid, retinol, peptides, and hydroxy acids. 

How long does it take to see results from a crepey skin treatment?

You may notice improvements in as little as 2 to 4 weeks of a consistent collagen-supportive and hydrating skincare routine. 

References

1. Baumann, L., Bernstein, E. F., Weiss, A. S., Bates, D., Humphrey, S., Silberberg, M., & Daniels, R. (2021). Clinical Relevance of Elastin in the Structure and Function of Skin. Aesthetic surgery journal. Open forum, 3(3), ojab019. 

2. Mayrovitz, H. N., Wong, J., & Fasen, M. (2018). Age and Hydration dependence of jowl and forearm skin firmness in young and mature women. Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 17(6), 1262–1270. 

3. Bukhari, S. N. A., Roswandi, N. L., Waqas, M., Habib, H., Hussain, F., Khan, S., Sohail, M., Ramli, N. A., Thu, H. E., & Hussain, Z. (2018). Hyaluronic acid, a promising skin rejuvenating biomedicine: A review of recent updates and pre-clinical and clinical investigations on cosmetic and nutricosmetic effects. International journal of biological macromolecules, 120(Pt B), 1682–1695. 

4. Tran, D., Townley, J. P., Barnes, T. M., & Greive, K. A. (2014). An antiaging skin care system containing alpha hydroxy acids and vitamins improves the biomechanical parameters of facial skin. Clinical, cosmetic, and investigational dermatology, 8, 9–17.