Skin is your body’s outer shield, protecting it from the elements, fending off the sun’s damaging rays and putting up with a number of other environmental irritants. As you age, your skin is affected by the daily wear and tear of life — so it’s no wonder that your skin eventually loses some of its elasticity.
Skin elasticity is the skin’s ability to stretch and then go back to normal once the need to stretch is gone [source: Columbia University]. Along with wrinkles and gray hair, reduced skin elasticity is a fact of aging for most people. The condition is known as elastosis and can be especially easy to see in parts of the body that have been most exposed to the sun. In fact, elastosis is seen most noticeably in people who spend most of their time outdoors; it can cause a leathery, weather-beaten appearance [source: Dugdale].
Problems with skin elasticity can also arise after a person loses a large amount of weight in a short period of time. Skin often cannot keep up with the sudden changes the body has been through, and it may not shrink back to the same size as the body, leaving unsightly excess skin behind.
Supplements and creams are available for those looking to improve their skin elasticity in small ways, but for more severe cases — such as major weight loss — surgery is the only option to actually rid the body of excess skin. This option is often invasive and costly, however.
One of the least invasive ways to attempt to combat skin elasticity problems could be by taking supplements. Read the next page to learn about a few of the most popular kinds of supplements that might prove beneficial to those with decreased elasticity in their skin.