The difference between men and women’s skin and how aging affects men and women’s skin is a response to a client of mine who had asked if there really was that big of a difference. She had wondered since both she had her son had come in for facials. She wanted to know if there was a difference between skin care products for men and the products that she was using.
I can tell you in my own experience working with many different skin types, both male and female, that for the most part, most of my severe acne clients have been male between the ages of 14-25.
Men’s skin that I have worked on tended to have:
-More oily skin
-Larger pores
-thicker skin
If they had any pigmentation, they were usually age spots or patches of pigmentation on the left side of their face (more likely due to years of sun exposure from driving.
If they had pigmentation patches, they usually were located on the neck where they shaved or on the back of the neck.
Very rarely did I have someone come in to be treated for large patches of pigmentation on their face.
The Differences between men and women in aging of the skin:
Since more men have thicker skin, larger pores, and oily skin, their skin also tended to age slightly different . The wrinkles they do seem to have are deeper. I don’t know if it’s because most of them do not wear sunscreen on a daily basis or because they shave daily, which is a form of exfoliation, and without the sun protection, they are more prone to sun damage.
These are based on my personal professional experience. Now, we are going to go over what clinical studies have shown and how it affects the skin as the skin ages.
The links to the sources will be located at the bottom of this page.
***Please note that some of the results of these studies conflicted. Please remember that due to measurement devices, sample sizes, environmental factors and genetic backgrounds of the subjects all varied so the results will also vary.
For the most part, both male an female skin are pretty similar until puberty kicks in and the hormones start to take affect.
Hormones will affect:
-oil production
-hair growth
-pore size
Then again, for women during peri-menopause, during and after menopause which can affect some women with :
-drier skin
-hair growth
-acne
When it comes to skin disorders, infectious diseases are more present in men.
Women tend to experience:
-pigment related disorders-The 3 truths of Melasma, Hyperpigmentation and your Skin Type
-certain hair diseases
-auto immune/allergic diseases
The difference between Men vs Women in Skin Thickness
According to one study, the skin thickness for both men and women ,starts to decrease about 45 years.
Now where they differ is that men skin thickness decreased linearly beginning at age 20.
Women– however, for women, although collagen decreased with age , the skins thickness remained constant until approximately 50, at which time, the skins starts to lose volume and the skin starts to thin.
Anti Aging Tips for 40s and 50s
In biopsies, from women who were treated 2-10 years with estradiol and testosterone, they hydroxyproline level was almost 50% higher than with untreated post menopausal women. Hydroxy proline is a major ingredient of protein collagen.
According to another study, the forehead was shown to have the most difference in epidermal thickness between men and women’s skin. Older women had thinner skin than men.
The difference between Men and Women’s skin with Elasticity:
One study showed females had higher elasticity than men but it wasn’t significant. When measured, the men had .27 and women had .273. The one area of the body that showed a significant difference was the abdomen.
Overall, according to another test done on 300 healthy male and female subject ranging from 20-73 years old, showed female skin is less “elastic” BUT had a higher ability to “bounce back” after stretching than with male skin.
The difference between Men and Women Skin with Wrinkles and Sagginess:
In a study that was done on ALL age groups of 173 Japanese men and women, men showed more wrinkles on the forehead compared to women.
There were NO differences found in upper eyelid wrinkles EXCEPT for the 65-75 year age group, where women had equal to or more wrinkles than men.
How to Treat: Under eye bags, puffiness and dark circles
All other facial wrinkles were greater in men in ALL groups.
In the age group (more than 60 years old), the study suggested that women may have few wrinkles due to less sun exposure. Facial sagging is more obvious in the lower eyelids of men.
The Difference between Men and Women-Hydration and TEWL of the Skin
So, who do you think struggle more with hydration and TEWL (Trans Epidermal Water Loss) of the skin?
How to Treat Dry vs Dehydrated Skin
Men have been reported to have more sebum production and larger pore size.
A study showed that male skin had 2 specific characteristics because of the excess amount of sebum:
1) Impaired barrier function
2) Lack of appropriate skin care due to feelings to tackiness
Overall, female skin tends to be less oily on the face and neckline.
The hydration in the Stratum Corneum after sun exposure was not significant in young men and women BUT significant in older women especially in the forehead and the dorsal part of the hand.
This experiment was done on Chinese men and women.
A German study showed that younger men had higher levels of hydration in their skin than women.
The Stratum Corneum hydration was stable and even increase in women during their lifetime.
Men-The Stratum Corneum hydration decreased over time starting at 40 years of age.
Men and Women (over the age of 70) had lower rates of hydration in the skin than the younger age groups.
Overall, studies done in which :
-TEWL
-Skin hydration
-Sebum Secretion
-Fine lines and roughness
-Melanin/Erythema
Temperature (women tend to be cooler)
-color
after all the areas were graded, the female subjects were found to have more hydrated skin than their male counter parts, significantly.
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