🖌Melissa Hoegnbom, senior health journalist

Skin is the largest organ of the body and should stay with us until the end of our lives. Proper skin care, in addition to preserving a youthful appearance, also helps support the body’s overall health.

But as a barrier between the body and the outside environment, skin is always exposed to damage. According to Jean Krottmann, a dermatology professor at the Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medicine, various environmental factors—including air pollution, ozone, and climate change—play a role in skin aging.

Krottmann says: “For decades, we thought that ultraviolet radiation from the sun was the main cause of skin aging due to environmental factors, but now we know that this assumption is not correct.” Ultraviolet radiation is a type of energy emitted by the sun.

He says that other wavelengths of natural sunlight, including visible light and infrared radiation, can also play a role in skin aging. Even rising temperatures can contribute to this process. Age itself is another factor.

As people get older, the body gradually produces less collagen; a protein that gives skin structure and helps maintain its firmness.

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