Skinspan

Skin­span is a rela­tively new term from aes­the­tic der­ma­to­lo­gy describ­ing the peri­od during which the skin remains healt­hy, resi­li­ent and func­tion­al­ly int­act. It is model­led on the term health­span and appli­es it to the skin. It is a con­cept rather than a medi­cal term with a fixed definition.

Appli­ca­ti­on

It covers qua­li­ties such as a sta­ble skin bar­ri­er, suf­fi­ci­ent col­la­gen and ela­s­ti­ci­ty, even pig­men­ta­ti­on and good wound heal­ing. The skin­span idea puts pre­ven­ti­on first: avo­i­ding UV dama­ge, smo­king and chro­nic irri­ta­ti­on slows the decli­ne of the­se functions.

Good to know

The­re is no reco­g­nis­ed method for mea­su­ring skin­span. Skin ana­ly­ses can record indi­vi­du­al fea­tures such as pig­men­ta­ti­on, wrink­les or hydra­ti­on, but they do not pro­vi­de an over­all ver­dict on skin health. The term is also used in mar­ke­ting, so claims made in its name deser­ve a cri­ti­cal look.

Matching tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Skin lon­ge­vi­ty (pre­ven­ti­on)