Crepey Skin

Crepey skin is a texture, not a wrinkle. It shows as many fine parallel lines over a loose surface, most visibly on the under-eyes, neck, décolletage, inner arms and knees. Pinch it and it lacks the immediate snap-back of firmer skin.

Two things produce it. The first is chronic ultraviolet exposure, which degrades collagen and elastin faster than they are replaced — the areas that show it first are the ones that get incidental daily sun and rarely get sunscreen. The second is age-related thinning of the dermis and loss of the fat and hyaluronic acid that hold the surface taut from below. Dryness makes it look worse temporarily, which is why a good moisturiser produces an immediate improvement that then plateaus.

What genuinely changes it works slowly and from below. Retinoids have the strongest evidence for increasing dermal collagen over months; vitamin C supports synthesis; peptides and growth-factor products have weaker but real support. Daily sunscreen is the only intervention that stops the cause rather than treating the result.

Set expectations honestly: topicals soften crepiness, they do not reverse structural laxity. Energy-based devices and injectables are the tier that addresses the dermis directly, and no cream competes with them on that ground.