Maintaining Your Skin's Elasticity: A Holistic Approach

At Hark & Zander, we tend to think ‘wholistically’. Perhaps that’s the nurse in me, as this was one of our favourite words when talking about caring for our patients. And just like them, our skin doesn’t exist in isolation. Sleep, nutrition, stress, sun exposure and the way we care for ourselves all play a part.

Our skin is a remarkable organ, serving as the first line of defence against the outside world while also reflecting aspects of our overall health. As we age, maintaining skin elasticity becomes increasingly important for keeping skin looking healthy, firm and resilient.

Elasticity is the skin's ability to stretch and return towards its original shape, and it naturally changes with age as levels and organisation of collagen and elastin change. Sun exposure, smoking and other environmental and lifestyle factors can also contribute.

So what can we actually do about it?

Here's how to support healthy, resilient skin with a combination of lifestyle choices, sun protection and well-formulated skincare.

Holistic Approaches to Maintain Skin Elasticity

1. Healthy Diet

   • Antioxidant-Rich Foods: Incorporate plenty of colourful fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds. These provide antioxidants and other nutrients that help protect cells from oxidative stress.

   • Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Found in foods including oily fish, flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts, omega-3 fatty acids are an important part of a balanced diet and play a role in normal skin function.

   • Hydration: Drinking enough fluid is important for your overall health and normal body function. It won't magically erase wrinkles or “plump” your skin from within, but staying adequately hydrated is still one of those simple things worth doing.

2. Regular Exercise

   • Regular movement supports cardiovascular health, circulation and overall wellbeing. While exercise isn't a direct treatment for loss of skin elasticity, looking after the rest of your body is part of looking after your skin too.

3. Adequate Sleep

   • Sleep is important for normal repair, immune function and overall health. Aim for regular, sufficient sleep where you can. Your skin isn't going to fall apart after one late night, but there are plenty of reasons to make good sleep a priority.

4. Stress Management

   • Ongoing psychological stress can affect skin function and exacerbate some skin conditions. Finding ways to manage stress might include prayer, quiet reflection, slow breathing, walking, spending time outside, reading or simply stepping away from your phone for a while.

   • There is no perfect formula. Find what genuinely helps you slow down.

5. Sun Protection

   • This is a big one. UV radiation contributes to photoageing by damaging collagen and elastin within the skin.

   • In New Zealand especially, sun protection deserves to be part of your everyday skin strategy. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 30, seek shade when appropriate and use protective clothing, hats and sunglasses.

Hands-On Self Care

Gentle facial massage, whether with your hands or a gua sha tool, can be a lovely part of your skincare ritual.

What we wouldn't promise is that facial massage will rebuild collagen, permanently lift your face or restore lost elasticity. Those claims get thrown around rather freely online.

What it can do is give you a few quiet minutes to slow down while applying your skincare.

And we're rather fond of anything that makes us slow down for a minute.

Natural Ingredients to Support Healthy-Looking Skin

When it comes to skincare, “natural” doesn't automatically mean more effective, just as synthetic doesn't automatically mean harsh.

What matters is choosing well-formulated products containing ingredients suited to your skin and what you're trying to achieve.

Here are some ingredients commonly used to support hydration, nourishment and healthy-looking skin:

1. Aloe Vera

   • Aloe vera is valued in skincare for its soothing and hydrating properties, making it particularly lovely in formulations designed for dry or sensitive skin.

2. Rosehip Oil

   • Rosehip oil contains essential fatty acids and naturally occurring antioxidants. Used topically, plant oils can help nourish the skin and support its barrier.

3. Hyaluronic Acid

   • Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally within the skin and is an excellent humectant, meaning it attracts and holds water. In skincare formulations, it can help increase hydration and give skin a smoother, plumper appearance.

4. Vitamin C

   • Vitamin C plays an important biological role in normal collagen synthesis and is also an antioxidant. In skincare, different forms of vitamin C are used depending on the formulation, so don't assume every product needs to contain pure L-ascorbic acid to be worthwhile.

5. Green Tea Extract

   • Green tea contains polyphenols with antioxidant properties and is used in skincare formulations to help protect and soothe the skin.

   • PSA: Drinking green tea is also a perfectly lovely thing to do, but your cup of tea doesn't need to double as a skincare treatment!

6. Shea Butter

   • Shea butter is rich in fatty acids and is particularly useful as an emollient, helping soften the skin and support moisture retention.

7. Jojoba Oil

   • Jojoba is technically a liquid wax rather than an oil and has an interesting composition that makes it particularly useful in skincare. It works as an emollient, helping soften and condition the skin and support the skin barrier.

How Can H&Z Help You on Your Skincare Journey?

Here at Hark & Zander, we know that many of us would quite like our skin to stay firm, smooth and bouncy for as long as possible.

We also know there is no single miracle ingredient that can stop skin ageing.

Our approach is to support the things healthy-looking skin needs: hydration, a strong skin barrier, nourishment and carefully selected botanical and active ingredients, all in formulations designed with sensitive and reactive skin in mind.

Our Hydrating Gel Toner combines ingredients including Aloe Vera, Hyaluronic Acid and Green Tea Extract in a silky gel texture that sits somewhere between a toner and a lightweight serum.

Our SkinTonic Face Oil contains Jojoba Oil alongside our Kōakaheart™ oil, helping nourish and support the skin barrier.

And our Brightening Face the Day Crème combines hydration and nourishment with a stable form of vitamin C to help support brighter, healthy-looking skin.

Because maintaining skin elasticity isn't about fighting your age.

It's about looking after the skin you're in, protecting it from the things we know cause damage and giving it the support it needs as it changes.

We don't need perfect skin. Healthy, comfortable and confident sounds pretty good to us.