Our Highly Requested Deep Dive Into Inflammaging

Inflammation? Unfortunately, I know it well. I feel it in my fingers after a particularly fun (read: party girl) weekend, and see it in my face whenever life gets super stressful. We're not friends, but there is one good thing about being inflamed: It reminds me I exist in a human body, and that body is always reacting to the situations I put it in.

That body is also aging—getting a little older each and every day! But maybe, with all of this inflammation going on, it's happening a little faster than it should?

"Inflammaging"—aka chronic, low-grade inflammation that can speed up visible aging in the skin—is the skincare term on everyone's (hopefully peptide-covered) lips right now. Ahead, board-certified dermatologists break down the concept and tell us exactly what we can do about it.

What Is Inflammaging?

The word "inflammaging" is a combination of "inflammation"—a protective response to injury, disease, or infection by your body's immune system—and "aging"—the process of getting older. Studies have shown that our bodies develop increased, long-lasting inflammation as we age. Researchers believe this chronic inflammation accelerates the aging process, contributing to numerous health concerns and more specifically (for our purposes here) skin concerns.

Key drivers of inflammaging include UV exposure (that's number one), pollution, smoking, stress, lack of sleep, and poor diet—basically all the things you already knew impacted your complexion. They really do contribute at a cellular level, though.

"[Inflammaging is] increasingly recognized as one of the key biological drivers of skin aging. In the skin, this persistent inflammatory state can gradually break down collagen and elastin, impair the skin barrier and disrupt normal cellular repair processes," explains board-certified dermatologist Dr. Alexis Granite. "Over time, this contributes to many of the visible signs of aging including fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, loss of elasticity, and a duller complexion."

Double board-certified dermatologist Dr. Morayo Adisa of Dermatology Physicians in Chicago says the term has been gaining steam because we're increasingly aware of various stressors and how they effect long-term skin wellness and overall health.

"The 'stress/stressor' causes release of inflammatory messengers (cytokines) that lead to a cascade of cellular responses that ultimately over time could lead to damage or repair slow down of the target structure," she explains. The best example here: our skin.

What Inflammaging Looks Like

Visible signs of aging most often show up via our skin—think wrinkles, fine lines, an uneven tone, or even sagging. That's why collagen is such a hot ingredient, and why you should always wear sunscreen.

Inflammaging is different than "regular" skin aging because of the accelerated timeline. The thing is, inflammaging looks just like regular aging, which is why it can be tricky to diagnose—who's to say those fine lines are premature? Except maybe your youthful spirit.

"The driver of inflammaging is the action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which causes what's known as oxidative stress on important components of skin like elastic tissue, collagen and lipids which lead to wrinkles, loss of elasticity and uneven pigmentation," explains board-certified dermatologist Dr. Alicia Zalka. "Ever notice that the skin that never sees the sun like your buttocks, is smoother, softer, plumper and even-toned, while sun-exposed skin like the forearms shows signs of aging? That is because UV is one of the leading causes of ROS and has a cumulative damaging effect on skin especially where it receives the greatest day-after-day exposure."

The Immune System and Skin Aging

You know everything in our body is connected to everything else, right? According to Dr. Zalka, the immune system is truly paramount in skin health, beauty, and anti-aging—and it's not just a deficient immune system that can trigger unwanted skin changes.

"Disregulated immunity can target the skin and cause specific diseases such as alopecia areata (hair loss), vitiligo (pigmentary loss), and psoriasis to name a few. These conditions are the result of the immune cells targeting an 'innocent bystander' and launching an immune attack against otherwise healthy skin components," she explains.

When we're healthy, our immune system functions to fight off invaders like microbes and allergens so our skin cells remain protected from harm "while knowing when to shut down when a battle does not need to be waged."

"This is a balanced immune system at its best," adds the doctor.

That is to say, inflammation turns on so stressors know to stay away. The problem arises when it doesn't turn off.

"With repeated 'hits' on skin cells, specifically the proteins and DNA which make up healthy tissues, the skin loses its integrity, allowing disruption to the key role skin plays as our outer protective barrier," she adds. "With loss of this barrier, skin is weakened and signs of aging such as dullness, dryness, sagging and discoloration begin to show. These are what we perceive as aged skin."

Skincare and Inflammaging

Your skincare routine can be extremely beneficial in your fight against inflammaging. Antioxidant-rich ingredients naturally fight inflammation, and a strong skincare barrier can protect your body from external stressors.

"'Anti-inflammatory skincare' lends itself to marketing spin, but it is a real concept," says Dr. Zalka. "There are clinically studied ingredients such as vitamin C and niacinamide that warrant the term 'anti-inflammatory.'"

Another term you might hear is "adaptogen." The doctor says these substances, particularly found in plants, help the body neutralize or "mop up" the "mess" made by aggressors insulting healthy cells.

"While we can’t completely stop inflammaging, we can absolutely reduce its impact. Many of the most effective strategies are actually quite simple and focus on reducing inflammatory triggers while supporting the skin’s repair mechanisms," explains Dr. Granite. "Daily sun protection is probably the single most important step, as UV exposure is a major driver of inflammatory damage in the skin. A skincare routine that incorporates hydrating, barrier-supporting ingredients, antioxidants and active ingredients such as retinoids and peptides can also help support collagen production and improve skin resilience."

And I'll say this one more time for good measure: not all inflammation is harmful.

Dr. Azza Halim, a board-certified anesthesiologist and regenerative medicine specialist, says that controlled, intentional inflammation such as that induced by lasers or energy-based devices can stimulate skin regeneration when applied appropriately.

"Emerging regenerative therapies, including exosomes, biostimulators, and peptides, further support this by modulating inflammatory pathways and enhancing tissue repair," she says. "Ultimately, the future of skin health lies in prevention and balance by reducing chronic inflammation and leveraging targeted regenerative signals to maintain and restore skin function over time."

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Why Anti-Inflammatory Skincare Works

A good way to stand up against inflammaging is to make sure your skin is resilient. As Clark's Botanicals founder Francesco Clark explains, resilience doesn't mean cushioning yourself against all challenges. It means being able to handle said challenges and bounce right back.

"UV, pollution, the flight you took, the sleep you did not get, the week you had. All skin encounters all of it. Resilient skin knows what to do about it," he says. "Inflammaging is what happens when that intelligence breaks down. A transcription factor called NF-κB, which is supposed to switch the immune response on briefly and then switch it back off, gets stuck in the on position. The low-grade inflammation that should have resolved in an afternoon keeps running for years. Collagen degrades faster than the skin can rebuild it. NAD+, the coenzyme that powers cellular repair, starts to decline. And the skin you see in the mirror reflects all of it: a dullness that was not there last year, a slackness that cannot be explained by chronology alone, redness that never fully settles, lines that feel like they arrived ahead of schedule."

The antidote, according to the expert? Resilience! "Not because it suppresses inflammation, but because it restores the skin's ability to regulate itself."

"That self-regulation is what chronic inflammation destroys first," he explains. "It is also what skincare, when it is designed as a system rather than a sequence of actives, is quietly able to rebuild."

Clark adds that there's no one ingredient that will stabilize inflamed skin on its own. A coordinated system might, though. (His brand's new DNA-42 Clinicalift Serum, which uses PDRN regenerative science and exosomes, is a good place to start.)

"A holistic approach is not a wellness position. It is a formulation discipline. It means every ingredient earns its place. The moisturizer supports what the serum is doing. The serum does not undo what the cleanser preserved. The routine produces compounding benefits over time instead of a dramatic opening weekend and a long decline," he explains. "Skin is remarkably responsive to small, consistent signals. That is the quiet miracle at the center of this work. Chronic stress, whether it is mechanical, inflammatory, or environmental, accumulates slowly, over years, in increments nobody notices until suddenly everybody does. The answer, counterintuitively, is not a dramatic intervention. It is a disciplined one, applied every day, designed to work with the biology rather than against it."

Other Ways to Treat Inflammaging

But always remember: Even a perfect skincare routine won't make much of a difference if you're not taking care of your health in other areas. It has to be a holistic approach, not just a holistic skincare approach.

"Beyond skincare, lifestyle factors also play a role. Adequate sleep, a nutrient-rich diet, regular exercise, and stress management all help regulate inflammatory pathways in the body, which can ultimately benefit the skin," adds Dr. Granite. "It's important to consider body skin as 96% of your skin is actually below your chin and we tend to focus solely on the face. There is also increasing evidence that skin inflammation/inflammaging is actually linked to internal disease as well, including diabetes, dementia and cardiovascular disease, so caring for skin is caring for whole body health."

Dr. Zalka adds that the worst skincare habit by far is tanning—though she "wouldn't consider that skincare, it's skin harm." She also calls out adhering to fad diets that severely restrict nutrients and picking, squeezing, or traumatizing the skin to excess as no-gos.

I guess that means it's time to take really good care! Aging is beautiful, but doesn't need to happen any faster than it's meant to.