What Is Elastin in the Skin and How does It Affect Skin’s Elasticity?

When we pull our skin and let it go, it falls back to its original place. It falls back because of elastin. Elastin is responsible for the elasticity of the skin.

Elastin is a protein. It is present in the extra-cellular matrix in the deeper layers of skin. The extra-cellular matrix is the region in-between the cells.

Elastin is like springs in a mattress. Mattress bounces as long as the springs are working well. Once the springs are damaged, the mattress starts sagging. Same with elastin and our skin. If the amount of elastin is reduced or damaged, the skin does not snap back to its original spot. Skin starts sagging.

What causes a reduction in elastin / What causes the skin to sag?

Two main reasons:

1. With age, the amount of elastin in our skin reduces.
2. Another important contributor to the reduction/damage of elastin is exposure to the sun. Sun's rays penetrate into the deeper layers of skin and damage the elastin.

   The most important thing we can do for our skin (and probably the easiest as well), is to apply sunscreen at regular intervals.