When most people think of skin aging, they picture sun damage (photoaging), the passing years (intrinsic aging), or perhaps the occasional bad habit. But after decades of working with skin, I’ve learned that there’s a much quieter, far more insidious culprit at play: something we now call inflammaging.
Inflammaging is chronic, low-grade inflammation that slowly chips away at your skin’s vitality from within. Aging isn’t just about counting birthdays; it’s shaped by the cumulative effects of stress: emotional, environmental and biochemical.
Inflammaging is the invisible inflammation triggered by everyday stressors such as pollution, UV exposure, poor sleep, burnout, emotional stress, and even certain foods. Acute inflammation, like when you graze your knee, is part of your body’s healing process. Chronic micro-inflammation, however, quietly wears the skin down over time. It…
