Japaralia November 2026 vol. 38

English translation by Perplexity below

Vol. 38 – The Causes of Ageing and Their Effects

I often hear from people in their 40s and beyond who are suddenly troubled by skin problems. The causes are varied and complex, involving many different systems in the human body—too many to cover fully here—so this month I’ll explain things simply and briefly.

As the female hormone oestrogen declines, various changes begin to appear in both the body and the skin. Cell turnover slows down, collagen production decreases, and the skin becomes thinner. Moisture levels and sebum also decrease, and the balance of the skin’s microbiome—the ecosystem that helps maintain healthy skin—can easily become disrupted. As a result, the skin’s defence against external irritants weakens, leading to inflammation. In healthy, youthful skin, even if inflammation occurs due to external irritants, receptors help keep it to a minimum. However, from the 40s onwards, as oestrogen levels drop, the receptors that are produced under oestrogen’s influence also decrease, making the skin more sensitive to inflammation. This is why many people say, “This never used to happen before,” or “I’m using the same skincare as before, so why is this happening?” As I mentioned in a previous issue, rather than focusing only on skincare products, paying attention to the changes in your own body and skin is often the fastest way to identify the cause.

Now, keeping in mind that hormones play a major role in maintaining the body’s balance, let’s look at other factors. But does that mean we won’t age if our hormones are normal? From here on, I’d like to talk about something that applies to everyone, not just those over 40.

That is skin “glycation.” When sugar binds to proteins (such as collagen), substances called AGEs (Advanced Glycation End-products) are formed. AGEs negatively affect cell turnover, the skin’s healing ability, its defence mechanisms, its ability to absorb oxygen and nutrients, and skin firmness. Alcohol, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise, stress, UV exposure, and environmental pollution all accelerate the production and accumulation of AGEs, which can harm cells and organs and speed up ageing. AGEs are normally excreted from the body every day, but with age they accumulate in cells, can cause organ dysfunction, and may contribute to disease. In particular, sugar, fats, proteins, and processed foods contain elements that promote AGE formation. Unfortunately, AGEs are very tasty. In other words, the tastier something is, the more likely it is to be unhealthy. For the same reason, burnt or crispy food is delicious, but it also contains a lot of AGEs. The amount of AGEs increases in the order of raw meat → boiled meat → grilled meat. (This is why I used to prepare mostly raw food for my dog.)

Also, once collagen becomes cross‑linked due to AGEs, it is very difficult to reverse. It is said that collagen fibre renewal itself takes more than 10 years. So once it is damaged, it can take over 10 years to be replaced. (The turnover of the dermis itself is about 4–5 months.) It is also said that collagen damaged by AGEs takes about three times longer to regenerate. In skin laxity (sagging) treatment, part of what we do is help break down cross‑linked collagen and encourage the production of new collagen.

In addition, AGEs are yellowish‑brown in colour and cling to collagen, which is why the skin can look dull or sallow. This is why they are sometimes mistaken for pigmentation such as melasma. Even when treating the same type of pigmentation with the same treatment, results can differ from person to person because the causes and the “personality” of each person’s skin are different. That’s why I always take each client’s unique skin characteristics into account when planning treatment.

AGEs can change the very nature of the skin, and there is far more to say than I can cover here. If you’re interested, please visit www.anti-ages.org. What’s most important is maintaining a balanced lifestyle. UV exposure is also a major factor that worsens AGEs and the skin itself, so proper sun protection and a balanced lifestyle are key. That said, don’t forget to enjoy your daily life too—don’t focus only on the negatives.

There are many causes behind pigmentation, wrinkles, and sagging. I always explain the mechanisms of skin and pigmentation to my clients, but it’s impossible to cover everything on the surface. Ageing is not just what we see—it’s the result of many intertwined factors, including DNA‑level cell division, the microbiome, and differences in skin type. Even after nearly 20 years in this field, I still need to review and refresh my knowledge regularly, and there’s always a chance I could misremember something. It’s frustrating that I can’t share everything with you, but I hope that even this simple explanation gives you something to learn and helps you build healthier, more beautiful skin.

As I mentioned last month, beautiful skin is not something I can create alone—it’s something we create together. Since 70% of the work is done through home care, please take in as much knowledge as you can from me and use it to build healthy skin. 🫶🏻