What Actually Happens to Your Skin After 60 (And What You Can Do About It)

After 60, collagen production drops significantly — and it's been declining since your mid-twenties, but the rate accelerates after menopause. Collagen is the structural protein that gives skin its firmness and bounce; less of it means skin folds more easily, recovers more slowly, and begins to thin noticeably. Combined with declining elastin, the result is skin that feels looser and creases in places it never did before.

Melanocytes — the cells that produce pigment — become less numerous and less evenly distributed with age. The ones that remain can cluster, producing age spots and uneven tone. At the same time, cell turnover slows considerably, so dead cells linger longer on the surface and skin looks duller. Hormonal shifts after menopause compound this: estrogen plays a major role in skin hydration, thickness, and wound healing, and its decline is directly visible in the skin.

Retinoids (prescription tretinoin or over-the-counter retinol) remain the most evidence-backed topical ingredient for addressing age-related skin changes. They stimulate collagen production, increase cell turnover, and can fade pigmentation over time. The caveat: skin after 60 is often more sensitive, so starting slowly — low concentration, every other night — matters more than it did at 40.

Hyaluronic acid serums can help with surface dryness but don't address the structural changes happening below the surface. Peptide creams and growth factor serums have supporting evidence but work slowly and subtly. If your topicals have stopped producing visible results, it's often because the changes are now happening in the dermis — and topicals don't reach the dermis.

Radiofrequency treatments like Morpheus8 deliver heat energy into the deeper layers of skin to stimulate collagen remodeling at the source. For thinning, lax skin, this is one of the more effective non-surgical options available. Results build over three to six months as new collagen forms. Chemical peels and laser resurfacing address the surface layer — texture, pigmentation, and dullness — and can be calibrated to different depths depending on your skin's needs.

Dermal fillers replace lost volume rather than tightening existing tissue. Cheeks, temples, and the area around the mouth are common sites of volume loss after 60, and restoring that volume can have a significant effect on how rested and defined the face looks. A good provider at this stage treats the whole face as a system rather than targeting single wrinkles in isolation.