Skin Protection Tips for Seniors in British Columbia

Senior Health and Wellbeing  |  May 15, 2025

What Every Senior in North and West Vancouver, BC, Needs to Know About Skin Health Ahead of the Summer Season

Skin protection tips for seniors: What do you need to know? While healthy skin has clear cosmetic advantages, it’s also essential to overall well-being, especially for seniors. As we age, natural changes in the skin can make older adults more susceptible to the harsh effects of summer weather.

Chief among them are the impacts of being outdoors – the sun, the heat, and the environment. Caregivers can easily help their senior loved ones enjoy the great outdoors and the many fun activities that go along with it by being aware of potential risks and taking some practical yet effective precautions.

The Importance of Skin Protection Tips for Seniors

Our skin has many important functions. It serves to protect us from the environment, helps us control our body temperature, fluid and electrolyte balance, and through its nerve receptors, allows us to feel sensations like touch, pain, and pressure.

Over time, skin changes occur due to genetic makeup, nutrition, environmental and other factors like smoking, but the greatest single factor is sun exposure. 

Aging and Skin Protection Tips for Seniors

With aging, the outermost layer of our skin thins and the number of cells that contain pigment decrease. The skin’s strength and elasticity also decreases, blood vessels in the middle layer become fragile, and the subcutaneous fat layer that provides padding and insulation reduces. Age also changes our glands. They produce less oil as we age making it more difficult to keep skin moist, and sweat glands produce less sweat making it harder to keep cool.

Wrinkles and sagging skin are among the most visible signs of growing older, but there are other common effects of age-related deterioration as well. Aging skin appears more pale and translucent, is more fragile and tears easily. 

Skin Protection Tips and the Effects of Sun on Senior Skin

Skin that has been exposed to the sun frequently and consistently produces a leathery, weather-beaten appearance and large pigmented spots called age spots, liver spots or lentigos, may also appear in sun-exposed areas. The most serious diseases directly related to sun exposure are skin cancers such as basal cell, squamous cell carcinoma, and the deadliest, melanoma which is much more likely to spread to other parts of the body when left untreated.

Skin Protection Tips for Sensitive Senior Skin

Older people bruise easily and may bleed under the skin, a condition known as senile purpura. The dwindling fat layer leaves senior skin at risk of injury and reduces his or her ability to maintain body temperature. The lack of natural insulation can cause hypothermia in air conditioning. Because seniors perspire less, it’s harder for them to keep cool and increases their risk for becoming overheated or developing heat stroke.

Skin Protection Tips and Senior Skin Disorders

More than 90% of all older people have some type of skin disorder, too. Common difficulties include those caused by conditions such as blood vessel diseases like arteriosclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, nutritional deficiencies, obesity, reactions to medications, and allergies to plants, or other substances to name a few. 

While the effects of aging can’t be reversed, maintaining proper care means having healthy skin and more importantly, healthy senior people.

Here are seven skin protection tips for seniors:

#1. Opt to shower or bathe every other day to avoid dry skin:

Take a sponge bath on alternate days, cleansing gently with moisturizing soap or detergent-free cleansers that do not need to be rinsed. Such cleansers do the job of removing dirt and natural oils but don’t impact the natural acid balance of mature skin.

#2. Apply moisturizer on a daily basis:

Advanced skincare products that nourish the skin from the outside and deliver amino acids, vitamins, antioxidants and ingredients that are gentle and soothing make skin stronger and more resilient.

#3. Stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible:

To protect your senior’s skin from harmful UV rays, the American Cancer Society uses a catch phrase that can help your senior remember some of the key steps to protect him or herself when going out in the sun – “Slip! Slop! Slap! And Wrap!” Meaning, “Slip on a shirt. Slop on Sunscreen. Slap on a hat. And Wrap on sunglasses to protect the eyes and sensitive skin around them.”

#4. Keep hydrated and well fed:

Good nutrition and adequate fluids are especially important for seniors in the hot summer months. Dehydration increases the risk of skin injury.

#5. Protect fragile skin:

Take care to avoid injuries that can cut or tear fragile skin or caustic substances that can disrupt the skin’s protective barrier. Cover small wounds with band aids made for sensitive skin so as not to cause added injury when removing after wounds have healed.

#6. Remember the special needs of seniors with common diseases like diabetes:

Diabetics are more prone to bacterial and fungal infections and itchy skin. Protecting the skin of your senior loved one, especially on extremities, is essential.

#7. Avoid alcohol-based solutions:

astringents, strong bacterial soaps and products that are harsh and damaging for older skin. Hand-sanitizers can be especially drying and using a hand moisturizer afterwards can be important.

Cook-outs, trips to the beach, a day at the pool, walks in the park, fishing at the lake, and other outdoor activities are all part of summertime traditions that everyone enjoys, especially seniors. Most involve the potential to soak up the sun. Think ahead and anticipate your senior loved ones’ needs to protect his or her skin beforehand to assure that summer fun is worry-free.

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Do you need a home care solution for yourself or a loved one? Have you been thinking about retirement homes and their alternatives as a solution? Comfort Keepers® enables seniors to maintain happy, healthy lives in the comfort of their own homes. In-home care services are available in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the surrounding areas.

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If you are concerned about the health and well-being of a loved one we can help! Comfort Keepers offers 24-hour care and delivers top-quality and compassionate care for seniors.  We are dedicated to safety technology solutions that foster independence and enhance well-being.

Locally Owned and Operated Home Health Care Agency

Our care centers around companionship for seniors. Empathetic care originates from the soul and allows us to meet our client’s requirements. The seasoned in-home caregivers employed by Comfort Keepers are carefully chosen based on their empathetic qualities.  

Contact the Comfort Keepers® North Vancouver and West Vancouver office at (604) 998-8806 to learn more about our unique in-home care solutions for seniors.

Comfort Keepers is an Accredited Senior Care Agency in North and West Vancouver, BC

Accreditation is a rigorous process that involves industry experts evaluating an organization’s processes, policies, and procedures. Comfort Keepers® North and West Vancouver has been awarded Exemplary Standing by Accreditation Canada. This achievement recognizes that Comfort Keepers® meets or exceeds the stringent quality standards for Home Care companies established by Accreditation Canada.

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References

• ‘Aging Changes in Skin,’ from Minaker KL. Common clinical sequelae of aging, published on MedlinePlus (http://www.medline.com)
• ‘Skin Care Benefits Overall Health For Seniors,” published by ARAcontent on Princeton Online, (http://www.princetononline.com)
• ‘Sun Safety: Melanoma,’ published by ARAcontent, Princeton Online, (http://www.princetononline.com)
• ‘Skin Cancer Prevention and Early Detection,’ published by the American Cancer Society online, (http://www.americancancersociety.com)

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