Just when we thought we had the whole anti-aging thing figured out—religiously applying sunscreen, moisturizing, exfoliating, and retinol-ing—we learn that some of the very things we’re doing to treat and prevent the signs of time could be causing us to age faster.

Turns out that all those efforts may, in fact, be thinning our skin. Which contributes to crepiness, which (you guessed it) makes us look older. Sigh.

Luckily celebrity esthetician Renée Rouleau is here to save the day.

The Skin Types Most Prone to Thinning

“The thinning of the skin is more problematic for people whose skin is already genetically on the thinner side,” explains Rouleau.

Thin skin has the following characteristics:

  • Fair in color—think Irish, Swedish, Scottish and Scandinavian descent
  • Small or invisible pores
  • Little to no oil production
  • A transparent look where you can visibly see blue blood vessels underneath the skin’s surface
  • Sensitivity where the skin can get easily uncomfortable and irritated with a stinging sensation from products or when itchy fabrics touch the skin. This is due to the nerve endings being closer to the surface