Sugar and The Glycation Behind Ageing Skin
Updated: Aug 21
What glycation is, how it affects your skin, and what you can actually do about it
There's a process happening in your skin that most people have never heard of and it's been running quietly for decades.
It doesn't cause a wrinkle overnight. It doesn't make your face look suddenly older. What it does is gradually change the physical properties of the structural proteins in your skin, so that over time, the tissue becomes stiffer, less resilient, and less able to repair itself.
It's called glycation, and understanding it changes how you think about skin ageing.
What glycation is in plain terms
A chemical reaction that happens to everyone, not just people with health conditions.
Glycation is a reaction that occurs when sugars in the body interact with proteins. One of the proteins most affected is collagen the structural framework that gives skin its firmness and elasticity.
When this reaction occurs repeatedly over time, it creates what are called advanced glycation end products (often shortened to AGEs appropriately named). These gradually accumulate in tissue that turns over slowly, like the deep collagen in your skin. They form chemical bridges between collagen fibres that stiffen the structure and make it harder for the body to break down and replace older collagen with new.
Think of it this way. New collagen is like a coiled spring flexible, capable of deforming and bouncing back. Glycated collagen is more like a spring that's been welded at both ends. It can still support weight, but it can't flex. And it can't be replaced easily because the bonds holding it together resist the normal breakdown process.
The result is skin that doesn't just have less collagen with age. It has collagen that behaves differently stiffer, less elastic, less able to renew itself.
Where the sugar comes from and what this isn't
This is not a story about eating sugar causing wrinkles.
Before going further, I want to be clear about something, because glycation gets oversimplified constantly.
Glycation is a normal metabolic process. It happens in everyone. You don't develop it by eating dessert. It occurs as part of the body's normal chemistry, and it accumulates throughout life regardless of diet.
That said, two things do influence the rate of accumulation:
Blood sugar levels. When blood glucose is consistently elevated as it is in type 2 diabetes or in people with poor metabolic health glycation happens faster. This is one reason people with uncontrolled diabetes often show accelerated skin ageing. But "accelerated by high blood sugar" is different from "caused by eating sugar."
High-temperature cooking. AGEs also form in food during grilling, roasting and frying. Some of these dietary AGEs are absorbed and contribute to overall accumulation. The relationship is real but much less dramatic than many anti-glycation articles suggest.
The useful takeaway is not "stop eating sugar." It's "support good metabolic health" a different and considerably more actionable goal.
What glycation actually looks like in the skin
Beyond wrinkles.
The skin changes associated with glycation aren't limited to the wrinkles most people associate with ageing.
Loss of elasticity and firmness. As collagen fibres become more rigid, the skin loses some of its ability to spring back when it's folded or stretched. This contributes to that "crepe-like" quality some people notice, particularly on the neck and around the eyes.
A more sallow or yellowish tone. AGEs can alter the optical properties of the skin changing how light passes through and reflects from it. This contributes to a yellowed or dull quality to the complexion that isn't explained by pigmentation alone.
Reduced capacity for repair. The cells responsible for producing collagen (called fibroblasts) are influenced by glycation as well. In a high-AGE environment, those cells produce less collagen and behave less actively. This matters for any treatment designed to stimulate the skin's own repair processes those treatments are working within the biological environment that already exists.
Can it be reversed?
The honest answer is mostly no but the rate of accumulation can be influenced.
Established glycation crosslinks in long-lived collagen cannot currently be reliably removed by any cosmetic treatment or supplement. Researchers are investigating compounds that might break these bonds, but nothing in routine clinical use does this effectively.
The scientifically defensible goal, therefore, is:
Protect existing collagen from additional UV-driven damage (SPF, every day)
Support metabolic health to avoid accelerating glycation through sustained high blood glucose
Support the skin's cellular environment with appropriate treatments and lifestyle factors
That's less exciting than "reverse your glycation." But it's honest.
What actually makes sense to do
Prioritised by evidence, not by marketing.
Daily broad-spectrum SPF. UV exposure accelerates the breakdown of collagen independently of glycation. Protecting existing collagen from this additional damage is one of the most impactful things anyone can do for long-term skin quality.
Stable blood sugar. Not crash dieting and bingeing. Not eliminating all carbohydrates. A diet that supports metabolic health adequate protein, vegetables and fibre, sensible carbohydrate quality creates a metabolic environment that doesn't accelerate glycation unnecessarily.
Not smoking. Smoking accelerates collagen breakdown through multiple mechanisms and compounds the glycation-related changes significantly.
Regular exercise. Supports glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity, both of which influence the metabolic environment in which glycation occurs.
Supplements with appropriate scepticism. Various compounds (including certain antioxidants and amino acid derivatives) have been studied in relation to glycation. Some show interesting effects in laboratory research. The evidence that they prevent visible facial ageing in healthy people when taken as supplements is much weaker. I wouldn't discourage someone from taking a well-tolerated supplement with plausible biology. I wouldn't present it as equivalent to the lifestyle factors above.
What about regenerative aesthetic treatments?
They can help but understanding the environment matters.
Treatments designed to stimulate the skin's own repair processes including polynucleotides, certain radiofrequency treatments, and microneedling are working to encourage the fibroblasts in your skin to produce more collagen and structural protein.
This is genuinely useful. But it's worth understanding that these treatments are working within the biological environment those cells already inhabit. A skin that has been well-protected from UV, with good metabolic health and reasonable lifestyle factors, is a better starting environment for these treatments than one that hasn't. The treatment and the environment work together.
They also don't undo existing glycation crosslinks. They can build new, healthier tissue around what's there. That's still meaningful but it's a different promise.
Frequently asked questions
Does eating sugar cause wrinkles? Not directly. Glycation is a normal process that happens regardless of diet. Sustained high blood glucose associated with poor metabolic health accelerates it. But the relationship is not "eat a biscuit, get a wrinkle."
Can a blood test tell me how glycated my skin is? A test called HbA1c measures average blood glucose over roughly two to three months. It gives useful information about metabolic health and glucose regulation but it's not a measurement of how much glycation has occurred in your facial skin specifically.
Do anti-glycation supplements work? Some show interesting effects in laboratory research. The evidence that they prevent visible facial ageing in healthy people is currently limited. They're not harmful, but they're not equivalent to lifestyle factors with a stronger evidence base.
Where I'd start
Understanding glycation is useful not because it gives you something specific to buy, but because it changes how you think about skin ageing.
The face is part of a larger biological system. What happens to your skin is influenced by what happens in your metabolic health, your hormonal environment, your UV exposure history, and your inflammatory load not just by what you apply to your face or inject into it.
At Juvenology, a longevity or skin assessment looks at the broader picture including metabolic health, lifestyle factors, and the actual condition of the skin before deciding whether any treatment is appropriate. Because understanding what's driving the ageing you can see is the only sensible way to decide what to do about it.
About the author
Marina Kostadinova-Yankova is the founder of Juvenology Clinic in Maidstone, Kent.
Before moving into aesthetics, Marina spent six years in cardiac nursing at KIMS Hospital, followed by two years as an Aesthetics Nurse Specialist at Spencer Private Hospitals. She has led her own clinic for eight years.
She has completed the Certified Longevity Physician CME Course at the Geneva College of Longevity Science, and is a HeartMath Certified Practitioner through the HeartMath Institute Interventions Program.
Marina is a member of the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses and the Royal College of Nursing, and is JCCP verified.
Last reviewed August 2026.
References
Effects of AGEs on Skin and Potential Anti-Glycation Strategies, Experimental Dermatology/Wiley, 2024
Synthetic and Natural Agents Targeting AGEs for Skin Anti-Aging, PMC/Antioxidants, 2025
Advanced Glycation End Products in Disease Development and Potential Interventions, MDPI/Antioxidants, 2025
Advanced Glycation End Products: Key Players in Skin Aging, PMC
Advanced Glycation End-Products: Mechanics of Aged Collagen, ScienceDirect