Exercise has long been celebrated as a potent tool for supporting health in muscles, bones, and organs. But what about skin—the body's largest organ and the most visible marker of how it ages? Groundbreaking research has finally explored this connection and found significant improvements in skin aging are possible. The type of exercise, however, matters. This article unpacks the latest research and explains how different exercise modes affect skin structure, elasticity, dermal thickness, and the cellular pathways that drive those changes.
Table of Contents
Setting up the question
Scientists have known for a while that regular exercise can slow down or even reverse age-related decline. This is visible on the macro level—it reverses muscle mass loss and increases exercise capacity—but it also operates on a cellular level. Here, aging is marked by processes in the cell becoming less efficient as cells wear out. Exercise can restore function in a wide range of areas.
Accumulating evidence shows it can slow or reverse markers of cellular aging [1]. And it boosts the body's antioxidant defenses [1].
But there's a newer area of interest that researchers are only beginning to explore: the effects of exercise on aging skin. This matters because skin is where aging becomes most visible, and it is also where lifestyle and cellular biology intersect in ways that are measurable. With age, skin gradually loses moisture, elasticity, and firmness. Its texture changes and its coloration becomes more uneven. These changes are partly due to environmental factors—sun exposure, for instance, is a powerful driver of skin aging and accounts for the majority of visible structural change in exposed areas over time.
But they're also driven by processes unfolding on a cellular level. Two central players in skin quality are elastin and collagen. Together, these are key components that give skin its structure and elasticity. As skin cells age, they produce less of these essential proteins. Research has consistently shown that collagen peptides consumed orally can support the body's own collagen production—a finding relevant to understanding how both dietary and lifestyle inputs affect skin from the inside.
Beyond the changes inside cells, the environment they experience also shifts. Cells are bombarded and damaged by more reactive oxygen species (ROS)—highly reactive molecules that are a normal byproduct of cellular processes. But the body's systems for combating ROS weaken with age.
In theory, exercise ought to work against these drivers of skin aging. Accumulating evidence shows it can slow or reverse markers of cellular aging [2]. And it boosts the body's antioxidant defenses by decreasing ROS damage and up-regulating endogenous antioxidant defense mechanisms [1].
So the question becomes: How does exercise impact skin quality in terms of markers like thickness, collagen content, elasticity, and moisture?
The first study to tackle this question appeared in 2015. The researchers looked at the skin of two groups of people. One group was habitually active, with more than 4 hours a week of high-intensity aerobic exercise. The other group was relatively inactive, usually getting less than an hour a week of exercise. The groups included people of various ages. The researchers examined whether there were any differences that correlated with typical activity levels.
There were. People in the more active group had a thinner outer layer of skin. At the same time, the layer beneath the outer layer didn't thin out as much in older active adults as it did for those who were inactive [3].
The first part of this might sound negative. Isn't thin skin a bad thing? Thicker skin is indeed associated with a younger, healthier look. But here the discussion concerns only the outermost layer—a very thin layer of dead skin cells stacked tightly like bricks. It's constantly turning over, with old cells being removed and new ones added. It serves as an important barrier between the environment and the skin beneath. Here, thickness is often a function of slower cell turnover and can give a dull, rough look. What this finding shows with exercise is healthier skin that's functioning more like youthful skin does.
But this is just an observation of two groups, telling us about correlation. Researchers wanted to confirm there was a causal connection: did the exercise cause differences in skin structure?
To find out, they enrolled a subset of elderly inactive adults in a 3-month endurance exercise program. The outer layer of the skin in those completing the program got thinner, matching what researchers saw in other active adults. They also observed boosted collagen content and signs of mitochondrial health—suggesting the exercise was causing the change [3].
Researchers then asked about the mechanism. What is the link between exercise and the changes observed? Their focus turned to the mitochondria. Previous research had pointed to mitochondrial function as a key modulator of aging. They theorized that boosting mitochondrial health would improve skin health as well.
The researchers found that exercise did stimulate mitochondrial health of skin cells—not just muscle. But how? They hypothesized something circulating in the blood was responsible [3]. Additional analysis helped narrow it down: interleukin-15 (IL-15), a protein that acts like a messenger in the body. IL-15 is made by skeletal muscles, and its levels rise with exercise.
The researchers performed a series of tests with mice to confirm this pathway. A clear picture emerged: exercise boosts IL-15 production, and IL-15 travels to the skin cells that maintain skin structure, where it ramps up mitochondrial function—helping to rejuvenate skin cells [3].
This was the first direct evidence that exercise can improve skin and counteract signs of aging. But it left many questions unanswered.
For instance, what about skin moisture? The first study to examine this appeared in 2023. Researchers tested skin moisture in a group that exercised for 8 weeks and compared it to a non-exercising group. The exercise group showed better skin moisture [4]. A more recent study also noted a link between more exercise and improved skin hydration [5]. Both studies are preliminary, however; the impact on moisture remains uncertain.
Another open question was exercise type. The 2015 study focused on aerobic exercise. As established, it found exercise stimulated IL-15 release, which circulates in the blood. But different kinds of exercise lead to a different mix of circulating factors in the blood [6].
The 2023 study
Is one kind of exercise better than another for skin health? A study published in Nature Scientific Reports set out to answer this question.
The study included approximately 60 inactive middle-aged women. The participants were randomly assigned to either an aerobic training group or a resistance training group. Both groups exercised twice per week for 16 weeks under trainer supervision. The aerobic group rode a stationary bike while the resistance group used weight machines.
Before and after the study, researchers collected several kinds of data. In addition to body composition and fitness levels, they examined participants' skin—measuring elasticity, dermal thickness (the middle layer of the skin), and skin structure. Blood samples were also taken to track how each exercise mode affected circulating factors [6].
What did they find? First, skin elasticity improved to a similar extent in both exercise groups after 16 weeks [6].
Something similar happened with the structural integrity of the middle layer of skin—both groups saw significant improvements [6].
But when dermal thickness was measured, the results diverged. Aerobic training had no significant impact on dermal thickness. Resistance training, however, boosted it [6].
Does this mean resistance training alone should be the goal for better skin? The research suggests not—and the distinct mechanisms driving each exercise type help explain why both are valuable.
The researchers had hypothesized that different exercise modes would produce distinct changes in the skin—a prediction the results confirmed. After the study, they identified why resistance training specifically led to a thicker dermal layer.
The key mechanism: resistance training reduces certain circulating chemicals in the blood that would otherwise directly suppress biglycan (BGN). Biglycan is crucial for regulating collagen formation and dermal thickness. By reducing these suppressive chemicals, resistance training effectively allows biglycan levels to rise—promoting thicker, structurally denser skin [6].
But aerobic exercise provides its own distinct benefits via different circulating factors. IL-15, stimulated by aerobic training, was not elevated to the same degree by resistance training. Aerobic exercise also suppressed a range of pro-inflammatory factors that resistance training did not [6].
Both exercise types also showed an ability to stimulate collagen production through a separate pathway. Researchers took blood plasma (the liquid part of the blood) from participants and added it to fibroblast cells in the lab. Fibroblast cells are specialized cells responsible for producing collagen. The plasma collected after exercise contained signaling molecules that prompted fibroblasts to increase collagen synthesis—much like a factory receiving more orders and ramping up production [6].
This collagen-stimulating effect—working through circulating plasma signals rather than direct mechanical action—is one reason skin structure improves across both exercise modes. It also suggests that the skin benefits of exercise are systemic: they arise from changes in blood chemistry, not just local tissue stress.
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Exercise provides signals that boost collagen production, and research on oral collagen peptides suggests they can further support the body's own collagen synthesis. MicroVitamin+ Powder includes collagen peptides as part of its formulation.
Implications
What does this body of research mean in practice? Taken together, the studies reviewed here—spanning observational comparisons, interventional endurance trials, and randomized aerobic versus resistance exercise designs—point toward several consistent and actionable conclusions.
First, there is now one more evidence-backed reason to make exercise a consistent part of health maintenance. The benefits for heart health, weight management, and mood are well established. The research reviewed here adds skin health to that list—exercise works at a cellular level to counteract the structural changes that make skin look and function older.
Second, when it comes to exercise type, different forms produce different results. Resistance training has a distinct advantage in increasing the thickness of the dermal layer through the biglycan pathway. Aerobic exercise, meanwhile, drives IL-15 production and reduces circulating inflammatory factors in ways resistance training does not. The evidence points toward combining both types of exercise to capture the full range of benefits—for skin and for overall health.
Third, the exercise volumes used in the study were not extreme. Aerobic training was performed at 65–70% of maximum heart rate for 30–40 minutes, 3–4 times a week. Resistance training was performed at 75–80% of maximum lift capacity, 3 sets of 10 repetitions, 3–4 times a week. These volumes align closely with standard exercise recommendations [7]. For those already meeting general exercise guidelines, no additional volume appears necessary to gain the skin benefits demonstrated in the study.
Finally, the benefits of exercise for skin extend beyond what these studies directly measured. Regular exercise increases blood flow to the skin, delivering more oxygen and nutrients to the cells responsible for maintaining its structure and appearance [5]. It also supports stress management [8] and improves sleep quality [9]. This matters because both elevated chronic stress and poor sleep appear to have negative and measurable impacts on skin health—accelerating the cellular changes that drive visible aging [10]. Exercise, in other words, supports skin health through multiple overlapping pathways, not just the direct cellular mechanisms measured in the intervention studies above.
The overall picture that emerges from this body of research is that regular exercise should be considered a genuine and evidence-supported approach to maintaining skin health and structure over time. The mechanisms are increasingly well understood—from IL-15 signalling and mitochondrial rejuvenation, to biglycan regulation and fibroblast collagen synthesis—and the dose required appears to fall well within what standard exercise guidelines already recommend. For those already maintaining a consistent routine combining aerobic and resistance work, the skin-related benefits appear to be an additional and likely consequence of that practice.
Reference List
Below are the studies in the order they appeared in the text:
1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4340807/
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-023-00100-w
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4531076/
4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10774845/
5. https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9284/11/1/13
6. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-37207-9
8. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9654650/
