Crepes may be delectable, but crepey skin? Not so much.

The term describes skin that, like crepe paper, appears thin and crinkled and typically lacks the elasticity, thickness and firmness of youthful skin.

“Crepey skin is primarily an aesthetic concern but it can also be indicative of potential health issues,” board-certified dermatologist Dr. Shoshana Marmon told HuffPost. “Since it usually develops as a result of substantial sun damage, individuals with crepey skin may be at increased risk for the development of skin cancer. Additionally, since crepey skin is thinner and less elastic, it may be more susceptible to bruising and tearing, which could lead to infection if not properly cared for.”

Plenty of creams and lotions claim to alleviate the appearance of crepey skin, and anyone who wants to take care of it quickly can seek doctor-administered treatments. We spoke with experts who weighed in on what works best and whether there’s anything you can do to prevent crepey skin from forming in the first place.

As Marmon hinted, crepey skin primarily results from sun exposure. “A frequent misunderstanding is that crepey skin develops solely from aging, but lifestyle factors like sun exposure and smoking are significant contributors,” she said. “While everyone is susceptible to crepey skin, people with lighter skin tones, who are more prone to sun damage, are particularly at risk.”

Sun exposure causes the skin to lose volume due to dehydration. “It doesn’t store water the same because the integrity of the skin is damaged,” board-certified dermatologist Dr. Shani Francis told HuffPost. That leads to degradation of collagen and elastin, the proteins that hold water and therefore help the skin keep its structure.

Any ultraviolet exposure, even from tanning beds, can lead to the formation of crepey skin. “It’s really not the sun itself — it’s ultraviolet radiation,” Francis explained. “Any type of ultraviolet radiation exposure is going to damage and degrade the collagen and the elastin tissues.”

Genetics play a factor, too. “If you look at your parents, if they have crepey skin, you know you need to start the process of preventing a little bit earlier,” Francis said.

According to Marmon, many women begin to notice crepey skin around the time they hit menopause because the drop in estrogen during that time speeds up the decrease in collagen and elastin, resulting in a thinning of the skin with a loss of moisture and fat.

“It starts around middle age and gets worse as we age,” Francis reiterated. “The elastic fibers, they start off very strong. Twenty-something-, 30-something-year-olds, their skin snaps right back. Once you get to 40, it doesn’t quite work that way.”

Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Noëlle S. Sherber told HuffPost that crepey skin from UV damage usually shows up around the eyes, the chest and the backs of the hands. Some people also see it above the knees and on the inner arms.

Wearing sunscreen may seem like the obvious way to ward off crepey skin, but Francis said another method may be more effective.

“You can’t see light through your clothes — that’s better,” she said, “Sunglasses, a hat, those things are always better than sunscreen because they’re on and in place. Sunscreen doesn’t last. It’s not permanent. Sun protection instead of sunscreen is much more comprehensive. I always tell people, think of sunscreen as your last line of defense.”

For the areas that clothing and accessories can’t cover, apply sunscreen. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends a water-resistant one that offers broad-spectrum protection with SPF 30 or higher.

Marmon wants to temper expectations of seeing results from over-the-counter treatments claiming to eliminate the appearance of crepey skin. “While creams, moisturizers, lotions and especially sunscreen are helpful in maintaining skin health, eliminating all signs of aging is pretty much impossible,” she said.

However, with regular use, topical products with ingredients such as retinoids, alpha hydroxy acids, peptides, growth factors, hyaluronic acid and antioxidants can help to stimulate collagen production, therefore improving skin quality.

“These products generally take several months before you see their potential benefit,” Sherber warned, adding that a high price tag doesn’t equate to a higher likelihood for results. “A misconception is that only high-end skin care products can combat crepey skin, when in fact, consistent use is far more important than the price tag.”

You want to make sure the moisturizer you pick also contains water to rehydrate the skin. “Water is the number one hydrator,” Francis said. “A big mistake people make is coating skin with oil when they’re already dehydrated because all that’s going to do is improve the barrier.”

Francis particularly loves products with niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, as a way to help alleviate the appearance of crepey skin. It can also be taken as a supplement.

Sherber offered an easy way to test whether a moisturizer is thick enough to properly hydrate: “When you open the jar and flip it upside down, if it doesn’t drip, then it should be a good barrier support product.”

On May 15, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first skin booster, Skinvive by Juvederm, to improve skin smoothness in adults over 21. The booster is an injectable hyaluronic acid with a serum texture that has been used for years overseas, where they refer to it as Volite. “Unlike fillers, which volumize, skin boosters replenish skin’s deep hydration and can give fantastic results for skin quality improvement, especially in thin-skinned areas that are prone to crepey texture,” Sherber explained.

Other injectables, like Radiesse and Sculptra, stimulate the body to synthesize collagen. Options such as radio frequency skin tightening and fractional non-ablative lasers stimulate the body’s natural healing process, leading to the production of new collagen and elastin that promotes thicker and more elastic skin. “Both can significantly improve skin quality,” Sherber said.

For certain anatomical areas, such as around the eyes, she suggested neuromodulators like Botox for reducing crinkling.

Still, “while we can somewhat improve the appearance of crepey skin, the aging process is ongoing and inevitable,” Marmon said. “It is important to have realistic expectations in terms of what to expect from anti-aging products regardless of what they claim to do. Aging is a natural part of life and much better than the alternative.”

Looking to boost the youthful appearance of the skin on your body? Try one of these skin care products for your body that include retinol.

HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change.

Growing up with freckles, lifestyle and wellness influencer Vic Styles heard all of the standard-issue insults about the tiny specks: “Your face looks dirty.” “Could I play connect-the-dots with them?”

Having classmates zero in on her face admittedly got under Styles’ skin. She absolutely hated her freckles for years, and since she couldn’t find a foundation that fully covered them, she just had to live with the spots. Now 38, Styles loves the constellation of freckles across her face. Instead of covering them, she looks for ways to accentuate them with her makeup.

“I let them live in their fullest glory, if you will, and I really love the summertime because they tend to pop a little bit more,” she told HuffPost. “I think that they’re probably one of the most favorite things about my face. I think they’re really unique.”

It doesn’t hurt that freckles are very much “in” these days. For a long time, freckles ― essentially sun spots caused by overactive pigment cells― were considered blemishes in need of coverage or even skin bleaching.

As early as 1910, Pond’s was advertising vanishing cream to banish freckles, while in later years, people started lasering them off. (Full disclosure from this freckled writer: As a preteen, I used concealer to try to cover every freckle I had ― a tedious process that probably made them look worse.)

Now, people draw on freckles with makeup ― or use broccoli as a stamp (inventive!) to achieve the specked effect. With the dorky Pippi Longstocking connotations long gone, some even get a freckled look with microblading ― a semipermanent tattooing process in which faux freckles are carefully pricked across the cheeks (or wherever else you want spots). Freckles are said to be Meghan Markle’s personal favorite feature.

How does Styles feel about them being trendy now?

“A part of me is a little upset, maybe jealous, that this trend happened now,” she said. “Why couldn’t freckles have been cool when I was 13, when maybe I wouldn’t have gotten made fun of and had an insecurity about them?”

But as a longtime freckle possessor, Styles is also hyped about the trend.

“It’s a fun way for people to reinvent themselves, to play with makeup to alter their looks in a nonpermanent way,” she said. “And I love the broccoli trend. I think it’s very creative. Who would have thought that broccoli could make the perfect freckles?”

She added, “All of us should just be celebrated and embraced for our differences, whether it’s freckles, birthmarks, alopecia, vitiligo — whatever it may be.”

Growing up, Crystal Hana Kim, a New York-based fiction writer whose latest work is “The Stone Home,” had a smattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks that would darken and spread every summer.

“As an adult, freckles cover every inch of my face, my arms, even my knees,” the author told HuffPost.

A Korean American, Kim said she received negative messages about her freckles from both cultures as a kid, leading to considerable insecurity.

“At home, my parents and elders would constantly worry about what to do with my ‘dirty’ face,” she said. “At school, the books I read described freckles as ugly, embarrassing, unsightly.”

Kim recalled that “in the fourth grade, after reading ‘Anne of Green Gables’ ― a book which centers a redheaded, freckled girl who hates her complexion ― I spent a whole lunch period trying to wipe my freckles off in the bathroom.”

Nowadays, she embraces the collection of freckles across her face. She even wrote about how she grew to love them in an essay for Harper’s Bazaar earlier this year. Kim said her older son has started getting some freckles on his cheeks too, which brings her joy, not worry, because she’s taught him that they’re beautiful and not in need of masking.

“Overall, I’m amused by how differently I would have moved through the world if I had grown up now. Not only are freckles popular, but Korean culture is popular, too,” she said. “I think that the way we have expanded what is considered beautiful is a boon.”

Amil Barnes, the CEO of a creative branding agency in Washington, D.C., also loves the freckles he sees on his kids’ faces (in his case, twin girls).

He didn’t feel similarly when his own freckles started popping up around middle school ― a prime time for schoolyard teasing. He also wore big bifocal glasses, which made the taunting “much worse.”

“Even as an African American, I am on the light skin or ‘pale’ side of skin tone,” he said. “So growing up light-skinned, wearing glasses and having freckles, I became the butt of a lot of jokes.”

Thanks to a popular Judy Blume book, Barnes was saddled with “Freckle Juice” as his go-to nickname at the private Catholic school he attended in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland.

“We had this thing called ‘joaning’ growing up ― basically, roasting someone ― and I was always the one singled out in a joaning session,” he said. “As I look back on it, it was funny and it did help me build character!”

These days, he’s mostly a fan of his freckles ― and for good reason.

“I sort of like them only because the females like them,” he joked. “As I get older, more are popping up on my face and I get complimented on them a lot. Whenever people say, ‘Aw, I wish I had freckles,’ my reply is: ‘Oh, I’ll sell them to you. I have plenty to go around.’”