Atrophic and hypertrophic ageing can be classified based on systematic, categorical, and quantitative clinical and histological examination. It is known that exposure to the sun may lead to premature skin ageing referred to as ‘photoaging.’ However, the clinical features of photoaging differ considerably from individual to individual. While one form is marked with thin skin with telangiectasia, the other is marked with thickened skin with coarse wrinkles. There is ambiguity about the etiologic, clinical, and therapeutic differences among various forms of photoaging.

In a study conducted among 53 participants to clinically classify atrophic or hypertrophic photoaging, it was seen that actinic and seborrheic keratosis, telangiectasia, and earlier incidence of skin cancer was considerably higher. In contrast, photoaging scale severity, coarse wrinkles, the thickness of the skin, and sallowness were reduced in atrophic versus hypertrophic groups. When assessed histologically, there was significantly lesser elasototic material in atrophic photoaging.