How to Reduce Wrinkles and Fine Lines

Wrinkles. The one word us ladies fear. I'm sure most of us (women and men) dread the day we'll start to get those fine line creases around our eyes, forehead, and mouth. So, today you'll learn all about the natural aging process and how to treat and prevent fine lines.

The best way you can do that is to understand wrinkles front and back. We'll discuss different kinds of wrinkles, how wrinkles form and the best way to treat them. It's important to understand there is no way to completely reverse the aging process. We'll all have wrinkles at one point, but there is no problem in preventing them, right?

Types Of Wrinkles

Natural Aging Lines or Rhytides

Rhytides are the first signs of wrinkles that form. They may appear as slight fine lines.

Rhytides aren't considered a wrinkle yet, which are the deeper creases that form after the rhytides have developed.

These are caused by the skin's  loss of collagen as we naturally age, or glycation. Glycation is a process where excess sugar or glucose binds to collagen fibers in the skin and impairs their function which leads to fine lines and eventually wrinkles.

Causes Of Wrinkles

Basically, the root cause of fine lines and wrinkles is the loss of collagen in the skin.  Collagen is basically the foundation of the skin. Knowing what causes wrinkles, we can know arm ourselves with the knowledge to prevent wrinkles.  Preventing wrinkles is the best way to treat them since treatment for wrinkles can be expensive and take a long time as you're trying to fight against the natural aging process too.   

Sun damage 

Sun damage or photoaging is the #1 cause of all skin damage, including fine lines and wrinkles.   Studies show that sun damage is behind 80% of the reason for premature fine lines and aged skin in men and women.   

The mechanic behind it is that sun damage impairs the collagen matrix in skin, and with more damage, the natural healing and collagen regeneration of the skin gets damaged too and isn't able to regenerate collagen as well. 

Lifetime exposure to the sun for long periods of time without sunscreen (sometimes even with sunscreen), can cause sun spots, hyperpigmentation, permanent "sunburn" (skin that is always discolored with broke capillaries) and also wrinkles.   

Make sure everyday you apply SPF 30+ to your skin (make sure it has UVA/UVB protection) to protect yourself from those harmful rays.   UV rays can also penetrate through windows, and clouds so just because you are inside or it's a cloudy day doesn't mean you are protected.  

Sleep Wrinkles

Sleep wrinkles are formed when the face is compressed into a pillow or bed, whilst laying on your stomach or side. For most of us, these are temporary and fade within a few hours when we are younger,  but as we age and lose elasticity in skin, these can actually become permanent over time.

Repetitive Movements

Fine lines can begin to form from the repetitive movements that cause creasing in the skin. These type of fine lines are located around the eyes, mouth or the forehead.   

If you can picture the creases that appear when you smile, laugh, squint, frown or raise your eyebrows, then these same areas are prone to show signs of wrinkles when we get older. 

Smoking 

Smoking has negative effects, especially to the skin. More research is showing that cigarette smoke releases an enzyme that damages skin collagen, which causes skin to lose elasticity and appear saggy and shallow much quicker.  

Overall, it's best to stop smoking if you are concerned about wrinkles or want to prevent them. 

Other common causes

The list goes on from lack of hydration, to tugging and pulling of the skin and even stress. The face is a delicate area, especially the eyes, treat it gingerly. 

When do wrinkles start to form? When must I start to treat?

It's never too late to have a age defying skincare routine, but it's best to start in your early 20's and work on prevention in your teens.   For many people, signs of fine lines may begin in the 30's to 40's. 

When Wrinkles Form?

It all really depends on a few things, starting with your ethnicity, and location. Dermatologists use the Fitzpatrick Scale to determine your skin tone and assess how much photodamage your skin may have taken. 

Typically, the lighter tones take more sun damage compared to darker skin tones, but all skin tones will start aging and forming wrinkles.  

People with more melanin in their skin have more natural protective abilities from UV damage, so if we had someone with a dark tone compared to someone with a fair skin tone with the same amount of UV exposure,  the one with the darker skintone would have naturally less skin damage and younger appearing skin compared to the fairer toned person at the same age. 

Fair skinned women and men have thinner, more delicate skin which causes the sun to burn it when exposed which will break down the skin's layers faster. 

Treatments for wrinkles

Wear your Suncreen Daily

As mentioned, sun damage is the number 1 causing of aging skin and fine lines and wrinkles.  If you want your anti wrinkle treatments to work, you have to keep your skin protected from further damage by wearing sunscreen.  

Try to find one with at least an SPF 30 protection, and many people may not know that to maintain the SPF protection, you need to reapply the sunscreen every 2 hours ( Yes a hassle, I know. )

Use Retinoid

Retinoids which come from Vitamin A is a great skincare ingredient for wrinkles and anti aging.   They work by increasing collagen synthesis and they also help with increasing the skin turnover and regeneration rate.  

There are many different types and strengths of retinol from over the counter which are weaker, to prescription strengths.   Retinol can come with its own side effects too and it's not recommended if you are nursing or pregnant.  

Moisturize Regularly With Vitamin C

Moisturizing helps add hydration directly to the surface of the skin. When skin is dehydrated, it can cause more wrinkles to form, so adding moisture may reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles

Using a moisturizer with Vitamin C can help give more permanent effects to reducing wrinkles since Vitamin C helps increase collagen in skin and can reduce signs of aging especially when combined with sunscreen.

Eat Antioxidant Rich Foods

Foods like fresh vegetables and fruits can prevent free radical damage that could cause fine lines and wrinkles.  Foods rich in omega 3 like fatty fish such as salmon can also help reduce wrinkle appearance too by keeping skin looking plump.  Cocoa ( without the extra sugars of course ) can also be beneficial because it contains flavonoids sun protecting properties.

Extra Tips

Don't forget the neck - the most common mistake is forgetting about your neck completely.  Make sure you're moisturizing your neck daily and adding your sunscreen there as well.