Facial Wrinkles - Iron Out the Facts and Solutions
Today, we live in an increasingly self-conscious world, one in
which it is easy to become obsessed with how we look. Looking
younger seems almost to be a national obsession.
Increasingly, wrinkles are regarded as unwanted facial
characteristics. Newer and more potent treatments and drugs vie
for our attention; claiming that they will reduce wrinkles and
give us a more youthful appearance.
Why do most anti-aging treatments and surgeries focus on the
face and neck as the area for enhancement? This is because
usually the face and neck most clearly betrays the effect of
passing time.
Being one of the most "exposed" parts of our body to the
surrounding environment, the face reflects the ravages of time
quite faithfully. Haven't you noticed that you can very
accurately estimate the age of a person merely by looking at
their face?
Even babies are born with this skill - they can differentiate
between the face of an adult and a child.
There are very clear biological and environmental factors behind
the maturing of our faces and wrinkles. As a person grows older,
the shape of their cranium actually changes.
The skin tends to become darker with the passage of years. Also,
it loses its elasticity and becomes less flexible.
Not only that, it becomes rougher but also more leathery.
Various blemishes and discolorations appear on the skin. Not
only is an aging face betrayed by lines and wrinkles, it also
plays host to pouches and folds.
The pores of our skin appear wider, bags appear under the eyes
and the very skin appears to sag. These conditions can often
result in a double chin.
Many consider the above conditions unsightly. The sight of
facial wrinkles and sagging chins is enough to send some of us
rushing to the nearest plastic surgeon or botox treatment.
May be a better strategy should be to look into the reasons
behind the appearance of wrinkles. Only then we can understand
this process and attempt to actually reverse it.
Most experts will cite photo damage or sun damage as the primary
reason behind wrinkles. This is because the sun's rays can very
easily penetrate the skin's surface. These rays can actually
physically destroy the delicate tissues of our skin, leading to
wrinkles.
Although sun tanning is a very fashionable activity, research
indicates that this could lead to earlier and also deeper
wrinkles.
You might think that tanning, burning, and peeling is the only
damage the sun can cause. These are, in fact, only the more
apparent and superficial effects of sun damage.
-- The Deeper Ravages of the Sun --
Sunrays can cause much damage to the deeper layers of the skin.
This is because Ultra Violet rays (in sunlight) have different
bandwidth. UV rays and can actually penetrate much deeper into
our skin.
Darker skin tones tend to be much less vulnerable to skin burns.
However, in the way they respond to wrinkles because of sun
damage is not very different. Apart from wrinkles, the sun also
causes dryness of skin and the manifestation of age spots - all
signs of a skin struggling to survive the challenges of time.
Studies show that most age related wrinkles start appearing
around the age of 27. This also depends on a number of factors
apart from the environment like...
- facial habits - genetic inheritance and - skin care regimens.
Biologically, wrinkles are caused by the breakdown of the
collagen and elastin fibers. These fibers lie beneath our skin
and which give it its flexibility and firmness.
Ultra violet rays contribute to the damage of skin fibers. What
follows is when stretched, our skin is no longer capable of
"snapping" back. This helps lead to wrinkles.
Gravity is also an acknowledged culprit in this game. It
constantly pulls our skin downwards and causes it to sag over a
period of time. This is especially visible on the face and neck
and on our upper arms.
Cigarette smoking is another cause for early wrinkle formation.
Scientists are not sure of the reason behind this, but studies
have consistently shown that smokers are far more susceptible to
wrinkle damage than non-smokers.
This is even evidenced when both smokers and nonsmokers belonged
to the same age group. In these test groups participants
exposure to the sun had been similar and their complexion was of
similar types. The smokers experienced more wrinkles in their
skin. Scientists suppose that this might happen because of the
damage that the cigarette smoke causes to elastin.
Other factors which have been proposed to explain the formations
of wrinkles like hormone loss as we age. Free radicals are said
to attack our skin. Certain areas of our facial skin reflect age
much earlier. Is the case especially in areas around our eyes
and lips and our foreheads.
This is because our skin repeatedly folds around these regions.
Our skin actually "remembers" our habitual expressions and over
time. It gets permanently folded accordingly.
Botox injections have proven especially effective when these
specific facial features have been targeted.
Some over the counter formulas are now available to help in the
fight against the ravages of time. Rejuvinol