What Causes Wrinkles?

As a person gets older, their skin undergoes significant changes:

• The cells divide more slowly, and the inner layer of skin (the dermis) starts to thin.
  
  
• Fat cells beneath the dermis begin to atrophy (diminish).
  
  
• The underlying network of elastin and collagen fibers, which provides scaffolding for the surface layers, loosens and unravels.
  
  
• Skin loses its elasticity. When pressed, it no longer springs back to its initial position but instead sags and forms furrows.
  
  
• The sweat and oil-secreting glands atrophy, depriving the skin of their protective water-lipid emulsions. The skin's ability to retain moisture then diminishes and it becomes dry and scaly.
  
  
• Constant facial expressions also form characteristic lines.
  
  
• Gravity exacerbates the situation, contributing to the formation of jowls and drooping eyelids. (Eyebrows, surprisingly, move up as a person ages, possibly because of forehead wrinkles.)
  
  
• In addition, the ability of the skin to repair itself diminishes with age, so wounds are slower to heal.

• Sunlight damages collagen fibers (the major structural protein in the skin) and causes accumulation of abnormal elastin (the protein that causes tissue to stretch). Enzymes called metalloproteinases are produced and can repair the damage for the most part. Repetition of this rebuilding process over and over again causes wrinkles.
  
  
• UV radiation from the sun also promotes oxidation, the release of damaging and unstable oxygen-free radicals. Oxidation contributes to wrinkling, possibly by activating the metalloproteinases that degrade connective tissue.
  
  
• Cigarette smoke (Smoking) :
  
  
  1. causes thickening and fragmentation of elastin, which are the elastic fibers that are long and smooth in healthy skin.
     
  2. diminishes the level of estrogen in women to cause dryness and disintegration of skin tissues.
     
  3. reduces the amount of oxygen supplied to the skin by reducing circulation. -leads to a decrease in the formation of collagen, the skin's main structural component, and may reduce the water content of the skin.
     
  4. compromises the skin's ability to fend off free radicals, the highly reactive substances that are present in tobacco smoke that cause cell damage.

• Air pollution - Ozone, a common air pollutant, may be a particular problem for the skin. One study reported that it might deplete the amount of vitamin E in the skin (an important anti oxidant).
  
  
• Rapid weight loss can also cause wrinkles by reducing the volume of fat cells that cushion the face. This not only makes a person look gaunt, but can cause the skin to sag.
  
  
• Heredity - you may have inherited some of your skin characteristics from your parents.

1. Avoid the sun and/or use sunscreen
2. Don't smoke
3. Use a topical anti-wrinkle cream
4. Moisturize daily
5. Drink plenty of water
6. Exercise
7. Eat plenty of fruits & vegetables.