Fine lines and wrinkles can start to appear in some cases as early as the mid to late twenties, depending on lifestyle, genetics and how much unprotected sun exposure our skin has seen. Unfortunately, most of us don’t give wrinkles much thought until well after they start appearing. One day we look in the mirror and notice that seemingly overnight, our skin no longer has that perfect even, smooth texture we once thought it would always have. In truth, the process of skin aging is unavoidable and begins long before we see the results in the mirror. That said, there are things that can be done to help delay and minimize the process.
What Causes Skin To Wrinkle?
In short, lots of things cause the skin to age and wrinkle. These are some of the most important contributors:
- Sun Damage … We list this one first because it is likely the leading culprit when it comes to premature aging of the skin. The cumulative effects of unprotected UV exposure wreak havoc on our skin. In addition to significantly increasing our risk of skin cancer, repeated UV exposure damages our skin and causes it to break down and become less firm, smooth and vibrant.
- Free Radicals … Every day our skin is exposed to damage from such culprits as automobile exhaust, pollution, cigarette smoke, stress, oxygen, etc. All of this promotes the presence of Free Radicals, which are unstable atoms that attack cells and lead to wrinkles, spots and various other signs of aging.
- Age … As our bodies age, so too does our skin. A fact of life even the best skin care habits and products can’t entirely keep up with. Taking care of our skin goes a long way towards delaying and minimizing the effects of aging, but we encourage you to understand and accept the fact that natural aging cannot be stopped. If this is disappointing, hopefully you will be encouraged to know that by properly protecting and caring for your skin, yours will look much younger than others of your same age that failed to do the same.
- Overuse … Areas of our face that get worked the hardest tend to wrinkle sooner and more dramatically. These are the wrinkles and creases often referred to as laugh lines, frown lines, forehead wrinkles, etc. They are the cumulative effect of repeated daily use of the same facial structures day after day, year after year. Please don’t let this be a reason not to use facial expression, just understand that like natural aging, these types of wrinkles are a fact of life that cannot entirely be avoided.
How to Delay/ Minimize Wrinkles
Again, natural aging and wrinkling is unavoidable. The good news is that we can both delay and minimize this fact of life with a few simple steps that take little time and don’t have to be terribly expensive. There are many products that can help, but for the purposes of this article we will focus on the basic ones … those we feel are most crucial:
- Sunscreen … Use it every day, even if it isn’t the middle of summer and the sun isn’t shining brightly. Up to 80% of the sun’s harmful rays can reach your skin through cloudy skies. If we were to rank anti-aging products in order of importance, a good sunscreen would be at the top of our list without question. When choosing a sunscreen, find one that says Broad Spectrum on the label. Broad Spectrum sunscreens protect against both UVA and UVB Rays, as opposed to just one of the two. Both UVA and UVB Rays contribute to skin damage and even skin cancer. As for SPF ratings, there is some debate, but the minimum is SPF 15, with most experts recommending SPF30.
- Vitamin C … Simply put, Vitamin C is an anti-aging superstar! Here’s why:
- It is the most effective free radical neutralizing anti-oxidant there is.
- It promotes Collagen Synthesis, helping strengthen the underlying structure that gives our skin support.
- It helps brighten the skin to give it more of that youthful glow.
- Daily Moisturizer … This helps keep your skin hydrated. Aside from looking awful, dried out skin is unhealthy skin. Consider a moisturizer that also contains Broad Spectrum UV protection to take care of two important basics with one product.
- Exfoliation … Helps remove the outer layer of dead cells clinging to our skin. This exposes the new, fresher skin beneath and increases its ability to absorb and benefit from other skincare products.
- Night Time Moisturizer … Finish the day by applying a good night time moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated and happy throughout the night. It is common for night time moisturizers to include additional anti-aging ingredients. For example, ours includes a Collagen Boosting Liposome clinically proven to increase levels of Juvenile Collagen in the skin and help it maintain proper structure so it won’t break down, wrinkle and sag.
There are numerous other anti-aging products you can use in addition to those highlighted above. We recommend you use our list as a basic outline and fill in with other products as you see fit. If you use only the products we have mentioned and nothing else, you will be well on your way to a healthy routine that will help delay and minimize the effects of aging on your skin. Please also keep in mind that lifestyle choices play an important role. For example, diet, exercise, smoking/ not smoking. But that’s a discussion we will save for another article.
Please feel free to call or email us if you have comments or questions regarding this or any other skincare topic. We would love to help in any way we can.