Is It Only Age That Causes Wrinkles. Want To Know For Sure?
There is only one 100% efficient way of dealing with wrinkles – embracing them. Wrinkles will happen to everybody, and once they do, they are here to stay.
You will hear tons of stories about how wrinkles come to those that frown or to those that smile. They do. But only because they happen to everybody.
Namely, if you move your face muscles, and you do, some of those tiny muscles remain fixed in one position. It’s like having a continuous cramp of a little muscle that you don’t really feel. However, it folds and creases your skin in one position, so it remains like that. And that’s your wrinkle.
So, there’s some truth to this story that those who smile or frown continuously can increase their chances to get wrinkles a bit earlier than the rest of us.
What else causes wrinkles? Here are 5 more reasons for them.
Gravity
Yes, even the Earth itself together with the laws of physics works against your agenda to be wrinkle-free. The effects of gravity are apparent. They pull everything down, including your skin. In time, your face muscles weaken, and the skin gets lax. It creases and forms wrinkles.
Aging
This is not precisely a heavily guarded secret, is it? Aging causes wrinkles. Yes, but how? For you to understand this better, you need to know a bit about the structure of your skin. It consists of four most important layers:
- Subcutaneous tissue – this is mostly fat tissue. It makes your skin full and glowy.
- Dermal-epidermal junction – this area contains rete pegs. These pegs enable blood vessels to feed your epidermis keeping it nurtured.
- Dermis – this is where your connective tissue lies. Think collagen, elastin and different proteins. That gives your skin vitality and strength.
- Epidermis – this is the top layer of your skin. This is what you see when you look in the mirror.
The deepest layers of your skin stop producing moisture as sebaceous glands become lazy. The collagens stop working as well, and your rete spots don’t supply enough nutrients to your epidermis anymore.
So, your moisture production is reduced, and your epidermis starts releasing that little moisture you have. The result – dry skin that cracks and creases forming wrinkles.
Hormones
Everybody who has ever gone through puberty knows how much hormones can affect the skin. At a certain age, estrogen production slows down. This influences the skin by drying it out. There is no direct proof that this estrogen drop is a direct reason for wrinkles, but it definitely helps.
Sun Exposure
One of the worst enemies of healthy skin is the sun. The adverse effects of sun exposure come from the UVA and UVB rays. They cause aging, as well as spots, burns and different pigmentation issues. The worst-case scenario is cancerous changes.
But, that’s not all. Sun exposure actually helps break down collagen. Yes! The exact substance that makes your skin strong, elastic and beautiful. Your skin still tries to produce collagen even in those conditions, but the sun prevents it from doing it well. That’s how wrinkles are formed.
Free Radicals
Free radicals create conditions in which it is easier for sun exposure to break down collagen. How? It makes the cells of your skin unstable.
Free radicals lack one electron which they try to grab from other molecules. Once the molecule loses an electron, it grabs it from a nearby molecule, so all of them become a bit unstable.
With all these factors, aging and wrinkles are inevitable. However, with proper care, continuous moisturizing, and regular sunscreen, you can postpone their forming. Add a healthy diet, exercise, and adequate hydration and your skill will remain beautiful and glowy for a long time.