Feeling young at heart can seem tough when your skin isn’t matching your energy. Wrinkles, while a completely natural result of aging skin, are something that many patients look to reduce.
As you age, your skin loses a majority of its volume created by proteins, such as collagen and elastin. As a result, skin becomes thin and more susceptible to damage.
What are Collagen and Elastin?
Collagen and elastin are the protein fibers of your skin that are primarily responsible for keeping skin firm and supple. Think of them as the “magic formula” for keeping your skin having a youthful glow.
Collagen is what keeps your skin from sagging. It is essentially the “strength” in your skin. It is also the infrastructure for elastin, meaning a decrease in collagen production directly affects the production of elastin.
Elastin is the property of your skin that allows it to resume its shape after movement, hence the resemblance to the word “elastic”.
When working together, these proteins are what keeps your skin looking youthful. So what happens to them as you age? When you age, your body starts naturally producing less collagen, therefore affecting elastin production, leading to the formation of wrinkles in your skin.
However, all hope for having smooth, wrinkle-free, skin isn’t lost just because you age another year. You can take preventative measures daily, that keep these proteins healthy and prevent premature signs of aging.
Common Causes of Wrinkles
Does it feel like that one wrinkle appeared overnight? It may be time to look closer into factors of your everyday life that contribute to the development of wrinkles. Three main factors are sun exposure, smoking, and lack of sleep.
Sun Exposure
When exposed to the sun, UV and UVB rays penetrate deep into your skin and cause damage to the collagen and elastin of your skin. Once they are damaged, your skin starts to wrinkle. Wearing an SPF daily, of at least 30, can help protect your skin from these damaging ultraviolet rays.
Smoking
Cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and any nicotine device are directly linked to speeding up the aging of your skin. Nicotine, along with the thousands of chemicals these products are composed of, causes your blood vessels to narrow. This limits the flow of oxygen and nutrients to your skin cells, which directly affects the synthesis rate of collagen.
Lack of Sleep
Giving your body enough time to repair itself is essential to your skin’s health. When you sleep, your body is taking on a variety of tasks for your skin. The rebuilding of collagen that is lost during UV exposure is one of these. Reducing the body’s time to do important tasks such as this, leads to wrinkles and age spots. The National Sleep Foundation guidelines advise that healthy adults need around 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night.
While sun exposure, smoking, and lack of sleep are three of the primary factors that contribute to wrinkle formation, they are not the only ones. Factors such as diet, repeated facial expressions, vitamin C consumption, and daily SPF application are examples of others.
Non-invasive Procedures Used to Treat Wrinkles
We understand that invasive surgery, even if minimal, isn’t ideal for every patient. That’s why a number of non-invasive procedures are available in-office, to improve and prevent the appearance of wrinkles. Each procedure is broken down below.
Chemical Peels
Chemical Peels can help restore the health of your skin by causing the skin to regenerate. During this procedure, a chemical solution is applied to the skin in order to remove the top (epidermis) layer of the skin. In many cases, the skin grows back smoother and less wrinkled.
Dermaplaning
Dermaplaning is a method that consists of gently removing the top layer of dead skin cells with an exfoliating blade, revealing a smoother, more youthful complexion. This procedure prevents wrinkles and fine lines from forming when treatments are performed regularly. Dermaplaning is often recommended before undergoing more intrusive facial treatments.
Intense Pulsed Light Treatment (IPL Treatment)
Intense Pulsed Light Treatment is a procedure that discharges multiple wavelengths of light at your skin in order to penetrate your dermis (second layer of skin). This rejuvenates your skin naturally while also boosting collagen. In addition to improving skin tightness, IPL provides an improvement in broken blood vessels, redness, and age spots.
Radiofrequency Skin Tightening
Radiofrequency Skin Tightening is a method that reduces loose skin and wrinkles by targeting collagen in the deeper layers of your skin. The heating of collagen leads the skin to contract, thereby tightening the skin. We use Fractora and Forma by InMode.
Microneedling
Microneedling boosts collagen and elastin production by causing controlled micro-injuries to the skin. This leads your skin to undergo a natural wound healing process (sending collagen and elastin to the wound) to repair it. By prompting this process, while minimizing cellular damage, micro-needling can effectively remodel scar tissue – resulting in youthful and smooth-looking skin.
Injectable Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers, also known as facial fillers or injectables, are an injectable gel-like substance that can be used to soften wrinkles and reduce facial lines.
Want to find the procedure that is the best fit for you? Schedule a consultation with our expert aesthetician, Pheenie Scott, to learn more.
Wrinkle Prevention
Whether you just started to see wrinkles form, or have had wrinkles for years, there are preventative measures that can be taken to combat further wrinkle growth.
Wear an SPF Moisturizer Daily
Combat damaging ultraviolet rays with a daily SPF moisturizer of 30 or higher. Not only will this deliver protection against UV and UVB rays but will also help nourish and hydrate the skin.
Be Careful of Repeated Facial Expressions
Relax that face! Sometimes, you can make a facial expression, such as furrowing your brow, without even noticing. Try and become more aware of facial expressions you repeat often and relax those muscles to prevent wrinkles from forming in those areas.
Watch your Diet
Did you know that what you eat can actually cause damage to collagen too? Foods with high sugars and carbohydrates may lead to advanced glycation end products (AGEs).
An AGE forms when a protein combines with sugar and becomes glycated. When AGE’s form at a high level, they can actually cause damage to collagen. By watching what you eat, you can combat the formation of AGEs.
Have further wrinkle-related questions? Schedule a consultation with us.