Why Do Wrinkles Form?

Hit age 45 and you are bound to say, what the heck happened to my face?! Age starts creeping up on us in our 40s. Wrinkles are a result of aging skin and volume loss. Further, skin loses elasticity as we age, and our collagen production slows down. But there is treatment for wrinkles and we’re going to take look at them today.

What Other Factors Contribute to Wrinkles?

The main external factors that contribute to a decrease in elasticity and wrinkle formation include sun exposure, smoking and dehydration. Too, with age skin, as well as all tissue, takes longer to heal thus more apt to lead to scar and wrinkle formation.

All the above are the primary causes of wrinkles, while other factors may include:

• Frequent muscle use, such as the facial muscles, can result in expression lines or wrinkles on the face.
• Wrinkles can be caused by certain medications, environmental pollutants, and genetic factors.

5 Myths About Wrinkles

According to Penn Medicine (1), myths regarding wrinkles abound. The top 5 Myths About Wrinkles are:

1. My parents have wrinkles, therefore I will.

While genetics may play a role in wrinkle development, how you care for your body and your skin can play as big, if not bigger, role in the development of wrinkles.

2. There is one perfect product out there that will prevent wrinkles.

Not true. Everyone’s skin is different and loosely falls into 4 skin types: Oily, Dry, Normal or Combination. Someone with acne prone skin is going to care for their skin in a very different way as opposed to someone with dry skin. In fact, oily skin (acne-prone) tends to age far more slowly than dry skin. If you have dry skin, you need to be diligent about hydration of the body and moisturizing of the skin.

3. The best treatments are the most expensive.

Do not overbuy products- meaning keep your skincare routine simple. Medical grade products may be of the highest quality, but too, products with fewer ingredients and ingredients that you can pronounce and recognize may be equally or even more effective.

4. If my skin is properly moisturized, I will never get wrinkles.

Everyone gets wrinkles and as mentioned genetics plays a role, as does skin type, as does over health, as does skin care. Thus, many factors play into the development of wrinkles, and while you can do much to delay the onset, and develop finer lines as opposed to big grooves, we all eventually will get wrinkles.

5. I only need to wear sunscreen when it is sunny.

UV light is still present when the clouds are out. Consider a moisturizing sunscreen that contains antioxidants thus accomplishing multiple things with one product.

How to Prevent Wrinkles?

As the saying goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this is absolutely true when it comes to wrinkles. Once you have reached your sixth or seventh decade and your wrinkles are deep, it is hard to nearly impossible to see improvement without laser resurfacing.

According to Healthline, the 8 Best Ways to prevent wrinkles include:

1. Wear sunscreen.
2. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. Drink 64 ounces or more of filtered water.
3. Get plenty of sleep and sleep on your back. Consider a bed roll to prevent you from rolling over on your side. Side and stomach sleeping can smoosh the face in odd ways and cause deep grooves when you repeatedly sleep in the same position.
4. Use a retinoid product.
5. Eat well– lots of fruits and vegetables, eliminate processed foods and unnecessary carbohydrates. When possible, eat organic.
6. Don’t smoke– not only will you get all the puckers around the lips, but smoking is bad for your health and therefore your skin in general.
7. Relaxation in general will lead to the relaxation of the face. Think yoga, meditation, various breathing techniques, etc.
8. Moisturize– use a moisturizer daily, especially at bedtime when the body is working on restoring and repairing the damage of the day

An additional tip is to maintain a consistent weight to not overstretch the skin, which will lead to skin laxity when weight is lost.

“All you do is sleep with the jelly over your favorite moisturizer and wake up with baby-soft skin. “

Treatments for Wrinkles

There are multiple methods to minimize wrinkles from costly laser resurfacing to injections. Let’s review these methods in more detail (3).

• Botox injections- a toxin called onobotulinumtoxinA is injected into specific spots on the face to temporarily prevent muscles from moving. The effects last up to six months.
• Fillers– various pharmacological filler products are used to fill in spots where there are fine lines, indentations, and divots. Collagen and hyaluronic acid are two popular fillers, but there are many others.
• Lasers– laser resurfacing removes the outer layer of skin, and the underlying layer of skin is heated to stimulate collagen growth. There are varying downtimes depending on the type of laser used.
• Microdermabrasion – involves using an abrasive surface or spraying sodium bicarbonate or aluminum oxide with suction. Newer methods include diamond tip applicators, crystals and hydra dermabrasion machines. There is minimal to no downtime with these methods.
• Radiofrequency (RF) with or without micro-needling- RF devices heat up the deep layers of your skin using advanced radio wave technology. The heat activates collagen, which tightens the skin, thereby reducing the look of wrinkles. This can be done by aestheticians and cosmetologists. Microneedling must be done by a medical professional and involves puncturing small holes in the skin using sterile needles. The advantage of micro-needling is the heat from the RF penetrates deeper producing a more profound and longer lasting results. 4 Treatments of micro-needling with RF are recommended. Without micro-needling weekly treatments will be required over several months to achieve similar results.
• Express Lift, Brow/Forehead Lift and Face Lift are minimally invasive to invasive procedures for those looking for a more aggressive and semi-permanent results. These procedures have varying downtimes.
• Chemical Peels– an acidic solution is applied to the skin causing damaged skin on the surface to peel off- promoting new collagen growth and a more youthful-looking skin. Peels vary in strength as does healing time post-intervention. You can work up from weaker to stronger peels to see how your skin reacts.
• Acoustic Wave Therapy (AWT)- AWT is a novel face tightening method that involves nonthermal penetration of the skin and subcutaneous (aka fat layer) tissue. This percussive method boosts the metabolism of cells, releasing unwanted fat and activating the blood and lymphatic flow in tissues. (This is the preferred anti-aging method used at Body R-N-R. We use the gentle Atlas tip applicator and can include facial cupping with your facial).

At-home treatments for wrinkles include using a retinoid, glycolic or antioxidant cream along with moisturizers. Hyaluronic Acid is a humectant, thus draws moisture in, and is therefore a popular moisturizing ingredient.

To Slug or Not to Slug?   

The younger among us may already know, as Slugging is all the rage on TikTok. So what the heck is slugging? This hydrating hack was popularized in Korea, and promises baby-soft, smooth, and glowing skin. For most skin types, this is a welcomed addition to skin care routines with a nod of approval from both dermatologists and skin-influencers (5).

Those with dry or normal skin will benefit from slugging while those with oily or acne-prone skin may not. However, there is a possibility that acne is caused by skin blockage from a build-up of dead skin. In which case, slugging can soften up that dead skin. Consider following up slugging with exfoliation, a chemical and/or a dermaplane procedure.

Slugging is easy, and simply involves applying an occlusive layer to the skin after all other steps of your evening skin care routine have been completed. Be sure to use an effective moisturizer to lock in all the goodness. The two most popular choices for the occlusive layer are petroleum jelly or Aquaphor. Here at Body R-N-R we do not recommend the use of petroleum-based products. Instead, we recommend trying ozonated olive oil or any of several non-petroleum-based jellies (lots of them can be found by looking on amazon or google -simply search for non-petroleum jelly).

“All you do is sleep with the jelly over your favorite moisturizer and wake up with baby-soft skin. This extra step is highly recommended before special events to give you that extra-smooth glow.”

What is Dermaplaning?

Dermaplaning involves removing the outer layer of skin which consists of dull, dead skin cells. During the procedure, an aesthetician or health care professional uses a sharp number 10 blade held at a 45-degree to gently scrape the skin (6). Fine hairs are also removed rendering the skin more porous to therapeutic products. A chemical peel may be done as part of the process, but for sure a moisturizer and sunscreen need to be applied after the procedure.

Prevention Is The Best Treatment for Wrinkles

Despite your parents having you wrinkles, you are not destined for the same. With preventive measures, such as hydrating, healthy skin care habits and regular facials from a professional, you can grow older more gracefully. Consider some of the new and renewed methods of fighting aging with dermaplaning, slugging, and acoustic sound waves. Doing these simpler and less expensive things regularly can mean decades of healthy and smooth skin; meaning you do not have to think about going under the knife or spending money on laser procedures (perhaps ever).

Body R-N-R is the only practice in the state of Arizona that combines acoustic sound waves, dermaplaning and the BallancerPro for a healthier you! Beauty from the inside-out…

A Special Note by Alisa

A random person recently complemented me on my skin, and she was blown away when I told her I am 54. Overall, I contribute the condition of my skin to healthy habits I have made over the last 3 decades. I haven’t had alcohol in over a decade, and prior to that I only had a glass of wine on occasion. I have never smoked, and I drink a lot of water. Too, I am blessed and cursed with acne-prone skin. However, a few months ago I had a line from the corner of my mouth to the end of my chin that was deep- very deep. I believe this line started from an overly aggressive electrologist that essentially burned a hole near my lip. My side sleeping didn’t help.

My deep line, that has been developing over the last 10 or more years is nearly gone. I didn’t notice the improvement until this random person paid the complement. A complement that I haven’t received since I was in my 20’s! I contribute the improvement in my skin texture to daily BallancerPro sessions, dermaplaning, using Farmhouse Fresh Products and doing acoustic sound wave. I only recommend for others what works for me; it’s the nurse in me.