Aging and some environmental factors play a role when it comes to producing wrinkles. While they can be frustrating, it’s also natural for the skin to create a few wrinkles over time despite the best efforts. Because of that, many steps can be taken to slow down this process and ensure that the skin looks good for as long as possible.
Avoid prolonged sun exposure
There are different types of UV radiation that are emitted from the sun, which can damage the skin:
- UVA rays cause photoaging, leading to sun spots, wrinkles, and facial redness.
- UVB rays, on the other hand, are the main culprit behind sunburns and skin cancers.
UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB rays, reaching and damaging essential fibers, such as collagen and elastin, responsible for keeping the skin smooth, healthy, and young.
Wash the face regularly
Taking three to five minutes to wash the face at night is never a waste of time. When leaving makeup on the face overnight, the skin absorbs most of it. Nowadays, most cosmetics contain harsh chemicals contributing to the skin’s oxidative stress.
Also, avoid vigorously scrubbing the face. Use a water-based wipe to cleanse the face before going to sleep, and finish the wash with some cold water splashed across the skin.
Wear sunscreen daily : defy wrinkles
Below are a few tips to take full advantage of the benefits of sunscreen application.
- Reapply sunscreen every two hours or every 40 to 80 minutes when in contact with water or sweat.
- Wait 30 minutes or more before going outside when using a chemical sunscreen compared to mineral sunscreen that needs no wait time.
- Ensure to cover the exposed parts of the body with enough sunscreen. Most adults will need a nickel-sized amount for their face.
- Don’t forget to apply sunscreen to the neck, ears, leg, the top part of the feet, and even the area around the eyelids. Since the eyelids are susceptible, it’s best to use a natural physical sunscreen because it contains gentle ingredients.
Get enough sleep
At night, energy and cellular functions focus on repair and recovery to prepare the skin to defend itself against the environment the following day. This means having less sleep is also having less repair, and even less defense, causing wrinkles over time.
Getting enough sleep isn’t only about total hours of sleep, but most adults need seven or more hours of good-quality sleep on a regular schedule each night. It’s also important to get good-quality sleep regularly to feel rested after waking up.
Sleep on your back
Sleeping on the stomach or one of the sides means constant pressure on the face. This is because this action will produce unwanted sleep lines over time. The remedy is sleeping on your back since it will not apply any pressure to the face.
For many people, this might be uncomfortable since no one can control the involuntary sleep movement leading to a side or stomach position. However, it can be practiced and get used to it over time.
Upgrade your pillowcase
If it’s not comfortable sleeping on your back, you can still prevent those pillowcase-induced wrinkles by upgrading from cotton to silk or satin. With a silk pillowcase, there is less traction, and your face won’t “crunch” against it as it does on a cotton pillow.
Try a retinol
One most powerful tools in the anti-aging arsenal are retinol. The vitamin A derivative teaches the skin to act young again by stimulating the collagen that prevents fine lines. Below are the known benefits of retinol:
- It helps acne by keeping pores clear and reducing skin cells’ build-up. In addition, it can block inflammation pathways in the skin.
- Retinol helps skin cells’ natural turnover, revealing fresh cells underneath, which happens less frequently with age, leading to a duller complexion. Retinol helps speed up this turnover process and promotes brighter, smoother skin. It also goes deeper into the skin to encourage collagen production and further plump the skin.
- Retinol can reduce skin cell turnover for sun damage, helping improve skin tone. Retinol can even strengthen the skin, helping protect it against further environmental damage.
Boost the beta carotene
Beta carotene is one of the ingredients in the cosmetic anti-wrinkle creams available to buy on the market. Although it’s under further debate, simply take a beta carotene supplement and see the benefits in the skin. As little as 30 milligrams per day of beta carotene, taken orally, can prevent and repair photoaging (otherwise known as wrinkles).
Cut out smoking
For many reasons, smoking is terrible for the health, but many people don’t know that it can age the face prematurely. One fascinating study compared the faces of 79 pairs of identical twins in which one had a smoking habit and the other one didn’t.
The striking differences in their ages made it clear that smoking affects the skin condition on the face. Even being around second-hand smoke can increase the risk for many cancers and other diseases and hurt the skin.
Stimulate collagen
Collagen can indeed help prevent wrinkles from occurring with age. To keep the skin looking its best, eat a healthy diet with leafy greens high in vitamin C for healthy collagen production. Many treatments stimulate collagen production, too, such as:
- Microdermabrasion. This quick, painless treatment uses tiny aluminum oxide crystals to exfoliate the skin’s top layer. In fact, the micro-crystals used in this procedure remove dead surface cells, giving the skin a glowing look.
- Chemical Peels. This procedure is painless and uses a chemical solution to exfoliate the skin. Chemical Peels stimulate collagen production that gives the skin a younger-looking one.
- Lasers. Another popular treatment for stimulating collagen production is laser treatment. The laser uses energy beams to target specific areas of the skin. This procedure is often used to treat sun damage, wrinkles, and scars as it penetrates deep into the skin and damages the collagen fibers, producing new, healthy collagen fibers and leading to younger-looking skin.
- Injectables. They are popular because they require just one treatment and contain calcium hydroxylapatite that stimulates collagen production. This is ideal for smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles. Some people have reported collagen flowing from the injection site, which means having to get injected in multiple areas on the face to achieve optimal results.
The Bottom Line
Wrinkles caused by aging occur due to the decrease in collagen and elastin. At Skintuition Medical Aesthetics, they use Wrinkle Relaxers such as Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin to soften those pesky lines and wrinkles to give you that youthful look you desire. Based on your concerns and needs, they will determine which wrinkle relaxer works best for you according to the treated areas and other important factors.
