Fine Lines? More Like Fine Times!
The most iconic symbol of ageing is the dreaded “W” word… “wrinkles”. (We could feel your body just cease up with dread while reading that word.)
It’s inevitable.
We are all going to experience them in the future. It’s a reminder to us that we aren’t young forever, or maybe that we were young once and took it for granted, or maybe the reality we may be wrestling with is “Where did all that time go? What did I do with it?”
But the future may not seem so grim when you know the right information and tools to use to reduce the appearance of current fine lines and wrinkles, and also, slow down the process of them forming anytime soon!
Let’s do a little deep dive, first, into what causes fine lines and wrinkles to appear on our beloved face, and then look into treatments and procedures to reduce the attention they seem to demand.
Natural Ageing
Natural ageing, the inevitable, natural causation of the gradual loss of structural components that keep our skin looking and feeling smooth and firm.
Such as collagen, usually providing strength and support, breaks down 1-1.5% each year after our mid-twenties. The same goes with elastin, a protein that maintains the “bounce back” springy effect, eventually breaks down. The loss of these two essential proteins weakens the skin, creating creases and folds over time.
Our cell turnover (the process of removing dead skin cells and creating new ones) slows down as we age, making fine lines more noticeable because the old skin cells don’t want to sacrifice themselves for young fresh cells to replace them. Eventually these fine lines ruthlessly become the wrinkles we all dread.
And finally, unfortunately, the whole dermis thins, giving wrinkles that deeper-set appearance that all grannies have in the movies and cartoons. (Just so my eventual grandchildren will remind me that I’m getting old and no longer look young and energetic as they are!)
Added to all these elements is our consistent range of changing facial expressions! Every time we frown, squint, smile, laugh, or raise our brows, we are creating creases within the skin! As collagen and elastin deplete, these dynamic lines eventually become static wrinkles, staying visible even when the face is at rest. If only we were able to freeze our muscles from forming these expressions! [insert sarcasm]
Extrinsic Factors
UV radiation overexposure (we know you’ve heard it multiple times now) is the number one external cause of premature ageing! Up to 80-90% of visible ageing on the face is linked to cumulative sun exposure as it breaks down collagen fibres, damages elastin, generates free radicals, and overall, makes the skin rougher, drier, uneven in skin tone and exaggerates fine lines.
Environmental stressors also play as a major role factoring into premature ageing, especially ones that cause oxidative stress (free radical damage). These cause damage to the DNA cells and collagen and elastin via pollution, UV rays, smoking, as well as intrinsic factors such as alcohol, stress, and poor diet.
Intrinsic Factors
Things like smoking, alcohol, poor diet, and stress, all can create dehydrated skin. They all can affect the integrity of your skin’s barrier function, breaking it down and this leads to TEWL (transepidermal water loss). You’ll notice that the surface of your skin feels dry, it may have a crepey texture, and you guessed it…fine lines and wrinkles will become more pronounced!
So let’s talk about these lifestyle factors since they inhibit our skin’s ability to bounce back and generate new fresh skin cells.
Besides alcohol and smoking dehydrating the skin, they can also reduce blood flow to the skin cells, making them malnourished and weak. If your diet does not have enough antioxidants and consists of high processed sugar, it creates glycation which stiffens collagen and creates deeper wrinkles. Chronic stress raises the hormone, cortisol, which breaks down collagen and impairs the repair processes.
So, what can we do to treat our current fine lines and wrinkles and, also prevent (or at least slow down) the process of future creases forming?
Cosmetic Procedures
The most immediate thing you can do is reduce the movement of your muscles within your face. This will prevent your facial expressions from creating ongoing intense creases within the skin and reduce formation of deep wrinkles. We can provide Cosmetic Procedures to address the appearance of wrinkles, but we always do an in-depth consultation to ensure this is the most suitable option, depending on a multiple set of factors relating to your physical and mental health.
Procedures such as Rejuran and Bio Remodelling work from deep inside the dermis to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin fibres, creating a fuller complexion and firm skin, reducing the prominence of fine lines and wrinkles. Rejuran uses polynulceotides as its main ingredient (long chains of nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA and RNA), while Bio Remodelling uses Hyaluronic Acid as its active ingredient.
Skin Treatments
EXCEED Medical Micro Needling creates micro injuries in the skin, triggering collagen and elastin induction naturally without applying or injecting ingredients or chemicals to trigger the natural response.
Cutera Laser Genesis is a great non-invasive treatment that gently heats up the dermis, stimulating the process of collagen production.
Treatments such as the Hydrafacial and Oxygeneo 3-in-1 Super Facial, uses exfoliation techniques to remove unwanted dead skin cells and debris, as well as infusing active serums, to rejuvenate the skin, nourishing it as it absorbs the nutrients topically.
Conclusion
These are just a few treatments that can provide some assistance in reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. We always run through a thorough consultation before administering any treatments so that we can provide the best procedures and programs to build a strong skin barrier as well as manage and maintain your skin’s fine lines and wrinkles without jumping the gun and the have to make up for mistakes.
We honour your time and effort for trusting us to help care for your skin, so we will always take precautions and provide full transparency of the services we provide and the products we advise.
We hope this article has provided some insight on what causes fine lines and wrinkles to appear and the best ways to manage and treat them so you can have younger looking skin for the long wise years to come!