What Causes Wrinkles?

What Causes Wrinkles?
or better yet,
How to Prevent Wrinkles

Wrinkles are lines or creases on the surface of the skin.

To understand how and why we wrinkle - and yes, everybody has wrinkles! - we need to understand about our skin and what affects it. Click here for some pretty amazing factoids on our skin, or here for a more detailed description of the skin and its layers as a helpful background to this article and for more information.

As a brief review, our skin is made up of 3 layers. From outside to inside, they are: the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutaneous layers.

The outermost layer, the epidermis is composed of tightly packed, scale-like cells which are constantly shedding.

The dermis layer, location of collagen and elastin fibers, is where the effects of age and improper care take hold. As we age, both collagen and elastin tend to become stiff, tangled and frayed. Much of the sagging and wrinkling we see in older skin is the result of damaged and weakened collagen and elastin.

The third layer, the fatty tissue called the subcutaneous, gives the skin its smoothness and contour.

The most important thing to understand about the health of your skin why it looks and feels the way it does. Yes, you can help it look and feel smoother and fresher with the right skin care products, but if you ignore the reason it got that way in the first place, there's only far you can go.

Remember what our bodies are mostly made up of? (Pardon the improper grammar!) Yes, water! The soft, smooth and glowing skin of a child results from its high moisture content - about 90% water!

The amount of water in the skin is dependent on the middle layer of the epidermis, called the stratum corneum. This area is thought to contain water-attracting compounds that we call NMF's, or natural moisturizing factors. As we grow older, the amount of NMF's in the skin decreases through the natural process of dehydration.

This decline is believed to be one of the reasons that the skin becomes drier and begins to look older as the years go by.

Here are some other things that damage our skin and cause wrinkles:

• Sunburn (the Number 1 cause)
• Smoking
• Junk food
• Lack of exercise
• Stress
• Loss of weight
  
• Lack of proper sleep and rest
• Wind
• Pollutants in the air
• Drinking alcohol or taking medications
  
• Improper skincare and cosmetic products
• Not using a good moisturizer

And remember to drink lots of water, at least one ounce per every body weight pound (i.e., if you weigh 120 pounds, your body needs at least 60 ounces of water DAILY).

One last thing: Contrary to current popular belief, there is nothing with growing old! Our culture is so obsessed with looking young, as if simply growing old is something to be ashamed of. Wrinkles will come (hopefully more lines from joy than from sadness), but let them come along with a healthy body, and not before their time.

For help correcting damage already done, please click here.

And for more information on improving your skin, please see 4 Steps to Healthy Skin.