Common Skincare Concern Series: Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Wrinkles are creases, folds or ridges in the skin that mostly occur on parts of the body that get the most sun exposure: face, neck, back of the hands and top of the forearms. Wrinkles are a by-product of the aging process. Several natural changes in aging skin contribute to the development of fine lines and wrinkles:

  • Skin cells divide more slowly
  • The dermis becomes thinner
  • The network of connective tissue—collagen and elastin—begins to loosen and unravel, causing depressions to form on the skin’s surface
  • Your skin loses its elasticity and becomes more fragile
  • Oil-secreting glands shrink, reducing your skin’s ability to stay moisturized, leading to dry skin
  • Fat in the hypodermis (deepest) layer of your skin decreases

Fine Lines and Wrinkles

What Causes Wrinkles?

Sun damage. Exposure to UV light breaks down collagen and elastin, causing your skin to lose strength and elasticity. Therefore, your skin sags and wrinkles prematurely. People with fair skin and blue eyes are more susceptible to sun damage.

Facial expressions. Facial movements or expressions like smiling, frowning or squinting lead to fine lines and wrinkles. Every time you use a facial muscle, a groove forms under your skin. When you’re young, your skin springs back in place. As you age, your skin loses its elasticity, so it can’t spring back. Therefore, the grooves become permanent.

Smoking. Toxins in cigarette smoke damage collagen and elastin, leading to sagging skin. Smoking can produce free radicals that cause premature wrinkles.

Genetics. If your parents developed wrinkles at an earlier age than most people, chances are you will, too.

Types of Wrinkles

Dynamic wrinkles are lines that appear only when you make a facial expression. Dynamic wrinkles are caused by repeatedly contracting your facial muscles through facial expressions. Muscle contractions cause the skin to bunch together, forming lines between the muscles. Dynamic wrinkles are usually the first visible sign of skin aging. They indicate that your skin is starting to lose its elasticity. Examples include:

  • Frowning or furrowing your brow creates deep wrinkle lines between your eyebrows.
  • Raising your eyebrows causes the horizontal wrinkle lines on your forehead.
  • Smiling and squinting bunch the skin on your cheeks and outer corners of your eyes, forming crow’s feet.

Static wrinkles are always visible and don’t require facial movement to be seen. Static wrinkles are caused by the loss of skin elasticity due to age, gravity, sun damage, smoking and genetics. Unfortunately, over time most dynamic wrinkles become static wrinkles. Examples include:

  • The thinning of the skin around the eyes that begins in your mid-30s and progresses with age
  • Cross-hatched appearance of the skin on your cheeks that begins in your late-30s and progresses with age

Wrinkle folds are caused by the loss of fat under your skin and sagging of the underlying facial structures. Wrinkle folds, such as the deep grooves that run between your nose and mouth (nasal labial groove), are the most common wrinkles attributed to the natural aging process.

Ways to Prevent Wrinkles

Limit sun exposure. Wear sunscreen with at least 30 SPF every day (even on cloudy days or when you’re inside); cover up and avoid peak sun hours.

Don’t smoke. Simple as that.

Moisturize. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, sunscreen and moisturizer are the two most effective anti-aging products you can buy.

Microneedling Procedure

The SkinPen micro-needling procedure can help to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by assisting your skin’s natural ability to remodel existing collagen and elastin. SkinPen’s procedure can be tailored to your skin’s needs and has minimal side effects, so it’s appropriate for most skin types.

Skinfuse delivers the nutrients your skin needs following your SkinPen procedure. The Skinfuse Post Procedure Kit products contain:

  • Sunscreen (Shield Zinc Oxide 21%)
  • Moisturizers that make wrinkles appear less noticeable (Rescue Calming Complex, Reclaim Hydrating Support)
  • Antioxidants (vitamins A, C, E) that improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (Surge 1 Collagen Boost, Rescue Calming Complex, Fortify Vita C Serum)
  • Retinoids that improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (Surge 1 Collagen Boost)

Click here to find a SkinPen provider near you, or contact us to learn how your medical practice can become a SkinPen provider.