Tips on Wrinkle Prevention and Reduction

When Should You Start Worrying About Wrinkles?

Are you someone who prefers to get the answers straight up and right away? If so, you probably want a very precise answer to the question posed in the title above, and so the simple answer is this: As early as possible. Wrinkle prevention needs to start NOW!

Few of us realize how early in our lives wrinkles begin to become a reality, or even a certainty. As a beauty writer recently noted, “Now more than ever, there is much awareness of the desire to prevent wrinkles by getting a jump start at an earlier age. By practicing good lifestyle and skincare habits now, you’ll get a bigger payoff in years to come…” In other words, prevention is the best policy!

Of course, it really helps to understand just what causes wrinkles in the first place in order to avoid their appearance.

What Causes the Skin to Wrinkle?

We might typically think of aging as the main cause of wrinkles, but that’s not always the case. Smoking is a reason for signs of aging to appear in the skin, sun exposure (and damage), repetitive expressions of the face, dehydration, environmental toxins and pollutants, sleeping in specific poses, and even poor nutrition are just as guilty of causing wrinkles as aging. So, you can see that there are many ways you can combat wrinkles.

You can never smoke or quit now, you can always use sun block and protect your skin from sun exposure, you can be more aware of the expressions you hold and the position you sleep, you can drink plenty of water and eat a good diet and you can consider if there is poor air quality or risk of environmental pollutants in your home or workplace. You cannot, though, stop aging.

Skin aging, as one doctor has written, is in two types, the “first, intrinsic aging, is genetically programmed. You can’t do much about that without the help of a dermatologist.” After all, when we age, our skin thins out and becomes much drier and even papery. This is because it is producing less collagen and elastin than it did in our earlier years. This allows the skin to become much less flexible and it soon stops to “spring back” as it did before. This is why we start to experience lines, wrinkles and sagging.

The other factors outlined above will only worsen the signs of aging in the skin, especially the face (or any part exposed to the sun). If we think about wrinkles before we even begin to see signs of them, we can do a lot to prevent or reduce them.

Wrinkle Prevention

We have already given you a list of basic steps to take to help reduce risks of lines and wrinkles, but let’s reiterate and summarize:

• Avoid sun and always wear SPF
• Don’t smoke
• Eat a healthy diet
• Drink plenty of water
• Pay attention to any risks for toxins or pollutants
• Be aware of the way you hold your face and how you sleep

Other Wrinkle Prevention Methods Include:

• Reconsider the prescription medications you use – Oral birth control, acne medications and topical treatments and other compounds can actually cause dryness and pigmentation problems that relate to lines and wrinkles.
• Never let your skin dry out – To prevent wrinkles, make a habit of never letting skin dry out. Give it a protective barrier at all times. As you step out of any shower, always moisturize from head to toe – including face and neck. Do both morning and evening skincare regimens for the face, and bring moisturizers with you to work or on the road.
• Work with experts – What is your skin type? What sort of products should you be using for it? If you don’t know this, visit a skincare expert and find out if you have dry, oily, combination, or a sensitive skin type. Then use the products designed to address those issues. Keep in mind that you change over time and will want to make at least one visit to your skincare expert per year to evaluate the condition of the skin.
• Don’t be an outdoor only SPF user – Do you work near a window? Do you head outside without a hat or sun block on the body? You have to be very serious about your use of sun block at all times – indoors and out.
• Use all of these methods on your neck, too – Many people forget to give their necks anti-aging treatments and the very same products and techniques used on the face should be used on the hands. The benefits are two-fold: you protect the skin and the act of massaging the neck with the head tilted up is a form of toning that improves skin texture.

Related: The Essential Guide to Self Tanners and Sunscreen

What Kind of Products Do You Use?

• Start with serums now…even if you are only 21 or 22 – It is never too early to give the most delicate issues a bit of support. The eye area is particularly important and you will want to use firming and intense moisturizing creams in the eye area as early as possible. Exfoliating is also part of this, using a chemical exfoliant to trigger optimal skin health. Be gentle with this area as the skin is very thin, but keep it deeply hydrated, nourished and help with any poor circulation using the right products.
• Find a retinol product – The best way to combat wrinkles and the signs of aging is to use an effective retinoid product. As one writer said, “consider yourself lucky if you have been using it since your teens or 20s…if you start using a retinol product consistently now, then you should never have to switch over to a stronger prescription. The idea is that you’re getting ahead of the wrinkles by using it preventatively. Someone in their 50s with sun damage may have to start immediately with a prescription and then manage the side effects of dryness.” The point is to find one (either OTC or via a skincare professional) that lets you soak the skin of the face and neck with anti-aging compounds.
• Consider “Frownies” – This is a very old product that has been used for decades to help overcome the issue of facial expressions and sleep positions creating lines. They are little patches you apply to cleansed, toned and moisturized skin before bed. They seem silly, but work well, by holding your face in an open position. You cannot frown or scowl with them, and they undo the facial poses you might hold too long all day or even as you sleep.

Reducing Wrinkles

And what if you’ve already started to develop wrinkles? Is there anything that can be done? Actually, most of the steps recommended above still apply. From a smoking cessation program to the use of a retinol product, you can start to reduce visible signs of aging. You’ll also want to pay close attention to the amount of quality sleep you get since it is only in sleep that our skin has a chance to renew and regenerate.

In fact, sleep is one of the most crucial factors for wrinkle prevention or to reduce wrinkles. As the team at Health explained, “you can prevent wrinkles while you rest” and to do so will mean:

• Sleeping on your back
• If you can’t, purchase a silk pillow case to prevent traction against the face, which tugs it and causes lines and wrinkles
• Applying retinol before bed every single night and use a heavy and intensely moisturizing night cream
• Aiming for 8 or more – yes, eight or more hours is essential to health, including skin health

However, for those already displaying signs of aging, there may be a need for a few more extreme options. As an example, you may visit your skincare professional and find they can offer a chemical peel or even more advanced treatments such as injections, lasers and more (a bit more about that below). They will also steer you towards products that are designed for aging skin.

Your daily routine should include cleansing, toning, serums, and intense hydration along with sun block for the daytime hours for wrinkle prevention. You also want to consider exfoliation at least once each week.

Related: Olive Oil and Wrinkles: The New Secret

More Tips to Follow

Additionally, the experts at WebMD have this advice for those eager to reduce wrinkles and lines:

• Get glasses – Squinting can exacerbate even finer lines and wrinkles, so if you find yourself peering and squinting, visit the eye doctor right away. Wear sunglasses too as squinting in sunlight can cause deep set lines.
• Update the diet – Eating more salmon and fatty fish, soy and a diet high in antioxidant fruits and vegetables will also work in your favor. Cut out the coffee and opt for cocoa instead as it contains, “two dietary flavanols…that protect skin from sun damage, improved circulation to skin cells, affected hydration, and made the skin look and feel smoother.”
• Wash cautiously – Splashing the face with tap water can feel good but actually reduce natural oils on the surface of the skin. Wash and tone twice daily and avoid cleansing or even rinsing at any other time.
• Go topical – Talk with a skincare expert about the use of topical treatments like AHAs, retinoids, topical vitamin C, idebenone (the chemical agent of coenzyme Q10), growth factors and pentapeptides.
• Consider spa or medical treatments – Fillers, Botox (and other similar injectables), laser treatments, dermabrasion and peels are all good for reducing wrinkles and helping fight aging.

What About Natural Ways to Prevent/Reduce?

We’ve looked at most of them already, but one that we haven’t yet considered is basic massage. If you use the right natural oils and massage them into the deeper lines of the face, you can often reduce or even eliminate them. One natural remedies enthusiast said that using coconut, castor, flaxseed, jojoba or almond oil to massage the forehead and other areas of the face can start to make a difference. Argan oil is also recommended as it too is a nontoxic form of intense moisturizer.

Another, explained that certain whole foods offer you the kind of vitamins and minerals needed to support optimal skin health. They explained that almost all fruits and vegetables are ideal, but particularly artichokes, beans, blueberries, cranberries, kale, kiwi fruit, prunes, spinach and walnuts are particularly helpful. They went on to say that a diet with adequate amounts of saturated fat also help to restore natural fat levels in the skin, and when part of a good diet are entirely healthy and safe. Gelatin is also highly recommended as it is a dietary source of collagen. Noting that it can help to fill “in the fine lines and erases wrinkles… and it is best to take a gelatin supplement every day.” Lastly, many suggest fermented cod liver oil as it is packed with omega 3 fatty acid and this can help the skin combat inflammation and even damages from UV rays. All of this you can control for wrinkle prevention.

Related: The Relationship to Diet and Skin Health

Start Now

As we learned, there is no such thing as starting too early with your anti-wrinkle regimen and wrinkle prevention. The damage you did to your skin during your teens (those many times you went without sun block) actually took a toll on your skin cells. You may not see them in your 20s or early 30s, but they will manifest. If you continued ignore skin care into your early 20s (not washing off makeup, not using good products, failing to eat well, smoking and so on), it is also going to take a toll.

The good news is that whether you are 25 or 55, it is not too late to begin a regimen of anti-aging and wrinkle fighting behaviors. We’ve given you all you need to know, now it is up to you to reclaim your youthful skin.

More Great Wrinkle Prevention Resources:

TOP 10 WAYS TO PREVENT WRINKLES NATURALLY.

How to Get Rid of Forehead Wrinkles Fast

How to Get Rid of Under Eye Wrinkles