Wrinkles

What It Is

Wrinkles are perhaps the most commonly recognised side effect of ageing and can make their presence known across many different areas of the face as well several other parts of the body, including the hands, neck and forearms. Wrinkles normally take on the form of lines and creases of varying severity, and will often emerge facially on the forehead, between the eyebrows (glabellar lines), around the mouth (smoker’s lines) and at the corners of the eyes (crow’s feet).

Why It Happens

As unstoppable as the passing of time, the development of wrinkles on the face, neck and other areas of the skin is usually triggered by the loss of collagen and elastin that the body experiences from the mid-twenties and beyond. These two natural proteins are essential to the preservation of a healthy and youthful-looking complexion and their gradual disappearance can lead to all sorts of problems with the tightness and elasticity of the skin. A lifetime of performing repetitive facial movements will also set the stage for the formation of wrinkles, as will regular smoking and frequent exposure to the sun.

How it can be treated

Sticking to a healthy diet, limiting your time in the heat and generally living well may reduce the chances of wrinkles appearing on the skin, but only to a certain degree. Once we move past a certain age, they are all but guaranteed and can only really be managed by a number of aesthetic and cosmetic treatments.

Of these, Botox is perhaps the most popular and is an injectable treatment that can be used to keep the muscle movement under the affected areas of skin to a minimum, resulting in a renewed and refreshed appearance. Dermal fillers will work to plump out wrinkles from below whilst chemical peels can eradicate those that sit on the upper layers of the skin.