Are your wrinkles disturbing you?

Did you just look at the mirror and got worried at the first appearance of those fine lines on your face; the most dreaded wrinkle? Wrinkles are the lines, creases or folds appearing on our skin as we grow older. But is growing old the only reason for wrinkles?

What are wrinkles?

As defined in a medical dictionary, "Wrinkles are furrow, fold or crease in the skin, particularly of a type seen with increasing occurrence as a result of sun exposure, or in perioral skin, smoking; associated with degeneration of dermal elastic tissue."

As we become older, the skin dries up, becomes thin and loses elasticity. The skin's ability to protect itself from damage also decreases. This results in the appearance of fine lines, ridges or medically termed wrinkles.

Wrinkles most commonly appear on the facial skin, back of the hand, neck and top of  forearms.In other words the parts of the body which are mostly exposed to sun develop wrinkles. There are two basic types of wrinkles;

• Surface lines
• Deep furrows

Is ageing the only reason for wrinkles?

Actually NO. Ageing or genetic factors is just one of the many reasons behind the development of wrinkles. A number of factors such as stress, smoking, dehydration, sun damage, use of certain medications etc can cause wrinkles.

A few culprits behind an early appearance of wrinkles are;

• Smoking: It has been very well researched that smoking reduces the blood supply to skin and in turns increases the rate at which the wrinkles appear.
• Sun damage: People who are exposed to the harmful effects of UV rays of the sun also become prone to develop wrinkles early in life.
• Light skin: Those who have lighter skin are also easily affected by the harmful effects of sunlight and can develop wrinkles early in life.
• Facial expressions  People who smile, squint, frown or change facial expressions very rapidly develop wrinkles early in life. Every time a facial muscle is used a groove is formed which is filled by a healthy, supple and young skin. But in an unhealthy skin devoid of its elasticity these grooves do not fill up easily and hence wrinkles appear.
• Genetic factors: Yes, if your parents developed wrinkles early in life, chances are you will too!

Is treatment required?

The timely appearance of wrinkles is as natural a phenomenon as breathing and can be very well linked to a person's experience or grey hair! But if you do want to get rid of your wrinkles, there are a number of invasive, non-invasive and semi-invasive treatment options available for you. These are;

Non invasive therapy

• Topical retinoids creams, sun block creams
• Over the counter wrinkle creams
• Microcurrent light therapy

Semi invasive therapy

• Dermabrasion
• Microdermabrasion
• Laser, light source, radiofrequency
• BOTOX
• Chemical peel
• Soft tissue fillers

Invasive therapy

• Face lift