Dr Bollmann, Skin Care Expert, Anti-Aging Expert Wrinkles are one of the obvious signs of aging. As with most other things, there are different causes. Certainly, the aging process is number one. Loss of elastin and collagen starts around age 30 and becomes progressively worse, allowing the skin to sag. This is accentuates by the loss of muscle tone below the skin, which causes even more sagging, especially in the neck area. In addition, the skin cells divide slower, so the skin becomes thinner, less elastic, and irregular. Moisture is not retained as easily, which leads to less oil and more dryness. The older cells are slower to be replaced. The skin, which usually completely turns over every 40-42 days, does not keep up with replacing itself - all of which leads to the occurrence of wrinkles. The second thing is sun damage resulting from UV rays. This causes the melanosomes in the dermis to coalesce and come to the surface, producing discolorations, brown spots in the skin, melasma, uneven skin tones, wrinkles, sunburn, freckles, and solar lentigines (age spots). As the aging process continues, diseases like actinic keratosis (precancerous), basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma are likely to occur with significant sun exposure over the years, especially in light skinned individuals. Sun blocks, both medical and physical (hats, long sleeves) are important whenever exposed to the sun. My favorite sun block is DNA Control Sun Block, available at our web site, bareskincare.com. It has an SPF of 40, does not burn the eyes, and actually repairs DNA damage. Wrinkles are also caused by contractions of the facial muscles - squinting, frowning - anything that causes recurrent facial muscle contraction. Relaxing your face by meditation and relaxation techniques can help prevent these wrinkles. Smoking is another cause of wrinkles, especially around the mouth in women. It decreases the amount of oxygen getting to the vessels by causing vasoconstriction, which in turn can affect collagen in the dermis of the skin.
