Wrinkles are related to aging. While some love these marks as it somehow contributes to their beauty, most women want them gone in the hopes of hiding their age.
The current technology allows us to get rid of these markings, thanks to the anti-wrinkle injections that can effectively remove these signs of aging from your face. However, do you know that there are two types of wrinkles? You may find it surprising that sometimes aging is not the primary factor in the formation of wrinkles.
To better understand the different causes of wrinkles, consider their two groups: intrinsic or from within and extrinsic or from the outside.
Intrinsic causes
Genetics
Aging is natural. The development of the human body is partly preprogrammed from birth to old age. As you age, your genes that are made up of DNA molecules deteriorate. This event prevents the cells from reproducing, resulting in wrinkled skin.
However, the pace of this process for everyone varies. People with lighter skin develop wrinkles faster than those who have darker skin as they suffer more damage from sunlight.
Free radicals
Free radicals are molecules or atoms with irregular electron bonds that can trigger harmful reactions in your body. It is known to alter the DNA and increases the risk of cancer. Moreover, it can also create cross-links within proteins and fats in your skin that damages its structural collagen, causing wrinkles to form.
Exposure to UV light and pollutions increase the free radical intake. Taking natural antioxidants can save you the harm it could cause. However, your body also produces free radicals, which is a product of your body’s natural metabolic process. The damages it does is called oxidative stress, which cannot be avoided.
Hormones
Estrogen influences the skin thickness, hydration, and blood flow; thus, wrinkling. The woman’s skin is heavily affected by the decrease of estrogen levels at the menopausal stage. This explains why women tend to suffer more from wrinkling compared to men.
Glycation
Another natural process that induces wrinkles is based around sugar glucose, which is a vital cellular fuel. The same way sugar causes meat to brown at high heat, proteins in our skin, such as collagen, are transformed when exposed to a high level of glucose. The transformation, however, is way slower compared to meat. This process is called glycation. It causes the collagen fibres in your skin to grow brittle and rigid, which causes the wrinkles to appear.
Extrinsic causes
Sunlight
The sun is one of the well-known reasons for wrinkles. The elastin and collagen framework that provides elasticity and strength to your skin suffers significant damage from the sun’s UV radiation. The body produces enzymes to fix the damages. However, the repairs are not perfect, and with collagen fibres forming an uneven solar scars matrix, wrinkling is formed.
Cigarette smoking
Cigarette smoking is known to have harmful health effects. However, it has just found that it can also affect the skin’s appearance. Cigarette has many active ingredients, and some of them trigger the enzymes that damage elastin and collagen in the skin. Moreover, it has free radicals, and it all sums up to harming the skin.
These are the few known causes of wrinkles. While keeping your skin well-hydrated helps you to slow the process, there is no way you can stop aging, and wrinkles sooner or later will appear. Fortunately, there are anti-wrinkle injections that can help you alleviate this sign of aging.
Avoiding vices such as smoking and wearing sunscreen whenever you go out may also slow the process of skin wrinkling.