Wrinkles. Fine lines. Expression lines. Laughter lines. Character lines.

The name we give them depends on how we look at our fine lines and wrinkles - however, regardless of what we call them, we will all get them at some stage.

They are one of the many changes we see when it comes to ageing and changing skin.

Some of us are ok with these lines and wrinkles and some of us may not be. The truth is, we all want to look our best and our skin to be healthy and although there is no cure or one fixed solution, it's helpful to know why we get them and how can we do our best to slow down the formation of wrinkles and the depth of them (if we already do see them on our skin).

Let's go under the skin first...

Our wrinkles form where the folds in our skin naturally occur with different facial expressions. For example, you may express yourself when you talk by using the forehead, so you will find lines horizontally across this area.

If you are a thinker and have that concentrated frown, you will notice that vertical line in between your brows. It's most common to see wrinkles around the eyes as the skin is the thinnest and most delicate area of our face and not as resilient as the other areas.

Layer 1

The Epidermis is made up of dead skin cells and protects the body from the outside elements.

Layer 2

The Dermis is made up of our support structures: Collagen, Elastin and Hyaluronic Acid.

Layer 3

The Subcutaneous layer is made up of our fat cells and helps give our skin that plump youthful appearance.

Over time, these 3 layers are all affected in some way and contribute to the formation of wrinkles.
Our cell turnover rate slows down which means our skin then repairs itself at a slower rate causing the skin to become thinner and less resilient. This thinning out of the skin then causes fine lines to form and our support structure of collagen and elastin that keeps our skin bouncing back starts to break down and our fat cells reduce which causes our skin to sag and appear less plump.

Our wrinkles appear in areas that have received the most sun exposure so it's not a surprise why we see wrinkles forming on the face, neck and chest areas when our tummy remains wrinkle-free for so long. Fine lines are the first sign of wrinkles and if left and with age, these will deepen and become more noticeable.

There are 2 factors we look at when it comes to the ageing of the skin - Intrinsic and Extrinsic

1. Intrinsic ageing

This is also known as chronological ageing and is an inevitable process that naturally occurs.

It's all gene-related so the way your skin will age genetically will be very different to the way your friend or colleagues skin will age. Intrinsic ageing can be made worse by extrinsic ageing.

2. Extrinsic ageing

Environmental factors external to us that accelerate our ageing- all factors external to us and contribute to an increase in wrinkles. These factors - sun exposure, an unhealthy diet, smoking and pollution etc and all speed up the ageing in our skin and sees the fine lines and wrinkles appear sooner than we would like.

We can all do our best at slowing down how quickly we age. Here are some of my top tips:

1. Apply sunscreen every single day of the year - Daylight rays break down our support structures even if we are inside near a window so this will be your best protection

2. Be consistent with home care - Feeding your skin morning and night with ingredients that target the environmental stress and free radicals we encounter daily will help reduce the impact these have on the skin and help slow down the changes.

3 Incorporate the use of peptides in your home care routine - Peptides are communicators to the skin and instruct a cell to perform a particular action. In the case of ageing, Peptides are used to product collagen. To find our more about peptides take a read of: What are peptides and how do they work

4. Reduce sugar intake - Sugar damages your skin through a natural process called glycation. The sugar in your bloodstream attaches to proteins (mainly collagen and elastin) and produces harmful free radicals called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). As AGEs accumulate (the more sugar you eat, the more they develop), they damage the proteins around them. Sugar makes collagen and elastin stiff, dry and brittle, zapping them of strength and spring. The effects are seen on your complexion in the form of fine lines, sagging and wrinkles.

5. Sleep on your back with a silk pillowcase - Sleep wrinkles are formed when the skin folds with the pressure from the positions we sleep in. Its also most common for us to be sleeping on bedding that can create friction for the skin. Silk pillowcases provide slip and glide for your skin and decreases the lines and folds in the skin. Add laying on you back and this will further prevent those sleeping folds and help prevent facial asymmetry.

Here are the best Dermalogica products to start targeting those wrinkles.