What Causes Wrinkles? And Do Wrinkle Creams Do Anything?

Wrinkles. The scurge of the aged who care about their looks. Wrinkles are a part of getting older, and today I'd like to look at what causes wrinkles, and whether wrinkle creams, or what is better known as anti wrinkle creams, do anything at all.

Wrinkling of our skin is a factor of aging. We all form wrinkles on our face and fine lines on certain areas such as around our mouth and eyes as we age. This is regardless of our skin care routine or the skin care products we use. If we age sufficiently wrinkles and fine lines will develop, we cannot prevent that. However they form at different ages and to different degrees for each person.

Lets first look at the factors that cause wrinkles. Then lets have a look at whether anti-wrinkle creams and skin care products and anti aging products in general do anything to prevent our aging skin from wrinkling.

Firstly there are causes that are a direct result of the deterioration of our skin condition.

Our skin is comprised of 3 layers. The epidermis, or the outer layer, the dermis, or next layer in, and the subcutaneous tissue, below the dermis.

As we age our skin ages it loses various substances that all contribute to skin condition. Collagen in the dermis, for example, an important component of skin health including suppleness and elasticity in our skin. As we lose collagen the dermis thins, and loses elasticity.

Elastin is a substance that is found in the dermis. It has strong fibers and these provide skin strength and elasticity too, and as we age we also lose elastin, and the elastin fibers weaken.

Our epidermis loses some of it's thickness. The epidermis helps keep us from losing skin moisture, and as it thins it is less able to do this, so our skin can dehydrate.

And there are fat cells in the subcutaneous layer which decrease in volume, and as the fat cells make our skin look plumper and fuller this also contributes to the break down of our skin health.

All these factors combines will cause wrinkling of the skin and lines around the eyes and mouth.

Secondly there are lifestyle factors which help contribute to unhealthy skin. Unhealthy skin is more likely to form wrinkles than healthy skin, and so if we have unhealthy skin we will be more prone to wrinkles. Both more wrinkles and getting them at an earlier age.

Unhealthy skin is like everything else in our body. It's directly attributable to factors which make us unhealthy generally. They include poor diet, and lack of exercise. If you want to be healthy in general, as well as have healthy skin, you need to pay attention from as early an age as you can to good diet and lots of exercise. Good diet includes lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

And there's 2 other lifestyle factors that contribute hugely to poor skin health and early onset wrinkles. Sunburn and smoking. Whatever you do don't get sunburned regularly or at all, and don't smoke.

So, the big question, can wrinkle creams or skin care product prevent wrinkles.

There's good news and bad news. The bad news is that you can't totally prevent wrinkles as you age, unless perhaps you try botox or cosmetic surgery and that's risky and unlikely to work long term.

The good news is that there are excellent skincare products and anti wrinkle creams available that really do work. Modern science is finding answers to all sorts of health and cosmetic problems, and skin health as we age is no exception.

For example 2 recent breakthroughs in skin care science have discovered the importance of a Japanese seaweed in maintaining skin health. That's a major reason why Japanese women seem to have much better looking skin in old age.

And it's even possible now to produce skin care products using active ingredients from such exotic sources as the wool of sheep, and these have been shown to work extremely well for optimum skin care.

Unfortunately though you won't find these types of active ingredients in the anti wrinkle creams or skin care products that you see advertised on TV or on the shelves of your local store. The big brand name companies aren't those making the discoveries and adding the ingredients to their products that they should. They probably don't need to, they sell so much anyway.

No the best anti wrinkle creams in the world are actually made by a small niche company that produces exceptional quality products that work extremely well to limit the formation of wrinkles, and for optimum skin health in general.

But chances are you've never heard of them, because they don't advertise on TV.

So that's how wrinkles form. Everyone gets wrinkles if they live long enough, but if you use the very best wrinkle creams and skin care products, and stay healthy generally, you're way ahead of those that don't.