With our southern climate and outdoor activities, the risk of environmental aging and skin cancer in Monroe and nearby areas tends to be higher than in other parts of the country. Therefore, the numbers of patients with sun damaged induced wrinkles in the south also tends to be higher.
Wrinkles are caused by a number of different factors, with some wrinkles appearing naturally, over time, and others appearing prematurely, making you look (and feel) older than you actually are.
As you age, your skin naturally gets thinner, less hydrated and loses elasticity. This makes it more vulnerable to damage and less capable of protecting itself against harmful external factors. The result is the formation of age-related wrinkles.
Premature wrinkles are usually caused by behaviors. For instance, the aging process is dramatically accelerated with too much unprotected sun exposure, even causing permanent damage to your skin if it happens too long and too often.
Sometimes, even when you’re trying to do good things for your skin, things like acne treatment can dry your skin out so badly it actually damages your skin. It often resembles the same kind of damage you can get from excessive exposure to cold or sunlight.
What Can You Do?
Generally speaking, you have two choices, depending on the current condition of your skin. You can either take measures to prevent premature wrinkles from forming, or, if you already have wrinkles, you can take the steps necessary to treat them and restore your skin to as healthy a condition as possible.
Wrinkle Prevention
Preventing wrinkles doesn’t mean you’ll never have them, it just means you don’t have to get them prematurely. Some ways to prevent the early formation of wrinkles include:
- Taking care of your skin early
- Avoiding excess sun exposure and always using sunscreen
- Keeping your skin hydrated with a good daily moisturizer
- No smoking or habitually using a straw
- Keeping alcohol consumption to a moderate level
- Eating a healthy diet, including plenty of foods with antioxidants
- Using gentle washing to clean your skin
- Getting a good night’s sleep and using a silk pillowcase
- Using a high-quality night cream with hyaluronic acid
Wrinkle Treatment
If you’ve reached the stage in life where fine lines and wrinkles are already making an appearance, don’t despair. Although it’s not possible to turn back time, thanks to science and technology, we can often make it appear as though we have.
With laser treatments, chemical peels and other anti-aging procedures available, you can rejuvenate aging skin and restore a youthful glow with a smoother, tighter skin appearance.
Here are just a few of the methods available that will keep people guessing about your age:
- HydraFacial MD® – Four step professional cleansing, exfoliating, extraction of impurities and delivering antioxidants
- Facials – Provide your skin with key nutrients while removing impurities that may not be removed with your at-home skin care.
- Dermal fillers and injectables – Like Botox®, Dysport®, Kybella® and others, to diminish the appearance of wrinkles
- Chemical peels – To reduce fine lines and wrinkles and treat a dull complexion
- Laser treatments – From hair removal to acne treatment to skin resurfacing, lasers provide a wide variety of services to help your skin look its best
- Liquid facelift – Addresses a variety of age-related skin issues using a combination of procedures and treatments
Although we can’t stop the aging process, we can certainly make it appear as though it’s slowing down. Don’t feel like you have to settle for looking older than your years. These days, you don’t even have to settle for looking your actual age.