Wrinkles Causes

Wrinkles are a normal part of aging, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about them. While some people are just fine with their aging skin, others would rather do away with their wrinkles and keep their skin as smooth as possible.

elephant with wrinkles

In this post, we’ll discuss what causes wrinkles in the first place.

What Causes Wrinkles?

There is no one cause of wrinkles. According to the Mayo Clinic, wrinkles can come from an interplay of age, facial expressions, exposure to ultraviolet rays, and smoking.

Let’s break them down:

Age

Aging is a process. It brings changes like less natural oils and fat. These changes make your skin more fragile and less flexible, which lead to wrinkles.

Facial expressions

Smiling can have long-term effects of your facial muscles. When you smile or exercise any other muscle on your face, it creates a groove. When you’re younger, your skin bounces back into place so you don’t notice it. But as you age and your skin becomes less flexible, the marks become permanent.

Ultraviolet (UV) exposure

UV light is the main cause of early wrinkles. It causes a connective tissue (known as collagen and elastin fibers) to break down, which makes your skin weaker and less flexible.

Smoking

Smoking can make your skin age quicker than it normally would.

Other Causes

But there’s more. Wrinkles have been linked to additional causes, such as:

  • Too little sleep
  • Pollution
  • Sugar
  • Stress

If you were looking for another reason to be more careful about these things, here it is.

Prevention

As in any other instance, the best treatment is prevention. So avoiding exposure to the possible causes of wrinkles can go a long way in keeping you wrinkle-free later on in life.

Although there may be factors that you can’t avoid, and it may not be such a great idea to stop smiling, you do have control over the amount of sunlight you expose yourself to. So take this point seriously and save yourself extra work down the line.

Do you find it important to prevent getting wrinkles?

Please share in the comments below.