Static Face Wrinkles - an Introduction

It is known that over time and with age, the excesses of living such as smoking, drinking, partying and late nights, wrong sleep positions, and sun damage, we will get wrinkles on the face.  Added to that is the effect of habitual contraction of facial muscles, as in smiling, frowning, squinting, and raising the eyebrows.  There are various names for these face wrinkles.  They are also referred to as creases, folds, lines, and grooves.  Whatever the cause, however, the ultimate result is the same. As far as persons who care about their looks are concerned, these face wrinkles make you look older.

What is the actual process that causes face wrinkles?

The first is natural ageing, a continuous process that starts in the mid to late 20s, causing a slowdown of collagen formation, a reduction of hyaluronic acid which forms the bulk of extracellular matrix of the skin, and a reduction in springiness of elastin, which is responsible for the elasticity of the skin.  All these cause a reduction of the thickness of the underlying subcutaneous tissue.  With age there is also loss of subcutaneous fat which contributes to a further thinning of the skin.

Gravity plays a very important part in pulling everything downward (in this case, usually the skin) over some of the more fixed areas of skin, resulting in the formation of some of the deeper folds such as the nasolabial folds, which are deep grooves running from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth.   Smoking is said to decrease blood circulation to the facial skin, and results in premature fine lines and face wrinkles.

Repeated exposure to the sun and its ultraviolet rays causes an impairment of formation of new collagen fibers under the skin and damage to existing collagen and elastin.  In addition to pigmentary changes such as freckles and age spots, skin becomes loose, leathery and wrinkled.

The position of the sleeping face can cause the production of unnatural face wrinkles due, to the forced folding and wrinkling of skin.

How does one deal with face wrinkles?

Prevention.

By avoiding the above mentioned external factors such as smoking, exposure to sun and wrong sleeping positions, a great deal can be done to prevent, or at least delay, the formation of wrinkles on the face.

Age and gravity unfortunately cannot be prevented.

Habitual contractions of facial muscles can, in the early stages, be prevented.  Early initial contractions of facial muscles cause what are known as dynamic wrinkles, which disappear when the facial muscles are relaxed.  Examples of these are the frown lines, forehead surprise lines, and crows feet, the most commonly treated dynamic wrinkles, and which cause a person to look prematurely old and unpleasant.  These are easily treated with botox (also commonly referred to as botax), a purified toxin of the bacteriaClostridium botulinum, which relaxes the muscles that cause these face wrinkles.  Persistent contraction of these muscles, however, cause what are known as static wrinkles, and these do not disappear spontaneously upon relaxation of the facial muscles.

Treatment.

There are two major ways of treating static face wrinkles.

The first, more commonly done in the early stages of development of the face wrinkle, is the introduction of injectable filler material into the skin under the face wrinkle or fold.  This pushes up the face wrinkle so that it runs flush to the surrounding skin.  The two most popular brands of these are Juvederm (also popularly known as Juvaderm ), and Restylane (also referred to as Restalyne ).

The second way is for the severe face wrinkle or fold that is worsened by age and gravity.  This is correctable only by the use of anti-gravity measures such as threadlifts and facelifts.