9 Habits That Are Giving You Wrinkles

Wrinkles are characterized by aging skin, and this aging could be either natural or prematurely induced. As you age, the rate at which new skin cells are produced declines and your skin, particularly the inner layer called the dermis, becomes gradually thinner.

The dermis rests on what is known as the basement membrane. This membrane is made up of protein fibers collagen and elastin, which are in abundant supply during youth and remain tightly entangled to give your skin its structural integrity.

Your skin is the most exposed part of the body and therefore undergoes a lot of wear and tear on account of external irritants and injuries.

The good thing is your skin is fully capable of repairing itself as it keeps producing new skin cells to replace the damaged ones. In fact, the entire outer layer of the skin, which faces the most damage, slowly sloughs off and freshly formed skin rises to the surface from underneath. But this skin regeneration process relies on the production of collagen and elastin, which become scarce with advancing age.

# Handling the skin near your eyes roughly

Your facial skin is relatively thinner than the skin on the rest of your body and therefore has to be handled more gently. This holds especially true for the skin around your eyes, which is perhaps even more delicate than the surrounding facial skin.

It is believed that the more you tug at your eye, the more this delicate skin stretches. This rough mechanical force can certainly break down the collagen and elastin fibers, thereby making your skin wrinkly and loose.

It is therefore important that you handle your eyes with care when applying and removing eye makeup.

# Cleaning your skin too harshly or too much

The outermost layer of the skin keeps shedding dead and damaged cells to make room for new ones. But this skin regeneration process is a gradual one that takes about a month to complete. These dead cells are bound together and build up on the surface, giving your skin a dull appearance. Plus, the skin keeps releasing excess sebum, which also builds up on the surface.

As you venture out for your job or to run daily errands, you get exposed to all kinds of environmental toxins such as airborne pollutants, pollen, and microbes, which accumulate on your skin along with the dead cells and sebum.

If you don’t clean your skin properly and regularly, these impurities will trickle into the skin pores and clog them. Clogged pores will not only make your skin unable to breathe and derive proper nutrition, but they are perfect breeding grounds for acne-causing bacteria, which will only add to your skin woes.

# Over-exfoliation and overwashing

Exfoliation is necessary for removing the stubborn dirt, cellular debris, and excess oil piled up on the surface of the skin and in its pores. It gives your skin a smooth texture and even complexion by removing the dry, dead skin flakes from the surface, allowing for better makeup application. Plus, exfoliation opens up your pores to facilitate better product absorption.

But the trick is to do it periodically rather than regularly. Over-exfoliating can remove the natural lipids from your skin, rendering it dry, red, and irritated. These oils lubricate your skin to keep it elastic and also form a protective barrier to ward off external irritants.

Another habit that some consider as “quite important” is to wash their skin several times a day to make it clean and hydrated. Excessive washing has counterproductive effects on your skin. It can make your skin dry by stripping the natural oils and can even promote the growth of infectious bacteria by disrupting your skin’s pH.

# Skipping sunscreen

The importance of wearing sunscreen during the day to avoid premature aging cannot be stressed enough. The UV rays in sunlight are a major source of oxidative damage to the skin, which triggers the formation of premature wrinkles.

UV radiation penetrates deep into the skin to release free radicals, which are unstable reactive molecules that attack healthy skin cells. This free radical-induced damage leads to the degeneration of collagen and elastin, thus making your skin saggy and wrinkly.

Excessive and unprotected sun exposure can even destroy your skin’s DNA structure to give rise to skin cancer.

A broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 can form a shield over the skin to minimize the risk of photodamage as well as skin cancer. It does so by absorbing the harmful UV rays of the sun before they can enter the skin. On top of that, sunscreen also helps repair the sun damage that has already occurred.

# Uneducated experimenting with lots of antiaging products

Several kinds of antiaging skin products claim to prevent and reverse wrinkles and fine lines, but many of them fail to deliver actual results.

Some products may improve your skin condition at first, but end up damaging it in the long run. They contain chemicals that can irritate your skin or induce inflammation, both of which can worsen the signs of aging.

So, you must do the proper research before adding any new product to your skin care regimen. Also, you must understand that a particular product may not work in the same way for everyone. Every skin is different will respond differently to a given skin care product.

The least you can do is to make sure that your skin products are dermatologically tested and contain the right ingredients. Several “organic” skin products are merely cosmeceuticals and are therefore not FDA approved.

# Relying solely on moisturizers to reduce your wrinkles

Moisturizers have attained high importance when it comes to skin issues, be it dry skin, itchy skin, rashes, or something else. In fact, many people believe them to be the second most important skin care product after sunscreens when it comes to tackling and often preventing several signs of aging, particularly wrinkles and fine lines.

Unfortunately, this is not entirely true. Dry skin can get creased and give you an illusion of fine lines. Simple moisturizers merely bind moisture to your skin and keep it supple, but they do not influence the mechanisms of collagen and elastin, which are primarily linked with wrinkling of the skin.

Moisturizers are indeed very important for your skin, especially as it ages because there is a progressive decline in sebum production, which necessitates the application of topical moisturizers to keep your skin hydrated and soft.

# Not having patience with products

For any skin care product or regimen to work, you must use it properly and consistently. Giving up on a product because it does not provide significant results instantly will deprive you of its potential benefits.

Skin repair is a long and gradual process, so you will have to wait even with the best skin care or antiaging product. Be patient and give the product time to work its magic.

Even if you don’t notice any improvement at first, use the entire product in the recommended dosage so long as it does not cause any adverse reaction or visible skin damage. In fact, some skin products may make your skin worse before making them better.

So, educating yourself about how the product ingredients and what they do to your skin will help you manage your expectations.

# Limiting your skin care to your face

Wrinkles, fine lines, and other signs of aging are not limited to the face alone, but they can just as easily affect the skin covering the neck and hands.

However, many people focus all their skin care efforts on their face while ignoring the rest of the body. As a result, the face may appear youthful, but the skin around the neck will begin to sag and the skin on the hands will become thin and wrinkly, making them look older than their age.

It is therefore very important to cleanse, scrub, and moisturize your neck, ear, and hands along with your face, and the same goes for applying sunscreen.

# Aggressive strength training regimens to make yourself look younger

Strength training, which involves lifting weights, helps build your muscles that are directly attached to your skin. When these muscles expand, they tighten the overlying skin to minimize the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. But you must do it properly to get the desired results or it can have the opposite effect.

Oftentimes, amateurs plunge themselves straight into rough and aggressive training sessions without warming up their body for it. Meanwhile, some make the mistake of working out more than their body can bear.

Excessive or abrupt exercises can jolt your body and break down the collagen fibers connected to the muscles. Moreover, twisting your face during weightlifting and other strenuous exercises involves pulling the underlying muscles, the force of which can tear your skin fibers and induce visible signs of premature aging.