Articles - Snippits

Wrinkles are pleats or folds in the skin. In aging skin, they occur because of the diminished elasticity and generalized loss of dermal thickness that accompanies aging.

Even though wrinkles are a consequence of aging, we can't blame time for every new wrinkle that appears on our skin. Some wrinkles are created by mechanical movements that we reproduce on a regular basis such as laughing, sleeping, or squinting. This repetition creates hairline depressions that appear around the corners of the eyes, mouth, and forehead. The new wrinkle formation can be linked to the skin's loss of elasticity.

Wrinkles are also caused by overexposure to UV rays, both UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays cause tanning, wrinkling, and melanoma while UV light may harm skin by elevating the synthesis of proteolytic enzymes that break down collagen, the connective tissues located under the dermis.

There are 3 types of wrinkles:

Crinkles are the very fine lines that occur in aging skin and show everywhere, not just in places that have been exposed to solar rays. Elastic fibers in your skin start to deteriorate around the age of 30, but you might not notice it until sometime later. This type of wrinkling happens even without sun exposure, however it be exacerbated by it.

Glyphic wrinkles are lines that we all normally have, but which have become exacerbated with aging. If you have taken to using turtlenecks or scarves to hide lines that have appeared on your neck, you know what a glyphic wrinkle is. These wrinkles tend to become more marked with muscle contraction or with facial expressions.

Furrows are deep wrinkles that start to form on our face as we age. These wrinkles are mostly straight lines that appear on the forehead, corners of the mouth and eyes. They are so common that they've gained nicknames such as crow's feet or laugh lines. Repeated movement and sun exposure accentuates their growth. It is difficult to get rid of these kinds of wrinkles when they emerge between muscle groups. Furrows that surface around mouth and eyes keep visibly noticeable even when you are not smiling or squinting. They may not be eradicated, but may be minimized in appearance.

If we were to create a special type of wrinkle filler or view aging as a disease, then wrinkles could be viewed as small, improperly healed wounds. Doubtlessly wrinkles are characterized by incorrect buildup of collagen and imperfect skin cell ordering, which is also seen in healed wounds, albeit on a much larger scale. If so, could the elementsthat control the process of injury healing (by reducing scar formation and improving skin remodeling) have a potential to prevent or even reduce wrinkles? Well, maybe. A good example of a wound-healing element that seems to also have anti-wrinkle potential is the type of compounds named copper peptides, small proteins that reduce scar formation.