Skin aging is most easily noticed with the appearance of wrinkles and age spots. Wrinkles are the visible lines and skin folds that form on your skin. Oftentimes, there is associated dryness of the skin.
What causes of early skin aging?
Aside from the natural causes of aging, other factors may result in your skin appearing “aged” early. Some of these are:
- Excessive exposure to direct sunlight
- Cigarette smoking
- Gravity
- Facial expressions
- Sleeping positions
How does sunlight cause skin aging?
- Dermabrasion. This procedure removes the old, wrinkled skin surface and a new layer of skin grows in its place. The surface layer of your skin is sanded down and removed with a rapidly rotating brush.
- Microdermabrasion. Microdermabrasion is a simple, nonchemical and noninvasive procedure that removes old and damaged skin cells to reveal younger and healthier skin. The procedure uses a spray of microcrystals to gently polish the skin.
- Laser treatments. These are cosmetic procedures that uses laser light for diminishing or eliminating skin imperfections such as scars and sun-damaged skin. Also referred to as laser skin rejuvenation or laser peel, the method encourages the growth of new skin cells and collagen production, resulting in younger-looking and healthier skin. Laser skin resurfacing employs several types of laser technology to dissolve the molecular bonds of old or damaged skin cells layer by layer. As the damaged skin cells are peeled away, a younger and smoother layer of skin is revealed underneath.
- Chemical peels. Facial peels are a kind of treatment that uses several types of acid solution to slough off outer layers of dead skin. Also known as chemical peels, they are used to diminish or eliminate skin imperfections, revealing smoother, younger-looking skin.
- Botulinum toxin type A (BOTOX®). BOTOX injections prevents the affected muscles to contract. This results in the skin appearing smoother and less wrinkled. BOTOX is usually applied to frown lines between the eyebrows and across the forehead and at crow’s-feet at the corners of the eyes. BOTOX injections, however, are not permanent and usually lasts only about three to four months.
- Soft-tissue fillers. These are substances injected into deeper wrinkles on the face, giving it more volume so that it appears younger and firmer. Fillers may include fat, collagen and hyaluronic acid (Restylane®, Juvéderm®).
- Facelift. A facelift is a surgical procedure that removes excess skin and fat in the lower face and neck, resulting in tightening of the underlying muscle and connective tissue. This procedure lasts longer than the other procedures, usually for five to ten years.