Common Causes Of Premature Wrinkles

Wrinkles are a natural part of aging, but there are certain bad habits that can cause wrinkles to develop early. Many of us can prevent these premature wrinkles by giving up these bad habits when we’re still young. Below are just some of the common causes of premature wrinkles and the lifestyle changes that you can make to stay looking youthful.

Smoking

Smokers are much more likely to develop wrinkles earlier. This is because smoking restricts blood flow to the skin, which can starve the skin of oxygen and important nutrients. Heat from cigarettes can also increase the development of facial wrinkles. Meanwhile, the action of puffing on a cigarette can cause wrinkles to develop on the lips, which are sometimes known as ‘purse-string wrinkles’ (non-smokers are much less likely to develop these wrinkles).

Quitting smoking could help to save your skin, as well as preventing a myriad of other health problems. There are many different methods of quitting smoking from taking up vaping to trying hypnosis - don’t give up if one method doesn’t work for you. You can check out a few great tips for quitting smoking here.

Not staying safe in the sun

Too much sun exposure can also cause premature wrinkling. UV light from the sun can permeate the skin and damage the elastic fibers that keep our skin firm. If you’ve got a fair complexion and you’re susceptible to sunburn, you’re at the most risk of developing this type of damage. If you’ve got darker skin, you may be able to get away with a lot more sun exposure, but shouldn’t count yourself immune.

Wearing sun lotion is the best way to protect your skin from UV damage and prevent premature wrinkling. Make sure to use sun lotion with a high enough factor to effectively block UV rays (anything lower than factor 30 is generally not suitable for long periods of sun exposure). Avoid using oils that can help to burn your skin.

Squinting too much

Pretty much all repetitive facial expressions can cause wrinkles to develop including smiling (which causes smile lines) and frowning (which causes frown lines). Squinting is another facial expression that can cause wrinkles - specifically a type of wrinkles around the eyes known as ‘crow’s feet’. Unlike smiling or frowning, this is a facial expression that is often unnecessary and that we can prevent in order to reduce wrinkles.

A common cause of squinting is not wearing prescription glasses when necessary. By shopping at this website, you may be able to find a stylish pair that encourages you to wear glasses. Alternatively, you could look into contact lenses if you don’t like the idea of wearing specs. Other bad habits that can cause us to squint and develop crows feet wrinkles include not wearing shades in the sun and trying to read in low light.

Not getting enough sleep

Lack of sleep can also cause premature wrinkles to develop. When we don’t allow our body to go through a full healing cycle, we prevent it from fully healing and nourishing itself. Wound healing, skin hydration and collagen growth can all be stunted, which can make the skin weak, dry and saggy. This then leads to more wrinkles.

We should all be getting a minimum of seven hours sleep per night. If you’re regularly getting less than this, consider which necessary changes could be made to your lifestyle to help you get more sleep. This might include going to bed earlier, being more active during the day or eliminating stress from your life, which leads to the next cause of premature wrinkles...

Too much stress

Chronic stress is awful for our skin. When we are stressed, the body is pumped full of a hormone called cortisol which can make our skin more reactive to spots and rashes. It also actively breaks down the skin’s and collagen, making the skin less stretchy and causing wrinkles to form. Add to this the fact that it can cause insomnia and smoking withdrawal symptoms, and you have the ultimate recipe for premature wrinkles.

There are lots of ways to beat stress. If you cannot eliminate the source of stress (i.e. work or raising kids), then the next best option is to find ways of relieving stress. Activities such as meditating, taking a hot bath, exercising, laughing or listening to music have all been found to have stress-relieving properties. Try to work out how you can incorporate these stress-busting activities into your day.