Considered as the most common signs of aging and exposure to sunlight and pollution, wrinkles are the lines or creases that form on the skin of face, hands and neck. Though harmless, they are everybody’s concern as their presence can make a person look older than his or her age. But with advancements in medical technology, there are various anti-wrinkle products and procedures available today which can help you combat wrinkle and restore your skin’s youthfulness.

Causes of wrinkles

Some of the common causes of wrinkle formation are:

Age: With advancing age the skin loses its elasticity and becomes dry due to less production of oil. Moreover the fat layer underneath the skin also gets reduced leading to sagging.

Exposure to rays of sun: The ultraviolet rays of the sun plays a very important role in causing damage to the skin and leading to wrinkle formation.

Genetic inheritance: Some of you have it in your genes to get more tanning and more wrinkles on your skin.

Cigarette smoking: Smoking cigarette enhances the aging process of the skin leading to wrinkle formation.

Wrinkles may also appear on the skin of individuals who suffer from various nutritional deficiencies.

Treatment of Wrinkles

Though a natural phenomenon which occurs normally due to age, there are various treatment options available to delay their occurrence and reduce their appearance. Various types of treatment options are:

Medical treatment

Various prescriptions creams such as tretinoin containing retinoids and non prescription agents containing alpha hydroxyl acids and antioxidants are used in the treatment of wrinkles. You can also use moisturizers to prevent skin drying which reduces formation of fine lines and wrinkles.

Cosmetic procedures

Various cosmetic procedures are available nowadays which helps in the reduction and treatment of wrinkles. Some of these are microdermabrasion, chemical peels, laser resurfacing, non-ablative laser treatments, heat treatments, radiofrequency treatments and Botox. These procedures are non-invasive but should be performed be a trained beauty therapist only as they involve the use of various chemicals which if not used properly may affect adversely on the skin.

Surgical procedures

Various cosmetic surgery procedures are also available which help in the removal of wrinkles to a large extent. Some of these procedures are dermabrasion, face lift and neck lift. These procedures are invasive procedures and should be done by a trained cosmetic surgeon. Usually general anesthesia and hospital stay is required for these procedures. The duration of recovery and healing is also long.