Don’t Frown!  It’s bad for your bonce!

I know you’ve done it; stared in the mirror and counted the lines weaving their merry way along your forehead (for the record I have five.)  Wrinkles, wherever they appear, are a source of depression for most of us.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t look at them and think, ah…look at those laughter lines!  I’ve led a good life! I wish I could be as unconcerned-grateful even-for the ever-growing road map of lines appearing across my face.  Truth is- I want to utterly obliterate them.

Wrinkles start appearing anywhere from your mid-twenties to your forties.  It’s because you’re producing less collagen and elastin, which are responsible for keeping your skin elastic and springy.  Skin appears thinner, more transparent and dryer.  Why do some people age more quickly than others?  It depends largely upon heredity (thanks mom and dad), but outside factors such as sun exposure and smoking play a part also.  Even the way you sleep can affect wrinkling on your face.

Let’s look at some of the causes, and how you can counter them with common sense and inexpensive tools:

Sun Damage (photoaging)-have you been around someone who tanned their way through their twenties and thirties and are now facing their forties as a…rhino?  I know lots.  Their days are now filled with trying to reverse the damage (not possible) and buying expensive retinol treatments.  Bottom line, sun exposure takes inherent aging, buckles it tightly in, and races with it to the finish line.  Along the journey, it is breaking down your collagen and elastin faster than you can slide under a tanning bed and hit the ‘on’ switch.  People with fair skin will show more signs of sun damage than their dark-skinned neighbors.  I know; it’s unfair.   If you’re still tanning your ass into next week, it’s time to stop.  Buy a good sunscreen, cover up, and try not to go out in it between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.  That’s when the sun is hottest, and you’ll go from a light broil, to char grilled.

Facial Exercises-we’ve all seen the infomercials; some older gal peddling a DVD of her facial workout.  You’ve watched in awe as she contorts her face into numerous ridiculous expressions, while somehow smiling all the while.  And you’ve even found yourself inadvertently joining in. If so-STOP!  You are actually increasing wrinkles!  Facial muscles are used to form our expressions, which is why lines and grooves will appear on your face over time from every smile or frown.   As skin loses its elasticity, the lines and grooves don’t smooth away as they once did.  You may not be frowning, but your forehead will do it for you anyway.  I guess your mother knew a little of what she was talking about when she told you ‘not to pull a face in case the wind blows and you stick like it.’  Listen to mom, and try to keep your face an epitome of calm.

How you sleep-my favorite has always been in a side fetal position, but lately I’ve tried to switch to my back.  The reason; pressing your face against a pillow or mattress in the same position, can cause wrinkles over time.   Men tend to get wrinkled from sleeping face down on a pillow, and women have a preference to sleep as I did, on their side.  But apparently, ‘back sleepers’ who don’t make facial contact with a pillow, don’t develop sleep-induced wrinkles.  Ladies-only let your partner do this if he doesn’t snore!  I prefer my man wrinkled but silent.

Smoking-the toxins in cigarettes cause free-radical damage in the body, harming healthy cells and speeding up the aging process.  Smoking is incredibly bad for you anyway; the damage to your innards alone should discourage you.  But outwardly, you’ll develop lack-luster skin that prematurely wrinkles, and becomes leathery over time.  QUIT!

The Truth About Wrinkles

Here’s the thing folks, you’re going to wrinkle at some point.  You skin ages just as the rest of you does; more so when you consider it’s your largest organ and is exposed almost daily to sun damage and pollutants in the air.  Baby it, and you’ll slow the aging process.  Wear sunscreen, cover up when it’s hottest outside (or avoid going out at all), get plenty of sleep (on your back) and rid yourself of unhealthy habits.  Your local tanning place will get by without your patronage, and you really can live without the cancer sticks.

Plus remember, as your forehead wrinkles increase, most of us have a little thing in our arsenal called bangs, or a fringe.  Hair can hide a multitude of sins.

Now stop frowning-or you’re going to stick like it!