Fine Lines & Wrinkles

What are wrinkles?

Wrinkles are lines or folds on the skin that can vary in depth and severity. They can look like deep creases or can be more fine and less noticeable. Wrinkles are a natural part of the aging process and can appear all over the face and body. Wrinkles cannot cause you any harm, but they are often considered undesirable, with people often seeking to get rid of them.

Some wrinkles cannot be completely reversed, but there are many treatments available that can greatly reduce their appearance.

What causes wrinkles?

Aging: As we age, our skin starts to produce less and less collagen each year. In fact, from around the age of 30 we start to lose 1% of collagen each year. Collagen helps to provide structure to the skin, so this decrease in production often results in the skin becoming more loose, leading to the formation of wrinkles.

Facial muscle movements: Our faces are moving all the time when we talk, laugh, cry, etc. As the muscles move and contract, the skin also has to move. This movement, combined with the natural aging process, decrease in the skin's collagen, and even the effects of gravity, all contribute to the formation of wrinkles.

Sun damage: Sun damage doesn't just occur when we forget to put sunscreen on during a holiday. Our skin is constantly being exposed to UV rays from the sun, even when it's cloudy. These rays attack our skin cells and prevent them from working properly, resulting in loss of elasticity, dullness, texture, dark spots, and much more.

Environmental factors: Smoking, pollution, stress, the sun, and our diets all have an impact on our skin. You may have heard of free radicals before - well, it's free radicals that attack our skin when we come into contact with or experience different intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as those listed above. Free radicals prevent our cells from doing their job properly, and the more we're exposed to these factors, the worse the damage gets. The body can only withstand a certain amount of free radical damage by neutralising them with naturally occurring antioxidants. Eventually, we will start to see the result of this damage on our skin.

Luckily, there are many different treatments available that can help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and help repair damaged skin.

Where are fine lines and wrinkles most common?

Fine lines and wrinkles are most common on the forehead, around the eyes (crows feet), on the cheeks and around the mouth (smokers lines).

Forehead lines: One of the most commonly treated areas for fine lines and wrinkles is on the forehead. Lines here can be prominent due to the movement of the eyebrows. As well as the lines that go across the forehead, there are often deep lines that form between the eyebrows, commonly referred to as 'frown lines'.

Crow's feet: Another very common treatment area for wrinkles is the side of the eyes, or 'crow's feet'. These wrinkles are mainly due to the contraction of the muscle around the eye (orbicularis oculi) that contracts every time we laugh, smile, or squint.

Wrinkles on the cheeks: Just like the rest of the skin on the face, we can also get wrinkles on our cheeks. These are often a combination of sun damage causing loss of elasticity, general aging, and movement of the facial muscles. Also, as we age, the fat and bone can change, getting bigger or smaller in different areas, which can cause less support for the skin, resulting in sagging.

Smoker's lines: Smoker's lines aren't just called smoker's lines because only people who smoke get them. They're called smoker's lines because of the shape your lips form when we smoke a cigarette, which can make them appear more prominent. Of course, there is definitely more of a chance that people who smoke will have more lines here as their skin is likely to be more damaged. Smoker's lines are formed in this area due to the contraction of the muscle around the mouth (orbicularis oris). They are mainly seen in women due to women having fewer hair follicles to support this area, meaning the skin isn't as structured and doesn't contain as much fat as men. The skin has attaching fibres to the muscle, so every time the muscle moves, the skin moves! If the skin is of poor quality, then it is more likely to result in lines in this area.

How do I reduce fine lines and wrinkles?

There are many treatment options to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, sometimes it will require a combination of treatments to significantly reduce wrinkles, depending on their cause and severity.

Skincare: No matter what aesthetic treatments you have, it is essential to maintain the results at home with appropriate skincare. We mainly use two medical skincare brands in clinic, Obagi and Alumier.

Obagi & Alumier are renowned for their advanced formulations and transformative results. As skin concerns become increasingly complex due to environmental factors and ageing, both these brands offer scientifically backed solutions designed to address a wide range of dermatological issues.

What skincare do I need? In clinic we use a skin scanner to take a look at the different layers of your skin, this will help us to understand what is going on below the surface so we can create a bespoke skincare plan for you.

Botox: Botox is one of the most effective treatments for wrinkles, it freezes the muscle to help the skin relax in that area. It can be used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles but also to prevent the creation of new wrinkles forming.

You can use botox to treat wrinkles all over the face including forehead lines, crows feet, around the mouth lines even the neck!

Polynucleotides: If you’d like a more natural approach then maybe polynucleotides are for you. Polynucleotides are derived from Salmon or Trout DNA. They help initiate a healing response from the body or in this case the skin. They help encourage the cells to heal themselves which in turn creates more collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid and anything the skin needs to function properly and look healthy!

Micro-needling: Micro-needling is a minimally invasive skin rejuvenation treatment that involves using a device with tiny, sterile needles to create controlled micro-injuries in the skin. These microscopic punctures trigger the body's natural healing response, prompting the production of new collagen and elastin – the building blocks of smooth, firm, and supple skin.

Chemical Peels: Chemical peels are one of the oldest cosmetic treatments performed, dating back to ancient Egyptian times when, natural acids derived from fruit and milk were applied to the skin in the pursuit of beauty. As knowledge and science have advanced, chemical peels are much more sophisticated and specific to a variety of skin problems, including uneven pigmentation, dull, dry or oily skin, wrinkles, blocked pores and acne.