8 Ways You Can Minimize Wrinkles

Wrinkles are inevitable. As you age, skin loses elasticity and begins to thin. Whether you're 30-something and beginning to see the first signs of aging or 50-something with skin that isn't keeping your age a secret, pursuing ways to reduce wrinkles is probably on your agenda. Consistently protecting and caring for your skin are the best anti-aging treatments for a younger-looking complexion and overall skin health.

With all the new skincare products being introduced constantly in the beauty scene, it can become overwhelming to understand what some of the best products and ingredients are that can help minimize and prevent your wrinkles. However, knowing the true clinically proven skincare products, tools, and technologies to use that produce results can really help you look as young as you feel. Here are 8 tips you can start implementing right away to help minimize your wrinkles.

Avoid the Sun and Wear Sunscreen Daily

First and foremost, avoid the sun. It’s the number one cause of wrinkles, with dozens of studies documenting the impact. If you must go out in the sun, wear a broad spectrum sunscreen or sunblock. Only broad spectrum sunscreens and sunblocks guard against both UVA and UVB rays. Applied properly, they will help protect you from skin cancer and prevent wrinkles at the same time. Make sure you use an SPF of at least 15. SPF 30 is ideal. Even if you’re only exposed to the sun 20 minutes a day, you should protect your skin every day. Those 20 minutes add up to two straight weeks or 14 eight hour days of sun exposure over the course of a year. Apply 30 minutes before sun exposure. Also, try to wear a hat and sunglasses when you’re outdoors. And don’t use tanning booths, which can be worse than the sun.

Start an Anti-Aging Skincare Regimen Now

The earlier you start, the better! If you consistently take care of your skin starting in your early 20s using safe and effective products, you will have less wrinkles to worry about in your 40s, 50s, and beyond. Even if you regularly get fillers, injectables, chemical peels, laser treatments, facials or have had a face lift, maintaining your skin on a daily basis with safe and effective skincare products is still so important for your skin in the long run. It takes the right ingredients (such as peptides, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, retinol, and alpha-hydroxy acids) in the right formulations in the right order to make a difference. It’s important to invest in a regimen that works for your specific skin type and issues. Maintain a simple but effective morning and nighttime routine to ensure you're doing everything you can to take care of your skin, regardless of having any surgery, procedures, and treatments done. If you keep your skin healthy with a good, consistent routine starting at a young age, your skin will age well. As the saying goes…“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of filler.”

Avoid Smoking, Second-Hand Smoke, and Environmental Pollutants

Smoking takes away oxygen and nutrients, and it also increases the number of free radicals in your body’s cells, a main cause of skin aging and wrinkles. The amount of cigarette consumption and the number of years you have smoked are correlated with an increase in premature wrinkles. Ozone and gasoline fumes can also age skin and cause premature wrinkles. So stay away from them as much as possible.

Sleep on Your Back

Sleeping with your face pressed against the pillow can cause sleep lines, which can turn into wrinkles. Satin pillow cases can also help in the anti-wrinkle fight. Your best bet when it comes to preventing wrinkles in relation to sleep patterns is to sleep on your back.

Moisturize Your Skin Daily

A good moisturizer will keep skin hydrated and soften wrinkles. Moisturizing is such an important step in any skincare routine. Normal, dry, oily, and combination skin all require hydration. Moisturizing your skin on a regular basis will help you look and feel younger, you will have softer, more elastic skin, and it will keep your skin hydrated. The key is to select a moisturizing cream or lotion developed with your skin type in mind. Moisturizers for complexions that are oily or prone to breakouts should be more light weight. Dry skin will benefit from thicker creams, while light weight creams/lotions best serve combination and normal skin. Make it a habit to moisturize your face and body regularly, like right after getting out the shower while your skin is still damp. Make sure to wash your face and apply eye cream, lip cream, any serum treatments, and/or a night time moisturizer daily before going to bed.

Eat a Nutritious, Anti-Aging Diet

Research suggests that low-impact exercise along with eating a healthy, balanced diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables, and fish actually slows down the aging process not only for your body, but for your skin as well. Foods have a tremendous ability to fight the aging process as they are chock full of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that your body needs to combat wrinkles. Avoid processed and refined foods and sugars. They contain chemicals that can cause your skin to age prematurely.

There have been studies showing that people who eat diets high in fish and seafood have less skin wrinkling. The reason is that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and seafood slow down the wrinkling process and help reduce the production of inflammatory chemicals in the body. Omega-3s can also help combat acne, psoriasis, and rosacea. Seafood such as salmon, oysters, rainbow trout, mackerel, tuna, halibut, sardines, and anchovies contain high amounts of dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE). DMAE protects skin by strengthening cell membranes and guarding against the deterioration that causes premature aging. It also increases levels of acetylcholine, a neutrotransmitter that makes your muscles contract and tighten under the skin, keeping your face looking toned and firm. DMAE can also decrease production of arachidonic acid, which leads to wrinkle formation and sagging of the skin. Try to consume two 3-ounce servings of fish a week. Two servings of fatty fish twice a week can supply a healthy dose of omega-3s for your body and skin. Also, drink plenty of water and teas, and eat 8-10 servings daily of fruits and vegetables.

Try a Retinoid Cream or Serum

Retinol is an ingredient that has been favored by dermatologists for decades. It encourages epidermal cell turnover to visibly improve skin texture, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and minimize the appearance of pores. The results are visibly fewer superficial lines, brighter skin, and improved elasticity. Not all retinols are created (or even delivered) equally though. Oxygen ruins the efficiency of retinol. So when you’re using a tube, jar, or pump, the retinol becomes less potent each time you open, squeeze, or press down on that pump and allow oxygen to get in there. Make sure to use a retinol product that doesn’t allow oxygen to compromise its effectiveness. An excellent one that I love to use is the REDEFINE Night Renewing Serum, which comes in capsule form. Each time you open a capsule, you put it on your face, it’s time-released, and you get the maximum efficiency with every use because there’s no chance the retinol will be compromised by oxygen.

Tretinoin, known commercially as Retin A, is prescription strength while retinol is a natural form of vitamin A found in many OTC products. Studies show that retinol in a stabilized form and in high concentrations may be as effective as Retin A or Renova without the side effects, such as skin burning, itching, and sensitivity.

Avoid Stress

In 2004 scientists started to study telomeres, which are the tips of DNA strands that resemble the end of a shoelace. Telomeres stop DNA from fraying. When it frays, the cell stops being healthy. If it’s a skin cell, it will stop functioning properly and appear aged. The chromosomes in your skin cells are protected by these telomeres. As your cells divide over time, because of damage, the telomeres get shorter and so become an indication of aging. Stress has been discovered to be the chief culprit of shorter telomeres. The brain responds to stress and anxiety by releasing various hormones into the bloodstream, like adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline redirects blood flow and leaves skin looking washed out while cortisol inhibits new skin cell growth and breaks down collagen that keeps skin plump. Once your skin loses collagen, it appears thinner and becomes more prone to wrinkling. Combine adrenaline and cortisol with a stress-induced burst of cytokines causing inflammation, and it’s a recipe for skin disaster.

So what can you do to combat stress and delay the onset of wrinkles and sagging skin? Some stress is normal and can even help if you need to work hard or react quickly. But if stress happens too often or lasts too long, it can have bad effects that show up on your face. Bad stress can show up in the form of acne breakouts, a sallow complexion, and sagging skin. Ongoing stress triggers the body to produce free radicals, which can damage skin cells and reduce antioxidants, making skin more vulnerable to wrinkles, dark spots, and dullness. So try to keep your stress under control through regular exercise, healthy diet, meditation, aromatherapy, drinking green tea, and getting your 8 hours of sleep a day.

Learn more about how you can create the right anti-aging skincare plan for your individual skin type and concerns.