Warding Off Wrinkles

You can't stop the hands of time - but you can slow it down! Wrinkles are an inevitable part of life. As we age, our skin cells become thinner; divide more slowly, delaying nature's own method of skin repair and renewal; lose their elasticity; and stop using fat reserves to fill in gaps within the skin.

All this makes the skin sag and wrinkle. These natural occurrences, coupled with the damage we inflict on ourselves with sun exposure, overuse or misuse of skin care chemicals and basically unhealthy lifestyles, can make us age prematurely. To stop (or slow down), these ill-effects to our skin remember to:

-Stay out of the sun. Sun damage may be the #1 culprit of premature wrinkling and sagging. Use only skin-care lotions and creams that offer some SFP protection for daily wear, and always add a higher SPF sunscreen when going outdoors .

-Eat a well-balanced diet. Eat lots of fruits, vegetables and fish. They are loaded with vitamins and minerals your skin needs to stay young and healthy-looking.

-Drink plenty of water. Like the rest of your body, your skin needs to stay hydrated to look its best.

-Get control of your stress. Stress accelerates the aging process ' thus adding years to the way you look. Try a variety of stress-relieving methods until you find one that works for you, and your skin.

-Stop smoking. Cigarette smoking dries out your skin and burns away many of the essential nutrients your skin needs to stay healthy and youthful.

Eventually, everyone will get wrinkles, even if they do everything they can to prevent them. The key is holding them off as long as possible. When they do finally appear, there are a few treatment options available:

-Retinoids. Only available by prescription, these topical medications are used to improve skin discoloration and fine wrinkling by naturally enhancing the production of collagen in the skin.

-Laser Treatment. Lasers are a wonderful way erase skin damaged wrinkles on or near sensitive skin areas like the eyes. Vaporizing the skin's top-layer to showcase the skin's smoother lower layer, laser treatment is faster and easier than more traditional 'wrinkle surgeries.' Side effects include: tenderness, scarring, redness, swelling and a possible loss of pigment in darker-skinned individuals.

-Chemical peels. Used to rejuvenate skin and reduce aging and wrinkles, chemical peels are performed in a doctor's office. During a chemical peel, the doctor removes layers of damaged skin with a mild acid solution to reveal smoother, more youthful skin underneath.

-Dermabrasion. In this method, a doctor uses a small rotating brush to file away the upper layers of the skin and smooth out wrinkles during local or general anesthesia. Healing takes up to two weeks.

-Botox. One of the most popular cosmetic procedures performed in the United States to date, injection of botulinum toxin (Botox), into the site paralyzes the facial muscles, literally smoothing away wrinkles.

-Fillers. Injected into the facial skin, fillers such as bovine collagen, polymer implants, and even a patient's own fat, these filler substances are used to round out contours, furrows and hollows in the face, thus reducing wrinkles and sagging. A temporary fix, fillers must be repeated periodically for the best effect.

With age, come wrinkles. But with healthy eating, watching sun exposure, and a few options from the local dermatologist's office, you no longer have to live with them.