What Causes Wrinkles and How To Treat Them?

A Quick Reference Guide On How To Treat Wrinkles Effectively By Samantha Nikolic

Most of us think that dry skin causes wrinkles and the simple answer this is not true.

Yes it is true that both dry skin and wrinkles can occur at the same time but one does not cause the other. Others may think that they are inevitable and are caused by the natural ageing process and not much can be done about them. Read my quick guideline to understand what causes them and how we can treat and even prevent them.

Causes of Wrinkles:

1. Sun Damage

2. Free Radicle Damage

3. Muscle Movement

4. Natural Skin Ageing

5. Loss Of Facial Fat Support

Sun Damage

This is your biggest culprit so using an effective SPF is vital especially from a young age. In fact sun avoidance should be practices as much as possible including using hats, sunglasses and even umbrellas. I am a realist and we do live in sunny South Africa so by being fastidious with our SPF 30 or higher that contains zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide applied daily will go a long way in preventing and delaying the onset of wrinkles.

Shop For Sunscreen Here

Free Radicle Damage

These include environmental factors such as pollution, smoking etc. and the best way to treat this is to add antioxidants to your skin care regime. Antioxidants have been shown to latch on to free radicles and then neutralising them and they help to reduce inflammation in the skin and increase the SPF effect of sunscreens.

Shop For Antioxidants Here

Muscle Movement

Our facial expression muscles such as smiling cause constant contraction and folding of the skin resulting in wrinkles. Your best approach is to consider Botox® and/or a combination of retinol and vitamin C.

Shop For Retinol Here

Shop For Vitamin C Here

Natural Skin Ageing:

There are a number of approaches to help prevent wrinkles that occur with ageing. One approach would be to add skin identical ingredients such as ceramides to your skin care regime. Their main aim is to help restore the natural skin barrier and to improve skin cell functions resulting in a plumper more hydrated skin.

Skin Products With Ceramides, Lipids & Cholesterol:

DERMACEUTIC DERMA LIFT 5.0

SKINCEUTICALS TRIPLE LIPID RESTORE 2:4:2

DERMAQUEST NOURISHING PEPTIDE RICH

DERMACEUTIC YELLOW CREAM

DERMAQUEST NOURISHING PEPTIDE CREAM

DERMAQUEST NOURISHING PEPTIDE RICH

Loss Of Facial Fat Support

Supporting the overlying skin are numerous individual fat pads that not only give our faces our shape but also play a vital role in supporting the overlying tissue preventing skin folding and wrinkles. Unfortunately as we age these fat pads thin and drop resulting in depressions, sagginess and wrinkles. The best treatment of choice is to consider dermal fillers that can be placed directly in those fat pads resulting in support of the skin and a reduction in grooves and wrinkles.

Need More Info?

1. Further Reading & Recommended In Depth Articles:

   • Finding The Truth Behind Retinol
   • Vitamin C In Skin Care Products
   • Ceramides & Their Importance in Skin Health
   • The Pros and Cons of Retinol
   • Which Strength of Retinol Do I Need?

2. For More Skincare Advice:

• Take Our Skin Assessment: see immediate recommendations for your skin type and/or skin concern
• Take Dr Alek Nikolic’s Face2Face Skin Consultation: get personal recommendations for your skin from Dr Alek

I hope you have enjoyed the article and that you understand what causes wrinkles and how to treat them. Please feel free to send any comments or questions you may have on your skin or skin care regime.

Kind regards

Samantha Nikolic

About the author:

Dr Alek Nikolic:

Dr Alek Nikolic was born in South Africa and received his MBBCh (Wits) in 1992 and in 2000 he received his MBA (UCT).  He has been in private practice for 20 years and is the owner of Aesthetic Facial Enhancement, which has offices in Cape Town.

Dr Nikolic specialises in aesthetic medicine and is at the forefront of the latest developments in his field. He is very driven and has lectured extensively lecturing and done live demonstrations throughout South Africa and abroad. Dr Nikolic’s focus is on skin care and skin ingredients and cosmetic dermatology treatments. He has performed over 20 000 procedures to date and as such is responsible for training numerous medical practitioners both in South Africa and internationally.

Dr Nikolic is one of the founding members of the South African Allergan Medical Aesthetic Academy and chaired its inaugural launch in 2012. The Allergan Academy provides essential training to keep up with the latest technology in aesthetics. Dr Nikolic holds the advisory position of Allergan Local Country Mentor in Facial Aesthetics and is the Allergan Advanced Botox and Dermal Filler Trainer. He is chairman of the Western Cape Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Medicine Society of South Africa and of the Western Cape Aesthetic Review group.