Although wrinkles can be signs of experience and wisdom, most people would rather not have them
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However, skin ages all over the body, but much more so where there has been sun exposure. Changes brought on by sun damage include “dryness”, sagginess, skin growths and wrinkles. These are found primarily on the parts of the body where sun exposure is greatest. These areas especially include the face, neck, the backs of the hands, and the tops of the forearms.
But, why do wrinkles appear? How does our skin get old?
As a person ages the epidermal cells become thinner and less sticky. The thinner cells make the skin look noticeably thinner. The decreased stickiness of the cells decreases the effectiveness of the barrier function allowing moisture to be released instead of being kept in the skin. This causes dryness.
The number of epidermal cells decreases by 10% per decade and they divide more slowly as we age making the skin less able to repair itself quickly. The effects of aging, on the dermal layer are significant. With the years, not only the dermal layer gets thinner, also less collagen is produced and the elastin fibers that provide elasticity wear out. These changes in the scaffolding of the skin cause the skin to wrinkle and sag.
In the subcutaneous layer, the fat cells get smaller with age. This leads to more noticeable wrinkles and sagging, as the fat cells cannot “fill in” the damage from the other layers.
There are also some factors that promote wrinkles: