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What causes wrinkles in the first place?
To really understand why we get wrinkles, it is important to break down what I refer to as the “anatomy of a wrinkle”.
The anatomy of a wrinkle is broken down into three key features:
Loss of volume/fat
Thinning of skin
Muscle contraction
As we get older we naturally redistribute fat and lose volume in certain areas of our face while perhaps gaining in others. The volume loss is both made up of fat and a reduction of the bony structure underlying our skin such as the cheekbone and mandible that retracts backward.
Our skin itself thins allowing it to hold onto wrinkle easily. This is both from aging and from UV exposure.
And, our face is dynamic with muscle contractions to express ourselves that can result in wrinkles that persist at rest.
Can drinking through a straw cause wrinkles?
Repetitive muscle movements that occur frequently can lead to a tendency to develop specific types of wrinkles. However, this is not the only cause. For example, in studies, men and women have different tendencies toward developing perioral wrinkles although it is difficult to say if they have different straw drinking habits.
Is there a way to ease wrinkles caused by drinking through a straw?
Ultimately it would be the force and persistence of contraction of the perioral muscles that can contribute to wrinkles. For example, thicker liquids such as smoothies may require more force to contract to create negative pressure to drink. This may make an individual more susceptible to wrinkles.
Are there any other common habits that cause wrinkles around the lip and eye area? What are they and why do they cause wrinkles there?
Squinting is the act of narrowing the eyelids when someone is trying to focus. As we get older, we tend to do this more to focus when reading. This can aggravate the development of crow's feet around the eyes and accentuate the 11’s over the glabella. Another variant of this is “iPhone face”.
Not applying sunscreen routinely can contribute to the development of facial wrinkles. Sometimes forehead wrinkles can appear exaggerated or “ironed in” in the summer.
Smoking can contribute to wrinkle development both from the muscular contractions of facial muscles to smoke in addition to contributing to prematurely aging the skin from free radicals in smoke.
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