Has Your Lifestyle Uncovered A Few New Wrinkles Lately?
by Barbara Strickland, Certified Para-Medical Esthetician

Have you ever wondered what happened? You feel the same inside. However, when you look in the mirror your cheekbones appear flat, your nose more prominent, your skin dull with what looks like enlarged pores, dark circles and maybe even some bags under the eyes. What about those lines running horizontally across your forehead...and those lovely red and brown marks that appear strategically located on the cheeks, nose, and jaw? Where did all this come from? Six thousand days of sun, wind, worry, smoking, and stress can't really have caused all of that to "magically" appear just because 40 plus years have gone by.

This article will answer the questions: What is aging, why did it happen to me, what can I do to prevent more of it and, short of surgery, can I correct any of it?

The Three Factors of Aging

Aging does not just happen, it is caused by three basic factors: genetic predisposition, obesity, and sun damage.

Genetic Predisposition or Intrinsic Aging is determined by skin, eye, and hair color. Fair haired, fair skinned, fair eyed individuals will age more quickly than dark haired, dark eyed, dark skinned individuals because the darkness of the skin, eye, and hair color determines the amount of protection you receive from the sun which, in turn, determines how you age. This means that individuals who originally lived in southern areas or closer to the equator have more pigment cells to protect them than individuals who originally came from northern areas such as England, Ireland, Norway, or Sweden.

Obesity is the second determining factor.  People who are 30 to 70 pounds overweight appear to age more slowly because they have more adipose tissue or subcutaneous fat to push up and "diminish" lines and wrinkles in the work areas of the face (eyes, mouth, and nose).

Sun Damage is the third determining factor in aging. The amount of ultraviolet light you receive during your lifetime and the damage it causes are directly related to the eye, skin, and hair color you possess. Sun Damage causes wrinkles, lines, brown marks (Lentigos), red marks (Actinic Keratosis), broken capillaries (Telangiectasia), enlarged pores, skin cancer, and dull, flat looking skin.