A WRINKLE IN TIME
From crows feet to ‘bunny lines’ and ‘tech neck’ – what the location of your wrinkles means and how to combat them
Including budget skincare, what you eat, and how to help your skin age well
LINES and wrinkles are an inevitable part of ageing, and there's no way to completely prevent them.
One wrinkle might seem like any other - you might not think to differentiate between the crows feet wreathing your eyes or the creases across your neck.
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But each one can pop up for different reasons.
Skin expert and founder of , Sonia Amoroso, told Sun Health: "There is no single cause of wrinkles."
Instead, lines form due to a buildup of multiple factors that, when combined, "create a negative that is more than the sum of its parts".
"Genetics, changes in hormones, dehydration, lifestyle factors, sun damage, free radical damage and the 20,000 plus expressions you make every day can all contribute to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles," Sonia explained.
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"Left untreated, fine lines will become more prominent, leading to the deeper creases and crevices we know as wrinkles.
"Whilst wrinkles can appear anywhere on your body, they are most common around the face, neck, and hand areas."
From furrows between your brows to marionette or bunny lines, we break down different kinds of wrinkles and what they might be caused by.
What do the wrinkles on your face mean?
It's no surprise that our faces begin to show signs of wear and tear as we age, as "we make over 20,000 facial expressions every day", according to Sonia.
Most read in Anti-ageing
"These form creases in the skin which over time will leave their mark as a wrinkle," she added.
"We call these expression wrinkles – they start out as dynamic wrinkles and eventually become fixed in place as static wrinkles."
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When you think of wrinkles that might be caused by facial expressions, you might think of smile lines or crows feet.
But Sonia names seven different kinds of common expression wrinkles:
- Forehead lines – the lines you get when you raise your eyebrows in surprise around the T-zone area
- Frown lines or elevenses - lines between your eyebrows
- Crows feet or laughter lines - these form around the eyes and into the cheek zone
- Bunny lines - the diagonal crinkles that form from the corner of your eyes down the bridge of your nose as you smile or scrunch up your face
- Nasolabial wrinkles - lines between the nose and mouth corners
- Vertical lip lines that develop along and above your upper lip
- Marionette lines - vertical lines running from corners of your mouth down to your to chin
"Whilst the expression is creating the crease, younger skin has the ability to bounce back," Sonia said.
But as we age, our skin loses the ability to snap back, leading to the formation of wrinkles.
When it comes to skincare and ageing, the term 'free radicals' gets tossed around a fair bit.
Free radicals are unstable atoms that have the ability to interact freely any other molecule and can trigger chemical reactions in the body called oxidation, damaging the cells and DNA by altering their chemical structure and causing signs of ageing.
Unfortunately, our skin can come into contact with to these unstable molecules in multiple different ways, through sun exposure, pollution, tobacco smoke and poor diet.
All these factors can increase the load of free radicals and cause wrinkles, according to Sonia.
Inevitable hormonal changes also come into play.
These result in decreased levels of collagen and elastin in our skin, as well as less subcutaneous fat - fat that's stored beneath the skin - and muscle.
What do the wrinkles on your neck mean?
Be honest: how often do you forget to go over your neck when you're washing your face or applying moisturiser and sun cream?
“The neck is a body part that we tend to miss when it comes to skincare, but it is just as important to take care of the skin on your neck as your face," Sonia told Sun Health.
Some people might be genetically predisposed to neck lines, as even teenagers can have them, she went on - though perhaps hunching over their phone as they scroll through TikTok could be to blame.
"Whilst you aren’t making facial expressions, in today’s world we are constantly creating creases due to the repeated or prolonged use of tech devices, hence the term 'tech neck'.
"Just like facial expressions, this repeat creasing creates horizontal lines which, combined with free-radical exposure and hormonal changes, deepen over time.
"But all of the same factors - like constant free radical exposure from sun and pollution - are also fighting against us to form neck wrinkles."
As if this wasn't enough incentive to take care of your neck, Sonia added "the skin around the neck is thinner than the face and does not have the same level of subcutaneous fat layers, so it tends to sag and form wrinkles quicker".
Are 'sleep lines' a thing?
Turns out that when you thought you were getting your beauty sleep, you might actually have been making your wrinkles worse.
Sonia said: “You can also develop ‘sleep lines’ from regular, long-term creasing of the skin against your pillow."
It's certainly not uncommon to roll out of bed with grooves stamped into your face from your pillow.
"With younger skin, sleep wrinkles tend to go away within a few minutes, but they can be more sustained in mature skin," Sonia warned.
"As these lines form due to continual pressure as you sleep, they can appear anywhere where your face comes into contact with the pillow such as the cheek and eye area."
To combat the formation of sleep lines, Sonia suggested lying on your back to sleep or investing in a silk pillowcase that will be less harsh on your skin that cotton.
How can I prevent wrinkles?
There are certain things you can to do combat the formation of wrinkles, though none of us can stop ageing in its tracks.
Sonia said: "Just like there is no one cause of wrinkles, there is no one way to prevent wrinkles or fine lines."
Having a good skincare routine isn't the only way to prevent your skin from wrinkling, she noted.
“Lifestyle choices can be a huge factor when it comes to preventing wrinkles: stay hydrated, limit your consumption of alcohol, sugar and junk food, and avoid pollution and tobacco smoke.
"Once you reduce your free radical load from food and tobacco, think sun protection," the skin expert went on."
Sun can cause age spots and pigmentation as well as lines due to free radical damage.
Sonia recalled: "Growing up in Australia, I learned the 'slip, slop, slap' song, and it’s one of the top age preventing things you can do – 'slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat'.
"Sounds silly but makes perfect sense. UV rays ravage your skin with free radicals whether you burn or not, so take care of your skin when outdoors."
'You are what you eat' is a saying for a reason, so Sonia advised you eat "a diet rich in antioxidants".
This includes foods like vegetables and fruit - especially berries - nuts and seeds, beans, herbs and spices and even dark chocolate.
Good quality skincare treatments which contain antioxidants and peptides can also be helpful, as they "help your skin remember how to recover", Sonia added.
What products can I use?
Sonia said: "If I was asked what the most important factor is in caring for your skin and preventing wrinkles and other signs of ageing, it would be making sure to use a good eye cream as our eyes have the thinnest skin.
"They are not only the first place to show the signs of ageing, wrinkles around the eyes are also the most noticeable in this area.
"A clinical strength eye cream can really help to not only delay, but even treat these signs of ageing."
Sonia advised you choose a peptide rich eye cream like , which retails for £45 and contains a cocktail of three peptides as well as vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and a gel tensor system to lift and smooth the eye area.
Tips to age well
AGEING doesn't just come down to your skin.
There are a number of habits you can take up to care for your health and wellbeing as you age.
Age UK shared the following tips:
- Do things that you enjoy everyday - whether that's cooking, seeing friends or enjoying a good book
- Stay hydrated - drink six to eight cups of water a day
- Eat plenty of fruit and veggies to lower your risk of heart disease and certain cancers, have beans, pulses, fish, eggs and meat to repair your body after injury, starchy carbs for energy dairy to help keep bones strong
- Manage long-term health conditions to prevent them progressing or having a greater impact on your health
- Quit smoking and reduce alcohol intake to no more than 14 units a week
- Make mental health a priority and get treatment for it, as it can also impact physical health
- Make sure you're getting quality sleep
- Keep socialising - and call a friend or loved one if you can't make it out the house
- Be physically active to lower the risk of depression and dementia, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s and some cancers
"When looking for an eye cream, it should be lightweight and fragrance-free so as not to create further swelling or inflammation," she added.
If you're looking for something cheaper, you could try the Cetaphil Healthy Renew Hydrating Eye Gel Serum which has peptides in it - it goes for £14.50 at Boots.
Another essential addition to your anti-ageing skincare routine is sunscreen - make sure you're wearing some daily, not just when it's sunny.
Sonia recommended the Bondi Sands Sun Lotion Face SPF50+, which you can grab at Superdrug for £6.99.
The skin expert said this sun cream provides UVA and UVB protection and is non-comedogenic - meaning it won't clog your pores - and suitable for sensitive skin.
Finally, Sonia said you can't go wrong with the Q+A Hyaluronic Acid Moisturiser - £8.50 at Holland & Barrett or Amazon - which contains polyglutamic acid and hyaluronic acid to plump and hydrate your skin, along zinc PCA, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid to tackle congested pores.
The moisturiser might also help reduce the appearance of fine lines, she added.
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