Does your sleep position cause wrinkles? Is frowning worse for your skin than smiling? Test your knowledge of wrinkles with our Everwell Challenge.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Wrinkles, we all get them. And while we like to tell ourselves they add character, no one wants to get them any sooner than necessary. So play along with this Everwell Challenge and see if you know how to keep the lines of time at bay.
1. What’s the main cause of premature wrinkles?
2. Which of these is not a proven cause of wrinkles?
A. Tanning beds
B. Drinking from a straw
C. Sugar
D. Sleeping on your side
3. True or false? Frowning causes more wrinkles than smiling.
4. At what age does smoking start to cause wrinkles?
5. True or false? Over-the-counter creams can smooth wrinkles.
answers:
To iron out the confusion, we checked in with dermatologist Doctor Elizabeth Tanzi.
1. The main cause of premature wrinkles is ultraviolet light from sun exposure.
Over many years time, sun exposure will break down collagen elastic fibers in the skin causing wrinkling and sagging.
The more sun exposure you have, the more wrinkles you’re likely to get, no matter what your age. To prevent them, use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30, avoid the sun at peak hours, and seek the shade.
2. Nope, it’s not a trick question. The correct answer is c, sugar. Although there is some evidence coming out now that overeating sugar can potentially cause acceleration of the aging process, it has not been proven scientifically at this point. There is evidence for the other answers. Tanning beds, we’ve known for many years the ultraviolet exposure from tanning beds is not only associated with accelerated aging process, but also skin cancer.
Drinking from a straw is a proven cause of wrinkles because repetitive facial movements over many years’ time can cause an actual etching in the skin.
Sleeping on your side is a proven cause of wrinkles because over the years’ time, those sleep lines that we have when we wake up in the morning will etch themselves in to the skin.
3. This is false. Frowning causes fewer wrinkles than smiling, because when we’re smiling, we’re using more muscles around our eyes and around our mouth. But overall, it’s better to go through life, smiling than it is to be frowning.
4. Smoking can cause wrinkles as early as 20 years old. Though we don’t see it on the surface of the skin, using a microscope we can see the signs of accelerated aging process from smoking.
In addition the repetitive action of puckering down multiple times a day on a cigarette causes, lines around the mouth and those are very, very difficult to treat.
But it’s never too late to quit when it comes to your skin.
The skin has amazing regenerative properties, so I tell my patients, even if you stop smoking after you’ve been smoking for many years, your skin will start to look better.
5. True. Over the counter creams can smooth wrinkles, particularly those with ingredients such as alpha hydroxy acids or retinol. But it’s important to remember that over the counter creams can’t cure wrinkles or even treat them. They can temporarily improve the appearance and smooth them while you’re using the cream.