Ageing skin and wrinkles unsettle women more than men because society believes a woman loses her attractiveness once visible signs of facial ageing sets in.

Ageing skin is associated with a range of cosmetic concerns - from a loss of collagen, which results in the thinning of the skin to a loss of structural integrity or weakening of the skin leading to different types wrinkles.

Cutaneous ageing signs become visible from as early as the twenties, especially with excessive sun or environmental exposure. The two earliest signs of ageing are the development of crow's feet around the eyes, and wrinkling between the brows and forehead due to constant facial expressions. Between the ages of 30 to 49 years there is a sharp increase in prevalence of skin changes such as wrinkles. In contrast, signs most clearly ascribable to photo-aging such as pigmented spots, affect most people two to three decades later.

To understand the various treatments of wrinkles, one must understand that there are different kinds of wrinkles: static wrinkles and dynamic wrinkles:

Static wrinkles are those facial lines that are evident even when our face is at rest, thus constantly visible.

are those facial lines that are evident even when our face is at rest, thus constantly visible. Dynamic wrinkles are those wrinkles and lines that appear when your face is animated.

Sleeping Positions are one of the main causes of static wrinkles. Resting your face on the pillow in the same way every night for years on end also leads to wrinkles. Called sleep lines, these wrinkles eventually become etched on the surface of the skin and no longer disappear when the head is not resting on the pillow. Women, who tend to sleep on their sides, are most likely to see these lines appear on their chin and cheeks. Men tend to notice these lines on the forehead since they usually sleep with the face pressed face down on the pillow. People who sleep on their backs do not develop these wrinkles since their skin does not lie crumpled against the pillow.

When we were younger and our skin had abundant collagen, the only lines and wrinkles we had were dynamic. Our face was otherwise wrinkle-free when we weren't animated. Dynamic wrinkles are caused by facial expressions and repetitive facial movements. Each time we use a facial muscle, a groove forms beneath the surface of the skin, which is why we see lines form with each facial expression. As skin ages and loses its elasticity, the skin stops springing back to its line-free state, with constant motion these grooves become permanently etched on the face as fine lines and wrinkles.

How do we treat the different types of wrinkles?

Home therapies:

Once the signs of ageing such as wrinkles appear on the facial skin, it is time to initiate the most powerful corrective treatments and topical therapies available such as growth factors to improve collagen content and wrinkling. At Skin Renewal, we offer two very powerful growth factor based products, namely:

In Office treatments:

Injectable fillers, laser rejuvenation treatments, Pearl Fusion, PDT, Skin Needling, Mesotherapy and Carboxytherapy are mainly used for static wrinkling. Fillers soften lines and larger wrinkles by plumping them out so they look less evident at rest. In some cases, the combination of anti-wrinkle injections and fillers are used when the line or wrinkle is very deep and weakening the muscle action will help preserve the longevity of the filler. This is most common in the furrows between the eyebrows or bleed lines on the lip.

Dynamic wrinkles are what separate anti-wrinkle injections and any of the injectable fillers. Anti-wrinkle injections are for dynamic wrinkling. It is a muscle relaxing agent so it will soften the wrinkles and lines that occur from a dynamic facial movement, such as between the brows with frowning, or the crow's feet from smiling. Wrinkle treatment should start as soon as one sees a wrinkle developing when the wrinkles are still "soft". If these wrinkles are neglected they become "ingrained" and "scar like" and they are then almost impossible to treat successfully. If we intervene early and fill in wrinkles with dermal fillers, then we can prevent these breaks in the skin.