The Trifecta Components of a Wrinkle

Wrinkles are a trifecta of three factors:
1. The skin component
2. The underlying muscle component
3. The subcutaneous fat component

Facial Skin
As facial skin ages, it thins out and becomes dry, fragile, and traced with lines. Oxidation and free radicals from the external environment bombard skin’s collagen molecules causing them to lose their elasticity and become rigid.

Collagen is especially vulnerable to aging and environmental damage due to its slow turnover rate. Glycation is a process that occurs when sugar molecules cross-link (bond) with skin's collagen making the collagen more rigid and less elastic. Glycation is directly involved in protein degradation which results in the signs of aging.

Facial Muscles 
Facial muscles are unique as they are the only muscles that attach to bone and skin. All other muscles attach bone to bone, which allows the body movement. Another interesting fact about facial muscles, they are the only muscles that cause wrinkles.  

Every time a facial expression is made, whether a smile, squint, or frown the facial muscles pull at skin from underneath causing skin to crease. Younger skin has enough elasticity to spring back after an expression, but as facial skin ages and collagen breaks down, it begins to give way slowly develop lines where it creases thus signs of a wrinkle.

Loss of Fat
As we age our facial skin looses its subcutaneous or underlying fat. It becomes evident in prominent areas of the face – temples, under eyes, cheeks.  The loss of this fat from this area seems to accelerate our aging. As the fat lessens, our eyes and cheeks appear older. In these areas not only is fat diminishing, gravity is taking over, causing fat pads to migrate and move lower on the face.  Our features lose their definition. Our cheeks slide down and towards our nose creating deep folds to the corners of our mouths. Laugh lines, and crow’s feet begin to appear.

The skin develops wrinkles along the lines of facial expression. Then as the skin continues to thin and sag, pores enlarge, red capillaries begin to show and age spots begin to appear.