Why we wrinkle, and slowing the process

It is no secret: skin wrinkles with time and age. But is there a secret to slowing the process?

According to principal skin cancer and cosmetic doctor, Dr Caroline Taylor-Walker from Ministry of Skin in Torquay, we must first understand what factors accelerate the ageing process, and why to answer that question.

“The biggest factor is sun, that’s the number one cause of wrinkling and premature ageing. The other reasons are genetics – you can have lucky genes or you can age quickly, and lifestyle – your exposure to environmental factors, and your inner health, your general health,” she said.

Dr Taylor-Walker said these factors affected the ageing process because skin because skin wrinkled due to the loss in elastic fibres, collagen and elastin, and the contracting of muscle and fat beneath the skin.

“Two things happen when we age, the skin on the outside loses collagen and elastin and gets thinner, and beneath the skin, our fat, muscle, and bone, all shrinks with time. So, the skin doesn’t have as much support.”

She said because of this, anti-aging treatments to slow and reduce wrinkling addressed these two aspects: increasing the body’s collagen and elastin, or supporting the fat and muscle beneath the skin.

“We use different procedures to use the body’s natural healing systems to create new collagen and repair cells.

“It’s a really developing area, and what researchers are trying to look at now are using the body’s natural ways using collagen and elastin to repair damaged.”

Dr Taylor-Walker said several anti-aging treatments work to increase the skin’s collagen and elastin.

“A lot of the modalities have the same end point they’re just using a different method to get there.”

“The devices cause micro-channels and wounds in the skin to stimulate the body to go and mend it, to cause increased quality and quantity of the skin’s collagen and elastin.

Treatments that stimulate collagen and elastin production include thread lifts, laser treatments, High Intensity Focused Ultrasounds (HIFU), Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), needling and more.

Another approach is treatments that address the contracting of muscles and fat beneath the skin, which includes fillers and Botox.

“Imagine your skin is like a brick, turning into a sponge and we just put water back into that sponge,” Dr Taylor-Walker said.

“As the muscles contracts a bit more which can cause more skin wrinkling, so we also use things like filler to support the muscles, a bit like blowing up a balloon, or we can use Botox.”

But before people jumped into treatment, Dr Taylor-Walker said prevention was the best anti-aging treatment.

“So, prevention includes protecting yourself from the sun, not smoking, having a healthier lifestyle, cutting down on things like alcohol, drinking plenty of water and just generally being healthy.”

She said it could also be a good idea to use treatments a few times a year to slow the aging process and reduce the number of treatments needed later in life.

“Preventing causing premature ageing is definitely the better route than getting rid of the problem.”

To find out more about treatments Dr Taylor-Walker offers, head to ministryofskin.com.auA thread lift at Ministry of Skin Torquay. Photo: MINISTRY OF SKIN