Lessen Wrinkles and Remove Dead Skin On Your Face

Wrinkling is a natural part of aging, but you can still slow the process down by taking good care of your skin. You can do this by living a healthy lifestyle that will keep your skin as young looking as possible and by exfoliating to cleanse your skin and remove dead skin cells. If all else fails, there are also medical procedures available to reduce wrinkles.

Steps

Reducing Wrinkles with a Healthy Lifestyle

1. Prevent wrinkles with a good skin care routine. Keeping your skin clean and healthy will help you stay wrinkle free for as long as possible. You can do this by:
   • Washing your face daily with clean water and mild soap that won’t dry out your skin. This will help remove dirt, oil, and dead skin cells which can clog your pores.
   • Moisturize your skin to prevent it from getting dry and itchy. Use a non-oily moisturizer so that it won’t clog your pores and make you prone to pimples.
   • Take off your make-up each night. This will prevent it from getting rubbed into your pores.
2. Exfoliate your skin in the shower. You can purchase self-care materials like an exfoliating glove or a gritty rub which will help you remove layers of dead skin cells while you bathe. Chose a gentle exfoliating product that does not contain harsh chemicals.
   • Exfoliating materials containing microbeads are the gentlest because they have round edges. Harsher abrasives include ground fruit pits or aluminum oxide because the edges are sharper.
   • If you use an exfoliating cream, rub it into your skin in gentle circles. Do not rub so hard that it hurts. You don’t want to damage the living, healthy skin underneath.
   • You can also purchase an exfoliating glove or use a washcloth. Rub your skin gently to loosen and wipe away any dead skin cells. This will reveal new, healthy skin below.
3. Avoid sun damage. Protect your skin from the sun. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight damage your skin making you more prone to wrinkles and skin cancer. You can protect your skin by:
   • Using a moisturizer with a light, but effective sunscreen in it. The sunscreen should protect you from both UVA and UVB rays. If you moisturize daily with a moisturizer with sunscreen, this will give you sun protection each day. This should slow the development of wrinkles over time.
   • Wearing sunscreen with a high sun protection factor (SPF) when exposing yourself to large amounts of sunlight. The American Academy of Dermatology advises people to use and SPF of at least 30. The higher the SPF factor the better it is in protecting you against ultraviolet radiation and sunburns. If you are at the beach, be sure to reapply it frequently and to use water resistant sunscreen.
   • Avoid direct sunlight during the middle of the day when the sun is the strongest. If you are out in the sun between 11 am and 3 pm, put on a hat, a light long sleeve shirt, and light long pants to reduce your sun exposure.
   • Children are the most sensitive to getting sun burns and skin damage from ultraviolet rays.
4. Keep your skin supple by not smoking. Smoking degrades the collagen in your skin and causes your body to produce less of it. This gives the skin of a smoker a wrinkled, leathery look. Smoking also damages the blood vessels causing your skin to get less oxygen. If you already smoke, quitting will vastly improve the quality of your skin. If you need help quitting, there are many resources available to help you. You can:
   • Talk to your doctor
   • Join a support group
   • Call a hotline when you get the urge to have a cigarette
   • Try nicotine replacement therapy
5. Limit alcohol to avoid dehydrating your skin. Drinking alcohol can dehydrate you, making your skin more likely to sag and wrinkle. If you do drink, supplement it with enough water to keep yourself hydrated and stay within the recommended limits.
   • Women should drink no more than one alcoholic beverage per day. Men should have no more than two.
   • A beer, glass of wine, or a shot of hard alcohol qualifies as a drink.
6. Nourish your skin with a healthy diet. You can keep your skin youthful with a diet that contains everything that it needs to repair wear and tear that accumulates through your life. This will help slow the process of developing wrinkles. A healthy diet should contain:
   • Lots of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables provide the vitamins and minerals that your skin needs to maintain a healthy glow. They make great snack for satisfying hunger between meals. Instead of eating a bag of chips, try an apple, carrot, fresh broccoli, a green pepper or berries.
   • Low fat sources of protein. You can get protein from milk, eggs, tofu, beans, and lean meats like fish and poultry. If you cook meat, try baking, grilling, or roasting it instead of frying it.
   • Whole grain sources of carbohydrates. Whole-grains are excellent sources of energy for your body. They have vitamins and fiber. You can purchase whole grain breads, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice.

Applying Natural Remedies

1. Use caution with essential oils. Some essential oils that are commonly used in aromatherapy will increase your sensitivity to the sun and can make you more vulnerable to sun damage. Do not use products containing these oils before exposing yourself to the sun:
   • Ginger
   • Citrus oils including orange, grapefruit, lime, lemon and bergamot
   • Cumin
   • Angelica root
2. Consider antioxidants. Antioxidants may help keep your skin healthy and reduce your likelihood of wrinkling. There are many products available. Always read the manufacturer's instructions. Consult your doctor if you are unsure whether a product will be right for you.
   • Selenium, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), and alpha lipoic acid are applied topically. Commercially prepared mixtures are available. However, they have not been shown to be very effective.
   • Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, may stimulate the skin to repair its collagen. No vitamin C products have been approved explicitly for treating age-related skin damage.
   • Vitamin E may decrease wrinkles and skin roughness. It has also not been approved for treating age-related skin damage.
   • Other products that are under investigation include: Niacinamide (a B complex vitamin), pomegranate extract, soy extract, coral extract, grape seed extract, ginger, and aloe.
3. Try facial acupuncture. Though it has not been scientifically proven to be beneficial, those who practice it say that it helps to prevent blockages of energy, or qi, in your body.
   • The acupuncturist inserts thin needles into your skin. The needles irritate the skin and promote healing, which may reduce wrinkles.
   • Multiple treatments may be necessary before you see an effect.

Removing Wrinkles and Dead Skin

1. Try medications. There are over-the-counter products and prescription strength products that you can use to exfoliate, help damaged skin heal, and reduce wrinkles. There are several options:
   • Products with beta hydroxyl acid (salicylic acid) as the active ingredient. Medications with this ingredient may make your skin smoother by encouraging exfoliation. They may also reduce acne. Products with salicylic acid are available in both over-the-counter and prescription strengths.
   • Alpha hydroxyl acids (citric, tartaric, lactic, and glycolic acids). Products containing these active ingredients may reduce small wrinkles and make age spots less obvious. These products may make you more sensitive to the sun. Use sunscreen to avoid further damage to your skin.
   • Retinoids such as tretinoin (Retin-A, Renova) and tazarotene (Avage, Tazorac). These medications exfoliate your skin and reduces fine lines. Some people experience side effects of skin irritation including redness, swelling, peeling, dryness, itching, a burning or tingling feeling, and the sensation that your skin is tight. You may need to apply the medication every other night at first until your skin adapts. These medications also make you more vulnerable to sunburns.
2. Try a chemical peel. These techniques use acid to burn away the outer layer of skin. The peel can be done to different depths depending upon how deep your wrinkles are. The different depths use different chemicals. Side effects from chemical peels include redness, scarring, changes in skin pigmentation, and infections.
   • Light peeling. This peel would only remove the outer layer of skin called the epidermis. It is used to remove superficial wrinkles.
   • Medium peeling. This peel would remove the epidermis and the more superficial layers of the dermis below. It would address deeper wrinkles than the light peel and the effects should last for about a year.
   • Deep peeling. These more powerful chemicals burn away the epidermis and reaches into the lower layers of the dermis. This is used to get rid of deep wrinkles or scars. The chemicals used for deep peels can be harmful to your heart, kidneys, and liver. Discuss these risks with your doctor before undergoing this procedure.
3. Talk to your doctor about resurfacing techniques. There are several options for doing resurfacing. These methods remove or destroy the outer layers of skin with the goal of causing newer, less wrinkled skin to grow.
   • Laser resurfacing. These methods use a laser to remove the outer layer of skin and apply heat to the layers below. This can be done as an ablative or nonablative procedure. Ablative laser treatments can months to heal, but do not have to be repeated as often as nonablative resurfacing.
   • Abrasion treatments. Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion are techniques which both involve sanding away the surface layers of skin, causing a new layer to grow. Dermabrasion may cause scabbing and swelling lasting weeks. Microdermabrasion is less severe, but you may have to do multiple treatments before you see an effect.
4. Consider surgical techniques. There are several ways that doctors can fill in wrinkles or tighten muscles to reduce sagging skin. Methods include:
   • Soft tissue fillers. These methods inject material like fat, collagen, or hyaluronic acid gel into your wrinkles to fill them in. You may have bruises, swelling, or reddening of the treated areas. After a few months the wrinkles will return.
   • Botulinum toxin type A (Botox). During this technique you would receive injections into the muscles that cause your skin to wrinkle when they contract. The effects usually last for a third of a year or less. A side effect is that when the muscles don’t contract, it may alter your facial expressions in ways that people may notice.
   • A face lift. This procedure is more invasive. The doctor removes sagging skin, eliminates pockets of fat from your neck and face, and shortens the muscles underneath. You may be bruised and swollen for weeks afterwards, but the effects generally remain for up to a decade.

Warning

• The Food and Drug Administration categorizes over-the-counter wrinkle creams as cosmetics. This means that they are not regulated and do not have to demonstrate that they are effective.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Care for Your Face (Males)
• Heal Raw Skin
• Use a Glycolic Acid Peel
• Know if Sunscreen Has Expired
• Heal over Exfoliated Skin
• Wear a Face Shield
• Stop Hard Water from Ruining Your Skin
• Choose a Natural Sunscreen
• Wear Makeup when You Have Eczema
• Make a Charcoal Peel‐Off Facial Mask

Read more ...

What links here

• Remove Dead Skin Using Sugar