They’re the first signs of aging you notice and often the hardest ones to address: fine lines and wrinkles.
These pesky little worry lines and crows feet probably started appearing in your 20s. Rest assured, fine lines and wrinkles are a natural part of aging skin, and even the healthiest skin—when left untreated—will eventually begin to crease and wrinkle.
But that doesn’t mean we have to accept it—especially not when there are ample treatments available through trained, professional aestheticians right here in our Bradenton spa.
Of course, there’s a whole subset of the beauty industry built around addressing these natural lines in our skin, and especially on our face. It can be hard to determine what works and what’s hogwash. So this is our guide to the medical science behind the wrinkle solutions we recommend most.
What causes fine lines and wrinkles?
Wrinkles will usually first start to appear on your face in response to repetitive motion from expressions you make a lot—especially around the corners of your eyes and the corners of your mouth.
And when you began seeing these lines even when your face was at rest, that’s when you really started to worry.
Wrinkles become more pronounced as we age because of two factors: loss of collagen and loss of elasticity. Collagen is what keeps our skin full and plump, so that it filles out all of its layers right to the surface and there’s no room for wrinkles.
Elasticity is a natural quality of youthful skin cells. Without this quality, skin will stretch out without “snapping back.” Now stretched out and looser, the skin will hang and sag in ways that cause additional lines and creases.
Of course, while fine lines and wrinkles are a natural part of the aging process of skin, they can also be accelerated by things like sun damage and smoking.
What skincare treatments really work for fine lines and wrinkles?
At our highly rated med spa in Bradenton, many of our clients include fine lines and wrinkles among their primary skin complaints. And our professional aestheticians always recommend the same top three solutions: glycolic acid, retinols, and tretinoin.
Glycolic Acid
Glycolic acid is an Alpha-Hydroxy Acid, which is the water-soluble class of chemical exfoliants we use in skincare. Exfoliants help to remove the damaged outermost layer of skin, which is where fine lines exist. Remove that layer, and you’re likely removing the most prominent parts of those fine lines, too. Underneath, the newer, undamaged skin cells won’t have inherited those same fine lines.
But don’t let that top layer exfoliation fool you. Not only is this an anti-inflammatory exfoliant, but glycolic acid can actually help to replenish your skin barrier—which, you now know from our previous blog, is the vital outer layer that helps your skin retain moisture. Moisture retention is a key factor in retaining fuller skin.
Retinols
Retinols are a subcategory of retinoids, the Vitamin A skincare products that your skin absolutely loves.
While retinols do have a superficial exfoliating effect (somewhat less than glycolic acid), retinols do their big anti-aging work in the skin’s middle layer, or the dermis. Retinols are small enough to penetrate through your epidermis to the lower foundations of your skin’s shape. There, retinols eliminate free radicals, which are essentially damage-causing intrusive molecules.
Once the free radicals are gone, your skin cells in your dermis are free to produce more collagen and elastin. This naturally creates fuller, healthier, and more elastic skin from the inside out.
Tretinoin
Like retinols, tretinoin is also in the retinoid family. However, tretinoin is produced synthetically to be much stronger than typical retinols, which are derived from naturally occurring Vitamin A. As such, it’s a much more aggressive form of wrinkle treatment.
It works by speeding up the life cycle of your skin cells, rapidly clearing the way for the younger, unblemished cells underneath.
Tretinoin is only available with a prescription, so it’s something we might recommend you talk to your physician or dermatologist about if we suspect it’s right for you.
Come to Bellagena for your Bradenton Wrinkle Solutions
Tired of your fine lines and wrinkles, or just hoping to get a jump on them early? Come to Bellagena to talk to our expert aestheticians. We can recommend a truly effective treatment that will suit your needs both now and in the long run.
