Wrinkles are a normal consequences of the aging process. Crow’s feet in particular are those fine lines that radiate from the outer corners of the eyes when you frown or laugh. For some people, they may look sexy since they add personality and charisma while making facial expression. For others, instead, they detract from one’s self-image as they look like you’re losing your youthful appearance.
Although the aging process can be slowed as it is due to the natural progression of time, there is a lot you can do to make fine lines and crow’s feet less prominent. Let’s have a look at a few tips to minimize these unaesthetic wrinkles.
- Why do fine lines and crow’s feet form?
Knowing your enemy is half the battle, right? Below your skin lays a cushioning layer formed by connective tissue. This layer is composed of several structural proteins, with collagen and elastin being the most prominent and important. Both of these substances keep your skin smooth, supple, and preserve its elasticity.
When you start aging, the production of collagen and elastin declines. Old cells die, and new ones who should substitute them become scarcer and scarcer. Cuts and scrapes heal more slowly, and new minuscule scars start appearing. As the skin is not elastic anymore, small crevices start forming and run through the now duller texture of the epidermis. These crevices are crow’s feet and fine lines.
That’s why the simplest way to fight against the effects of aging, is to replenish your body reserves of collagen and elastin. You can take these proteins as oral supplements, but this isn’t necessarily the most effective method since the digestive process doesn’t allow your body to absorb these proteins before they are broken down. A valid alternative is to inject them directly. A quick session at a licensed physician’s office can provide you with an effective answer to remove fine lines.
- Fight your battle against free radicals
Other than natural aging, another enemy of your skin’s youth is represented by free radicals. These substances can accelerate the degradation process of elastin and collagen as well as many other structural proteins found in your skin. They’re highly-reactive chemicals produced in your body after exposure to many stressors, and will make your wrinkles even deeper despite your young age.
In particular, free radicals are produced whenever you eat junk food, do not sleep enough, smoke too much, get exposed to pollutants and bad weather, stay under the sun for too much time, or simply get stressed by work or psychological problems.
What you can do to avoid the detrimental effects of these harmful chemicals on your skin then? Well, the answer is quite obvious: avoid all sources of free radicals! In other words you should eat better, get more sleep, smoke less, protect yourself from bad weather and pollution, wear a good sunscreen and live a more relaxed life. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
Other than this, you can also actively counteract the action of the free radicals with another group of substances known as antioxidants which can neutralize their chemical reactions. Antioxidants can be found in fruit and vegetables, or can be applied topically through special cosmetics and creams. They’re also found in many natural cosmetics that are formulated with natural seed oils, such as coconut oil, shea butter, sunflower oil, argan oil and apricot oil.
- Stay hydrated
Hydrated skin is beautiful skin. As our skin dehydrates it becomes much more susceptible to aging, as skin cells (as well as all other types of cells) require proper hydration to function properly. Fine lines and crow’s feet will form much more rapidly if you do not maintain proper hydration. For normal adults that means drinking about 2 liters of water every day.
Obviously enough, you need to drink an adequate amount of water, or, at least, introduce it through nutrition. Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually rich in water. Watermelons, and cucumbers for example, are composed of almost 100% water!
However, you must be also careful not to lose this water from your skin. Substances such as alcohol can, in fact, quickly dehydrate you since they strip tissues of their normal water content. You should limit your consumption of alcoholic beverages first, but that’s not all. Many perfumes and cosmetics contain alcohol, so you should avoid them at all costs and carefully read the ingredients before buying any product.
Bad weather, wind and cold can also dehydrate your skin after exposure. Topical applications can help your skin keep its natural water resources, such as coconut oil or lanolin. However, the best way to prevent this form of dehydration, is to cover your skin in cold weather. Break out the heavy scarf and the insulated gloves before you go getting into any snowball fights!
Conclusion
At some point in your life, you will notice crow’s feet appearing in your face. Don’t worry. As you can see, there are a lot of options to reduce their appearance. These guidelines will help you to preserve the look and feel of your skin for years to come!
