What Causes Skin Damage?

Our skin is an amazing organ that is designed for many purposes. It keeps our innards in and the nasty stuff out. It keeps us cool when we need to and warm when we're not. But our skin is more than just some plastic baggie that holds everything together. Understanding its design and structure a bit better will help us to understand just what causes wrinkles in the first place.

SKIN'S COMPOSITION

Much of what causes wrinkles has to do with the proper hydration of the skin and of the way it is made.

As we age, the middle layer or dermis of the skin begins to reproduce less rapidly, making the cells in this layer further apart. The dermis also contains collagen fibers which are like proteins that support the outer layer of skin. This collagen begins to lose its firmness so that the outer layer will hold depressions and creases more easily.

Think of two pillows, one made of feathers and one of firm foam. If you push down on the one made of foam, it won't hold that shape of your hand as easily as when you push down on the one made of feathers. The collagen in your skin is like that foam. As it weakens, it becomes less firm and more like those feathers. Every time you smile or crease your forehead, the skin is less and less able to bounce back from those depressions.

And as the collagen begins to break down, your face will just naturally lose much of its shape and wrinkles will develop. Usually a person will develop wrinkles about the same time they develop loose jowls or sagging skin around their neck and chin line. This is because the collagen is breaking down so that the skin is not as firm as it once was.

Age also means that they body is less able to produce those natural oils it once did. When your skin is dry it's more likely to be wrinkled as it pulls in on itself. For this example, let's use the illustration of a cake. One that is very dry is crumbly but one that is moist is more likely to hold its shape and be firm.

When your skin is very dry it is like that crumbly cake; those small depressions and indentations on the skin are going to do more damage when the skin is dry. When it's hydrated and moist, it's like that moist cake. It is springier and more able to hold its shape.

Age is not the only culprit when it comes to the cause of wrinkles.

BLAME THE SUN

Some time ago there were dermatologists that decided to do some comparing on person's skin to see just what caused all the damage to the skin in the first place. They deduced that it must be the sun because of the comparison of the skin on one's face versus the skin on one's buttocks - while the rear end rarely showed signs of damage or aging, the face obviously did.

There are of course other reasons as to why one's face might be more wrinkled than one's behind, and some people may even have some wrinkles back there as well! But let's consider the sun's damage to the skin for a moment.

The sun as we know is just a big ball of heat. Think of applying heat to anything - it dries up. As a matter of fact, that's how we dry things! We add heat, which absorbs moisture. Heat from the sun of course absorbs the moisture from our face.

However, direct sunlight also does damage to our skin. You may have heard about ultraviolet light and radiation, and much of this is in sunlight. The earth's atmosphere filters out quite a lot of it, but those wavelengths still come through.

Ultraviolet light is very important for plant life and vegetation, so it's not as if it's an evil thing just by itself. We as humans also need it for our own particular health as well. Someone that is housebound often looks pale and sickly; typically because they need more light, just like a plant.

But think of persons that practice tanning or that are out in the sun consistently. They are purposely exposing themselves to inordinate amounts of ultraviolet light and causing premature wrinkles.

DRY SKIN

When the skin is dry, it's going to wrinkle more easily. Creases in the skin are going to stay creased.

Many think that a way to avoid wrinkles is to keep from smiling, frowning, wrinkling their forehead, or doing anything else that makes their skin crease. It's true that wrinkles typically happen in the area of the face where there is more movement - around the eyes, mouth, and forehead. But thinking that you're going to have a stone face to avoid wrinkles is of course not realistic.

Usually these wrinkles happen around your face where there is less oil and moisture. Keeping your skin hydrated is going to work much better.

There's probably no one alive that wants to hear about how he or she is at fault or to blame for making their skin less than radiant. But in reality there are many things that people do to actually bring on blemishes and even premature wrinkles.

Knowing what these things are should feel empowering. If there was nothing that you were actually doing to cause wrinkles and blemishes then there would be nothing you could do fix the problem, but when you hear about problems that you're creating for yourself then you may understand how you can fix or correct those problems.

Some of the things we're going to outline in this section might be a bit sensitive, but remember that this is all just medical science we're talking about here. No one is making moral judgments about your lifestyle and your choices, but then again, we can't deny how some of these choices affect our health and the appearance of our skin.

SMOKING

Smoking is probably the worst thing that people do to themselves overall, but especially to their skin as far as premature dryness and wrinkles are concerned. Just why is it that smoking affects our skin in this way?

The poisons in tobacco and especially the nicotine are quickly absorbed in the bloodstream and are then carried to every cell in our body through the blood. These poisons are like little hijackers that latch on to those blood cells and hitch a ride to anywhere and everywhere.

We easily associate lung cancer with smoking, but because this nicotine and these other poisons are transported to every part of the body, smoking is associated with cancer of the liver, bladder, anus, digestive system, reproductive systems, and virtually every other type of cancer there is. Obviously there is just no part of the body that's safe from its harmful effects.

While this nicotine and these other poisons are harmful to your skin, there are other reasons as to why smoking is so damaging to your skin. When you inhale cigarette smoke, the tar settles into your lungs and essentially chokes them. And yes, we're talking about the same type of tar that you see being applied to roads and roofs. It's obviously not the same amount but this thick gooey material does build up in the lungs. When your lungs can't do their job properly, you're not getting that needed oxygen to your tissues and cells. As your lungs choke, so do all the other cells in your body.

It's not unusual for a smoker to have very dry skin, and usually very prematurely.

There is another reason that cigarette smoking causes wrinkles on the face, and this has to do with the fact that smokers are typically just sitting in a cloud of their own smoke. Cigarette smoke, when exhaled, is worse that virtually any other pollutant there is. When a smoker exhales that smoke, it lingers around the face area. This means more dry skin around the mouth, eyes, chin, and other areas of the exposed face.

Some smokers think that getting filters for their ashtrays or smoking filtered cigarettes will help in this regard, but this is very shortsighted and something of a fallacy. If you smoke, you're going to have very dry skin and premature wrinkles. That's really all there is to it. If you're concerned about your health overall and especially about the health of your skin, the only surefire thing you can do is to quit smoking entirely.

TANNING

If the sun's ultraviolet radiation is bad for the skin, imagine what tanning does to it!

Using tanning booths and beds are some of the worst things one can do for healthy skin, as is being out in the sun for prolonged periods of time.

This is something to remember too when you're out on the water or in a pool. The water acts as a mirror for the sunlight and reflects it back onto you, making it all the more damaging. Being on a boat all day is even worse than simply lounging in your backyard all day.

EXPOSURE

When we talk about exposing your skin, we're not talking about anything vulgar here! Exposure doesn't just mean streaking across a football field to make a point to your college's rivals.

Exposing your skin to the elements is another reason that we often get wrinkles, along with many other skin problems. Excessive sunlight, exposure to the cold and other such harsh elements take a great toll on the skin.

Think of how you feel if you walk around in the cold without a scarf or gloves. Your neck and hands even begin to hurt from the exposure. Your lips get chapped as well.

While this effect is very obvious when the weather is extreme, it can also harm your skin even in very small amounts. Being out when the weather is just moderately cold without covering can dry your skin and lead to wrinkles.

People these days rarely think about covering themselves when they're outside. Wearing hats and gloves can be seen as "uncool." However, keeping yourself covered and out of the elements is important for the health of your skin.

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