skin2

Facial lines are devided here into three types in the hope that the "line" problem will be easier to understand. There is much overlapping among the three.

Expression Lines
Furrows in the brow, frown lines between the brows, smile lines on the cheeks around the mouth, and smile lines around the eyes are examples of expression lines. They come from a combination of habitual facial expressions and heredity. Yes, you can inherit nearly everything else. Habitual facial expressions such as smiling, furrowing the brow, and frowning continually throw the skin into folds. With time and countless repetitions, the folds become permanent; the deeper layer of skin, the dermis, becomes forever creased. Expression lines are more pronounced in sun-damaged skin, and become deeper with years. Sun damage and age cause the dermis to be les resilient, less able to snap back into shape after being thrown into a crease by the facial muscles. Smile lines around the eyes are certainly always a product of facial expression plus sun damage. The dermis is quite thin around the eyes and therefore is more easily damaged by the sun. Facial expression lines develop in both dry and oily skins. As a matter of fact, expression lines are more prominent in individuals who have oily skin. Dryness simply has little to do with facial expression lines. Therefore, moisturizers do not help expression lines (except in the area around the eyes, where the dermis is very thin). Stop frowning and start smiling. Expression lines from smiling are more flattering.

Wrinkles
Wrinkles are caused by ultraviolet light exposure and age. Ultraviolet exposure (from sunlight or artificial sources) damages the deeper layer of the skin (the dermis) and makes it thinner, less strong, less resilient, and saggy. The sags have to go somewhere, and the muscles of facial expression cause the sags to align themselves as wrinkles along the normal expression areas of the face. The areas where wrinkles are more prominent are where skin is thinnest (around the eyes) and where most facial expression occurs (around the eyes and mouth). Blonds and redheads wrinkle more and sooner than brunets. Blue-and-gree-eyed individuals wrinkle more and sooner than persons with darker eyes. Individuals with deeply pigmented skin (for example, East Indians) do not wrinkle much. Individuals with black skin wrinkle almost not at all. Why? Because deep color pigment in the skin protects the dermis from ultraviolet light, and it is ultraviolet light from sun exposure through the years that causes wrinkles. Age does play a role in wrinkling, but look at an old person with very dark or black skin and you will not see many wrinkles. Time is a factor, but time in the sun is a much bigger factor for their fair-skinned. It is that simple. And, to answer an often-asked question, time spent in tanning booths or beds is just as apt to cause wrinkles as time spent in the sun. Wrinkle-causing sun damage starts as soon as the sun starts hitting the skin. In adult life enough sun damage may have accumulated so that wrinkles start appearing. If the dermis repairs itself from sun damage at all, it is extremely slow. Practically speaking, once the dermis is damaged by ultraviolet light exposure, it stays that way. Darker-complected individuals may have to really work at getting enough sun or artificial ultraviolet light exposure to cause wrinkles. Fair-skinned individuals do not have to try hard at all----just the accidental sun exposure of daily life may be enough. Fair-skinned individuals who sunbathe or who are occupationally or recreationally exposed to lots of sun are going to get really wrinkled. The key to avoiding wrinkles in those fair-skinned, wrinkleprone faces is prevention of sun damage. It is important to understand that this prevention must start at an early age and continue through life.
Remember, oily skin does not mean protection from wrinkles. Therefore moisturizers cannot significantly help to eliminate wrinkles, nor can they prevent wrinkles. Moisturizers do not penetrate into the skin deeper than the strataum corneum (top layer). Moisturizers can temporarily soften the appeaance of tiny wrinkles to camouflage them, but make no real difference in the deeper ones. No matter what the cosmetic and skin-care advertisements imply or promise, there just is no magic skin-care product available now to repair sun-damaged dermis, and that is a fact. But retinoic acid may prove to be the exception. Those advertisements are nearly irresistible. They seem to promise so much. But there is help, the kind dermatologists and plastic surgeons can give. Cosmetic surgery, skin peeling, and injections of collagen (Zyderm) into the skin all have their place in helping resurface, redrape, and/or reshape wrinkled facial skin.

Crinkles
Crinkles show up because the stratum corneum shrinks a little when it is dry and, in so doing, pulls thin facial skin into tiny lines. Crinkles are far more likely to appear in areas where the skin is thin and soft. The area around the eyes is particularly susceptible in everyone. Some individuals with naturally thin skin and sun damage get crinkles all over the face when the sun surface becomes dry. So, whereas lines and wrinkles are a product of sun damage, heredity, and facial expressions, crinkles are primarily a product of surface dryness. Sun-damaged skin, because it is thinner and weaker, is more prone to crinkles, too, so there is a lot of overlap between crinkleas and small wrinkles. Crinkles can be helped by moisturizing skin-care products. Simple moisturizing swells stratum corneum cells and smooths out the top layer of skin. And this really does help crinkles disappear temporarily.

# Pores #

Why small pores become large?
Pores are small in infancy and childhood, simply because infants and chidlren have very small facial oil glands. Remember, pore size is related to oil gland size. At puberty, when the sex hormones begin to flow, oil glands get much larger very quickly. Pores enlarge to accommodate the increased oil flow, but often they can not enlarge as fast as oil glands do. So what happens? Acne: blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples. Small pores with large oil flow seen to get blocked easily, and that is where acne gets its start.