What are the exact reasons behind why wrinkles form? Here’s how to prevent neck wrinkles, forehead wrinkles, and crow’s feet.
There are many reasons to take your skin care seriously. Perhaps you want a clear, glowing complexion for the confidence boost it gives you, or maybe you slather on the SPF to decrease your risk of skin cancer. But chances are, one of the main reasons you’ve adopted a K-Beauty skin care routine is because you want your skin to look as youthful as possible.
Dewy, bright skin, and an even-tone are all markers of young-looking skin, but the most obvious marker of youth is a complexion free of fine lines and wrinkles. These little lines can appear on our foreheads, at the corners of our eyes and around our mouths for many reasons, but no matter their cause, the right skin care can help delay the appearance of these lines and soften ones that have already shown up.
Before using skin care to tackle fine lines and wrinkles, it’s important to understand why they show up in the first place. Different areas of our face can show signs of age for different reasons, so read on to understand how these lines are formed (and how to keep them at bay!)
Crow’s feet & fine lines around the eyes
Crow’s feet are the V-shaped lines that show up at the outer corners of our eyes. They tend to be most pronounced when we’re smiling or squinting, as they are “dynamic” wrinkles—made more noticeable with frequent movement and expression in the eye area.
Crow’s feet can also be made worse by sun damage, which is why applying your SPF to the orbital area is so important. However, SPF alone is not enough when it comes to keeping the skin around your eyes looking healthy and smooth. Since squinting from either poor vision or exposure to bright light can cause these lines to deepen, it’s important to care for the health of your eyes themselves. This means regular check-ups with the optician if you have eyesight that’s anything other than perfect 20/20, wearing contacts and prescription glasses as needed, and finding sunglasses with UV 400 protection (which blocks both wrinkle-causing UVA and cancer-causing UVB rays).
If your vision is clear and protected, you are less likely to spend time squinting to see properly, and these lines will have less of a chance to make a deep impression.
If you’ve had a particularly rough day in terms of eye exposure—maybe you’ve been staring at a computer screen too long, or forgot your sunglasses on a trip to the beach—try treating tired eyes with a hydrating eye patch, like the Benton Snail Bee Ultimate Hydrogel Eye Patch. These patches not only sooth and depuff with seaweed extract, but the snail mucin in the formula helps infuse moisture back into the skin, helping to fill out and fine lines that may have formed in this tender area of the face.
Forehead lines
If you’re an overly expressive person, chances are you’ve noticed your forehead tends to wrinkle up—especially when you’re feeling surprised, stressed, or confused. These wrinkles start out as faint lines across the forehead, but can deepen into something permanent without preventative measures. Exfoliation with AHAs, like glycolic acid, is a great way to soften these lines and give skin a smoother appearance. Then I Met You’s Birch Milk Refining Toner is packed with glycolic and lactic acids to smooth fine lines and tackle acne.
Of course, the best way to prevent these lines is to ensure you’re wearing SPF everyday. Exposure to UVA rays is the fastest way to cause permanent aesthetic damage to the skin, and an unprotected forehead is likely to wrinkle faster. Pair your favorite daily SPF with regular use of antioxidant-infused products, like vitamin A and vitamin C, which will help your skin protect itself against free-radicals: those annoying aging atoms that skin is exposed to through air pollution and UV rays.
If you notice fine lines on the forehead beginning to appear, try the Neogen Bio-Peel Gauze Peeling Wine. This is a star product for smoothing these lines, as it combines the power of AHA exfoliation with the antioxidant properties of resveratrol, an ingredient naturally found in wine that helps fight free radicals in the skin.
Smile lines and lines around the mouth
Our mouths move a lot throughout the day: from talking, eating, smiling and frowning, this is a very expressive area of the face and naturally, the skin around our lips is prone to show lines fast if it is not properly cared for. Staying hydrated is an important first step to keeping these lines minimal, so try to include drinking plenty of water in your daily routine, and try to ingest hydration-boosting foods like lettuce, watermelon, cucumber, broccoli, and pineapple.
Additionally, you may notice fine lines form faster if you have skin that’s on the drier side, since lines are more noticeable on the tight and flaky surface of dry skin. It’s important to exfoliate gently on a regular basis if you have a dry complexion, and to ensure that moisture in the skin is regularly replenished. The Son & Park Beauty Water contains willow bark and papaya extracts to gently sweep away dead skin cells, leaving skin prepped to better absorb hydrating treatments afterwards.
After exfoliating, try following up with a collagen-boosting serum or ampoule. Over time, our skin naturally loses collagen—the protein that keeps skin firm and plump—but certain ingredients can help stimulate collagen growth. Look our for products with retinoids, rose hip oil, or collagen-boosting vitamin C, found in the Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Drop. This brightening and plumping ampoule also contains niacinamide, another fine line fighter!
Neck lines
Checking your phone too frequently could be the sneaky cause for lines along the neck. “Tech neck” is the name given to deep lines across the neck region that occur due to staring down at our phones too much, or slumped posture in general.
Minimizing screen time and working to correct your posture will help maintain the appearance of a smooth and elongated neck, but lines can still occur since the neck is so frequently left out of our skin care regimens!
Giving attention to the neck and extending your K-beauty routine beyond the face, including SPF application, can help keep your neck youthful looking and smooth. Try the Cocokind Daily SPF, a gentle hydrating sunscreen that will protect your neck area without leaving a greasy residue.
Additionally, try a gentle exfoliating treatment on the décolletage and neck once a week, and follow up with a hydrating serum applied in gentle, fluttering upward strokes.
The bottom line:
Overall, daily sun protection and antioxidant-packed skin care products are your best friends in the fight against all kinds of lines. Exfoliation can also help improve the overall smooth appearance, particularly in drier complexions prone to flaky, tight skin. Look out for products that encourage collagen production, and keep an eye out for free radical fighters like vitamin C and vitamin E.
+ What sneaky reasons have you found for why wrinkles form? Which products do you love for smoothing fine lines? Do you have any secrets for keeping wrinkles away? Let us know in the comments!
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