Over expressing yourself? If so, what to do before wrinkles make their mark
Can fine lines be prevented? We start out by putting our hopes in over-the-counter creams, serums and facial peels that work on the skin's surface--softening the appearance of visible creases, though not providing a radical, permanent solution. Next tactic: injections of botulinum toxin (Botox) or laser resurfacing, courtesy of a dermatologist or plastic surgeon; but these more aggressive, doctor-supervised techniques aren't without controversy or risk. Clearly, slowing the hands of time isn't so cut and dry. It's enough to make you scrunch up your face, furrow your brow and scream in exasperation. Wait--don't. Your facial expressions may be a big part of what makes you, well, you, but they're also giving you wrinkles!
The average person makes more than 15,000 facial movements each day (smiling, smirking, frowning, crinkling, squinting).Youthful skin has a memory that allows expression lines to appear and disappear quickly. As we age (and produce less collagen and elastin), those lines fade more slowly and eventually leave their mark. Like a rubber band that has lost its elasticity with repeated pulling, our skin no longer snaps back easily.
What can a woman do? You can remain stone-faced or check out the newest generation of treatment creams (dare we call them bottled Botox?) that do more than plump up lines--they aim to prevent them from forming in the first place.
Lancome's Resolution D-Contraxol Intensive Anti-Wrinkle Treatment Dermo-Crease Reducer ($68) was ten years in the making (one year for each word in its name?) and is based on the company's discovery that fibers within skin's fibroblast cells begin to cross as we climb into our thirties. So with each facial movement, the fibroblasts release or contract a little more slowly, and in time, lines are held in place permanently. Resolution's key ingredient, D-Contraxol, is a compound said to relax fibroblasts and smooth the skin. A network of nylon fibers acts as a wrinkle filler for immediate, visible results.
Expressionist with B-Neutrox ($62) from Helena Rubinstein works on a similar premise. To combat the first signs of aging, Expressionist employs a combination of magnesium gluconate and a hexapeptide (a chain of six amino acids) to block the absorption of calcium and relax the contractile tissues that cause "microtensions" on skin.