Lines And Their Causes
Lines of the face arise from aging, smoking, sun damage, hormone changes, sleep pressure effects (from sleeping more on one side than the other) and muscle contraction effects. These can work in combination to create greater problems.
Expression Muscle Lines
The muscle contraction lines about the upper face tend to come on in adult life as we use them more. In observing children you will note that many do not have the frown, worry and lateral eye creases as they talk and laugh that adults have. The muscles involved become stronger through repeated use causing deeper lines as time goes by. With bright sunlight causing people to close their eyes in varying degrees, these expression muscles can become strongly activated.
Lines About Lips
Fine vertical lines of the upper, and later lower, lip relate to hormonal changes, becoming worse after the menopause. Smoking tends to accelerate these ones both by the effects of the products of smoking and the pursing of the lips as one inhales.
Folds of the skin
Folds of the skin tend to become more noticeable with time and weight changes. The most troublesome ones for most people are the nasolabial ones from the sides of the nose to the outside of the mouth. Lesser lines can arise lateral to these. The jaw line tends to become less defined with time and the upper eyelid area tends to develop a heavy fold above this. With time the general elasticity of the skin decreases allowing greater laxity of the skin that really requires a general tensioning of the skin best achieved with varieties of face-lifts or, in milder cases, some of the new non-surgical skin tightening procedures.
Treatments:
There are a number of options mentioned in the treatment section.
