Even if you've yet to discover your first wrinkle, your face starts aging when you're in your 20s, Skin Care Physicians points out. Most people's faces don't show signs of aging until they are a bit older, although those in sunny climates can be on the fast track to an older-looking face. While the natural aging process is beyond your control, you can slow down signs of aging caused by other factors.
Appearance
Wrinkles are one of the face's most apparent signs of getting older, but the face also has many others, Mayo Clinic and Skin Care Physicians note. Facial wrinkles often start as fine lines around the mouth and eyes and continue to become deeper and more pronounced. The most severe wrinkles often turn into deep furrows, especially around the mouth, neck and eyes, often accompanied by sagging skin. Facial skin also often becomes thin and translucent or peppered with small red spider veins. Skin in the neck area also often starts to sag while hollows often form around the eye sockets and cheeks bones.
Other Signs
A few other conditions can affect your face as you age, the American Academy of Dermatology warns. These include age spots, also known as liver spots, which are round, brown spots that often appear on the lips, ears or other areas of the face. Seborrheic dermatitis, which results in red scales, hits facial areas with a lot of oil glands, like the sides of the nose, eyelids, brows, and in back of the ears. A form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma, can hit the aging face, resulting in small, red bumps that sometimes bleed. It is most common in older people with fair skin and light hair and eyes and shows up on the face, neck and head areas.
Intrinsic Aging
Intrinsic aging, which is the natural aging process largely controlled by genetics, is a given for anyone who gets older, Skin Care Physicians and the Mayo Clinic note. As people age, the skin loses a lot of its elasticity due to a reduction in the production of collagen. Bone loss is also common, which makes the bones pull away from the outer skin. Fat that used to serve as a cushion between the skull and the skin, especially in the cheek and eye areas, also diminishes, resulting in that hollowed look. Natural oils slow down their production, leaving skin dry and sometimes itchy.
Extrinsic Aging
Extrinsic aging, Skin Care Physicians notes, is premature aging due to outside factors. People do have a bit of control over the extrinsic aging process. While people can't do anything about the pull of gravity on the skin, which is one extrinsic factor, they can alter behavior to prevent some others. Some of the top extrinsic factors of aging include sun exposure, smoking, habitual facial expressions and sleeping in positions that constantly press down on the face.
Prevention and Treatment
You can stave off some of the extrinsic signs of facial aging as well as treat signs of aging that have already set in, the American Academy of Dermatology and the Mayo Clinic say. Prevention tips include wearing a sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30, avoiding smoking and habitual facial expressions. Treatments for wrinkles and other signs of aging include wrinkle creams, dermabrasion, chemical peels, laser treatments, soft-tissue fillers for deep furrows, Botox and a full-fledged face lift. A trip to the dermatologist lets you review the options and decide what is best for you.
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