Fine Lines And Wrinkles: What's The Difference And How To Care For Each
In this article, we’ll discuss:
- The difference between fine lines and wrinkles
- The best way to take care of both at the same time (with just one product!)
- Why your daily skin care routine is vital for youthful-looking skin
- How to clean up your diet to prevent fine lines and wrinkles
We’ll also give you tips for protecting your skin outdoors and tell you why getting plenty of sleep is key in the fight against fine lines.
The Difference Between Fine Lines & Wrinkles
Fine lines and wrinkles may sound like interchangeable terms, but they’re actually completely different.
What Are Fine Lines?
As the name suggests, fine lines are small, shallow creases that form on thin, delicate skin. Fine lines on your face are associated with repetitive movements (think: frowning, smiling, squinting, and laughing).
You’ll usually see these fines lines first around your eyes and mouth. This is because the skin there is relatively thin and moves a lot during the day.
On a more technical level, fine lines are less than two millimeters deep and are associated with the earliest signs of aging. Over time, these fine lines can develop into deeper folds and wrinkles.
Major causes of fine lines include:
- Repetitive movements
- Side sleeping
- Sun exposure
- Genetics
- Aging
- Loss of collagen and elastin
- Fair skin
- Dry skin
- Smoking
Without proper treatment (like the super effective and easy-to-use SiO Beauty patches!), fine lines will deepen and develop into the next stage: wrinkles.
What Are Wrinkles?
Think of wrinkles as untreated fine lines. Unlike fine lines, though, wrinkles don’t just result from repetitive movements. Wrinkles can form anywhere on your face, neck, chest, hands, knees, and elbows because they’re largely caused by muscle contractions under your skin.
Over time, even a tiny muscle contraction can pull your skin out of its natural position. This results in a crease or wrinkle. Even the extremely smooth skin on your chest can develop wrinkles because there’s a super thin muscle there that contracts when you move your arms and neck.
So, if fine lines are less than two millimeters deep, wrinkles are folds or creases that are more than two millimeters deep. Dermatologists go even further and separate wrinkles into two categories: dynamic and static.
Dynamic wrinkles show up when you make a facial expression but disappear when you relax. So, for example, if you frown and see the skin between your eyebrows wrinkle (the 11s) but then those creases disappear when you relax (whew!), that’s a dynamic wrinkle.
A static wrinkle is a wrinkle that stays even when you relax your face (ugh!). So if you can see the wrinkles between your eyebrows even when you relax your face, that’s a static wrinkle.
Dynamic wrinkles often develop into static wrinkles. Gives new meaning to your mom’s old saying, “Don’t make that face. It’ll freeze there.”
Thankfully, there are some effective ways to treat fine lines and prevent wrinkles from forming in the first place.
How To Care For Fine Lines & Wrinkles
As depressing as a discussion about fine lines and wrinkles can be, there is light at the end of the tunnel: you can treat, reduce, and even prevent them with the same steps. Easy as pie!
Here are nine ways to care for fine lines and wrinkles.
1) Cleanse
Prevent and treat fine lines and wrinkles by cleansing your skin the right way. “What’s the right way?” you ask. Here’s a step-by-step guide.
- Splash your skin with warm or lukewarm water.
- Gently lather on a cleanser — not a harsh soap.
- Rinse with warm or lukewarm water.
- Rinse again with cool water to close and tighten your pores.
- Pat your skin dry with a clean, soft towel.
When your skin is clean and dry, move on to the next steps.
2) Exfoliate
Exfoliating is an essential part of any good skin care routine. Choose a natural exfoliator and exfoliate twice per week to clear away dead skin cells and reveal the newer, healthier skin underneath.
3) Tone
Toners are awesome at cleaning out clogged pores and removing excess oil from your skin. For that reason alone, you should start using a toner right away.
But toners also help fight acne, brighten dark spots and dull skin, and shrink pores. It’s a powerful weapon in the fight against fine lines and wrinkles.
Choose an alcohol-free toner that’s right for your skin type, and then apply it with a cotton ball or cosmetic pad after you wash (or exfoliate, if it’s that time) your face.
4) Moisturize
Your skin needs lots of moisture to stay smooth and healthy-looking. A moisturizer provides everything your skin needs to keep wrinkles at bay.
Get in the habit now of applying a moisturizer to your skin at least twice per day. We recommend once in the morning and once in the evening.
Be sure to apply your moisturizer after washing and toning your face to keep the moisture locked in. Look for a moisturizer with ingredients like:
5) Try SiO Beauty Patches
The quickest and most effective way to treat both fine lines and wrinkles is with SiO Beauty patches. These patches will literally reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles overnight!
You can even customize your treatment options by mixing and matching the specially designed pads for targeted results. Choose from:
- BrowLift
- FaceLift
- Eye & Smile Lift
- Necklift
- Super EyeLift
- Super LipLift
- HandLift
- Elbow & Knee Rescue Lift
And help your man achieve younger-looking skin, too, with our new line of skin care products just for him.
There’s so much healing power in the SiO Beauty patches that you should start wearing them right away!
6) Wear Sunscreen
If you want to do all you can to treat and prevent fine lines and wrinkles, you absolutely must apply sunscreen before going outside. Not only does the sun speed up skin aging and wrinkle formation, but it also causes sun spots, dry skin, and crusty patches known as Actinic Keratosis. Yuck!
Choose a sunscreen that’s at least SPF 30. It’s also vital to look for a product that offers protection from both UVA and UVB rays.
Once you’ve chosen your product, apply the sunscreen to your face, neck, chest, hands, and any other exposed skin before you leave the house in the morning. You can also re-apply the sunscreen halfway through the day for added protection.
7) Drink 8 Cups Of Water Every Day
Remember the moisture we talked about earlier? You can keep your skin soft and supple from the inside-out by drinking at least eight cups of water every day.
Start by drinking two cups at breakfast. Then drink two cups at lunch and two cups at dinner. Six down, two to go. Fill a 16-ounce water bottle (that’s two cups) and sip on it throughout the day.
8) Maintain An Anti-Aging Diet
Aging is a big factor when it comes to treating and preventing fine lines and wrinkles. But you can turn back the hands of time (or at least slow them down!) by eating foods that are part of an anti-aging diet.
Choose foods like:
- Spinach
- Kale
- Beans
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Kiwi
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Avocadoes
- Salmon
- Lean chicken or turkey
The nice thing about these anti-aging foods is that you can mix them in a smoothie, toss them in a salad, or eat them by themselves. Who knew you could eat your way to smoother, younger-looking skin?
9) Get Your Beauty Sleep
When you sleep for seven to eight hours every night, you give your body a chance to heal itself. At night, your body produces human growth hormone that increases cell reproduction and turnover. The results of that process are fewer fine lines and wrinkles!
Human growth hormone affects your whole body but can be extra noticeable on the parts of your body that often go uncovered (like your face, neck, and décolleté).
Fine Lines & Wrinkles: The Bottom Line
Treating and preventing fine lines and wrinkles doesn’t have to be difficult. Pick one of the suggested steps on this list as a starting point. We recommend starting with SiO Beauty patches because they’ll give you the most bang for your buck.
Then incorporate one or two of the other methods on this list until they become habit. Soon, you’ll be doing all you can to treat and prevent wrinkles, and your skin will look amazing because of it!