Wrinkles and the Process of Aging

In previous articles we’ve talked about both lifestyle and grooming choices you can use to help with wrinkles (and those recommendations are still valid!), but we didn’t talk about what causes them in the first place, as well as one grooming possibility that can combat them as well.

What are wrinkles?

Wrinkles are simply permanent creases, folds, or ridges in the skin.  We can see “previews” of them whenever we make facial expressions.  Each time you use a facial muscle, a groove forms under the surface of the skin.  When we are young, our skin is thicker and more elastic, so the skin springs back from the groove.

How are wrinkles caused?

Repeated and frequent facial expressions of any kind – the good (smiles) or the bad (worry) – will cause them, but so does frequent exposure to sun and frequent smoking.

They are a perfectly normal part of the aging process.  Even if you manage to be expressionless, never go out in the sun, and never smoke, you’ll still develop wrinkles.  This is because as we get older, our skin gets thinner, drier, and less elastic.  This means that the damage we were able to easily recover from in our younger days starts to leave its marks.

The sun and its ultraviolet light is attacking on a different level: by hitting the collagen and elastin fibers which are located under the surface of the skin and provide support.  As this layer deteriorates, the skin necessarily becomes weaker and less flexible.  You start to see skin droop in addition to the wrinkles.

Fight wrinkles with…beards?

A 2009 study found that men have more sebaceous glands around the mouth area.  These glands secrete a lubricating oily matter into the hair follicles to lubricate the skin and hair.  If you grow a beard, that rigid protein sits just underneath the skin’s surface and receives that love from the sebaceous glands.  The beard also protects the skin when it moves and provides structural support, as well as shade from those UV rays.  We’ve said before that we think beards are here to stay, so here’s just one more argument for it.

As we said before, grooming is a part of the skincare process that keeps wrinkles at bay, and the Rascal products we use in our 5 and 7 course hair services help with that, as well as other handpicked skincare products we carry in our clubs.

Do you use our signature Rascal products at home?  Let us know in the comments below to get 20% off your next purchase of them in our clubs.