Wrinkles, the aging process, and fine lines are the biggest concerns that I get online and in my practice.

I do cosmetic procedures all day, every day, and the number one complaint that brings people into the office is: "I have a line or a wrinkle that really bothers me and I want to address it."

More often than not, that line or wrinkle is really not what is “aging” you (because there's no other word, yes, we are aging, or getting wiser in life). It's usually a multitude of many different things.

What causes wrinkles?

When you think of fine lines and wrinkles, the cause is not very simple:

1. Number one is, obviously, loss of elasticity in your skin. With repetitive movement, we start developing lines that go from dynamic lines to static lines. 

2. Number two, and I think it's very important that you guys understand, it's also not just lines that develop on the face. There's an under padding and that's where there is a loss of volume. For example, in your cheeks, as you lose volume, lines start to develop and start to build in on your cheeks.

3. Number three, (and this one, you're either in or out of luck, depending on your genetic heritage) your bone structure plays a major role in how your lines and wrinkles form. And the blueprint is in front of you. If you know your biological family, you can look around, see the older generation, see what their facial structures look like, and that's probably how you're going to evolve.

When it comes to our skin, though, there are three main layers:

1. We have the top layer of skin known as your epidermis, and this is the thinner, outermost layer of skin where we have a renewal of cells that take place every 28 days. 

2. Beneath that, we have our dermis, that nice cushion. We have the elastin, which gives our skin elasticity, we have our GAGs (our glycosaminoglycans) which consist of hyaluronic acid to keep our skin plump and looking dewy and moist. We also have our collagen, which provides firmness to our skin.

3. And beneath the dermis, we have our subcutaneous tissue - our fat, our muscle, etc. So, when we hit our 20s, we're in our peak. But starting in our mid-20s, just when we think we're invincible, our body starts to break down and our collagen breaks down at the rate of 1% a year. 

One thing I want to stress, and I'm going to say this as a derm whose bread and butter is treatments, don't be scared of the aging process! I think this is very important, because if you're so afraid of the aging process, you're going to be so stressed about developing fine lines and wrinkles, you're going to develop them faster and you're going to age faster. And aging is truly a blessing. When you have your health, you have everything, and you are the richest human being on Earth.

So what can you do to help yourself?

Watch this video where Dr. Idriss breaks down how to prevent, treat and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.