Wrinkles, the most feared word in the world of beauty. We associate wrinkles with the concept of old age or the process of aging. A person in their 30s starts to react in shock when he or she starts to notice some kind of line formation on the forehead or around the outer corner of their eyes. Similarly, a person in their mid 40s is really trying it all to get rid of the wrinkles. This is where anti-aging solutions must be your focus at an early stage of life. 

In the simplest terms, wrinkles are creases that start to form on your face due to factors like age, sun exposure, repetitive facial features and other lifestyle choices like smoking. No matter how blessed one may be in their genetics, aging is a natural process and everyone is bound to get fine lines and wrinkles, sooner or later. 

Though, if started at the right time, wrinkles can be managed and even prevented to a great extent. However, it becomes a little difficult to reverse the signs of aging once they are already very prominent on the face. In this blog, we will talk about some home remedies that can help you manage your wrinkles better. Along with that we will also deep dive into real treatments that are backed by science, that can almost help you pause your aging cycle. 

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Types of Wrinkles 

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Before really understanding the means of removing wrinkles, you need to know about the types of wrinkles. Different types of wrinkles need different combinations of treatments. First, it is crucial to identify the type of wrinkles you have: 

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1. Dynamic Wrinkles - These wrinkles are formed due to excessive or repeated facial movement. When your face uses a particular muscle to showcase an expression, it tends to form lines on the surface of the skin, if done repeatedly. 
2. Static Wrinkles - These are wrinkles that usually appear with age and lack of elasticity in the face. The skin folds start to become more droopy and prominent, and these remain static on the face even when the face is at rest. 
3. Compression Wrinkles - These wrinkles can sometimes be even called temporary because they occur due to the external force of skin being pressed against a surface. These usually occur when you sleep at night with your face pressed towards the pillow for long hours. 
4. Permanent Creases - These usually occur due to certain factors such as sun exposure, smoking and excessive pollution. 
5. Wrinkle Folds - The wrinkle folds usually are caused by sagging facial features. They usually occur around the nose and the mouth area.

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What causes wrinkles to form?

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Wrinkles don’t form overnight, they take more than 30+ years to start forming permanently on your skin. Some develop these wrinkles faster than others, you may wonder why. While a lot has to be with genetics, there are many external and individual factors that cause wrinkles to form. Here are some factors: 

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1. Aging - Without a lot of thinking, age is the biggest contributor to forming wrinkles. Our age shows on our skin due to the aging of our skin. Some people look older due to the fact that their skin looks mature. This happens because the collagen and elasticity in your skin starts to fade away with age. This creates lines on our face which when not nourished with collagen or boosting ingredients, tend to form permanent wrinkles. 
2. Facial Expressions - When you smile, cry or are upset, the reason why we are able to see these emotions on one’s face is because of the lines we make during the expression. When a person is angry or upset, we understand this by seeing certain fine lines on their forehead. Similarly we form smile lines around our mouth and lines closer to our eyes, when we smile. These repetitive movements lead to permanent wrinkles eventually. 
3. Sun Exposure - The awareness of constantly applying sunscreen is there for a reason. The harmful rays of the sun lead to hyperpigmentation and wrinkles on the skin. Sun is one contributor that does long term harm on your skin.
4. Pollution - Just like the sun, polluted air can really age your skin. This accelerates the aging process very quickly. 
5. Lifestyle choices - Some choices do really age your skin and form wrinkles. The most common one being smoking, followed by dehydration. 

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Home Remedies for Wrinkles 

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The anti-aging creams and treatments like wrinkle relaxers may seem pricey. Please note, applying a lot of ingredients on the skin is not necessarily the right way to prevent wrinkles, you also need to work on your body from within to ensure good results. If your body ages well, your skin does too. So if you are looking  to try some home remedies that can help you deal with wrinkles, here are a few suggestions: 

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1. Diet rich in probiotics & superfoods

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While wrinkles occur on the top surface of the skin, having a diet rich in probiotics can really help your skin. Natural ways of eating probiotics is having yogurt, fermented foods and you can even take supplements for probiotics. This keeps the gut and skin clean. 

Additionally, incorporate superfoods in your diet like avocados, chia seeds, dry fruits, egg whites etc. These are known as superfoods for a reason. They help the body function better and also help maintain healthy skin. 

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2. Incorporate regular exercise 

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If you exercise regularly for straight 30 days, your skin starts to show. Exercise mixed with balanced food helps the skin to age well. It doesn’t reverse your wrinkles, but definitely helps in preventing them. Regular exercise of any kind - be it walking, swimming, hitting the gym or any kind of sport even for 30 minutes will show you some results. 

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3. Avoid smoking 

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For anyone who does smoke, wrinkles, dark lips and mature skin have been by products. Smoking cigarettes can cause permanent wrinkles around the mouth area. More than avoid, try to quit smoking, to help prevent wrinkles. 

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4. Aloe Vera Gel 

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Aloe vera is of a lot of types and therefore you must be sure to use aloe vera that suits you. You can do a quick patch test before applying the whole gel on the face. Aloe vera is a very soothing ingredient that is used in many anti aging creams as well. Applying it as a part of your regular skincare routine can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles. It has many healing and anti-inflammatory properties. It also helps in protecting your skin from sun which is the 

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5. Topical Oils + Massage 

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Apply topical essential oils like Avocado oil and olive oil on the face. You can even mix these with your moisturiser as they have certain properties that help reduce your wrinkles. A lot of people enjoy coconut oil as well, though our dermatologists don’t recommend coconut oil as it is comedogenic. 

Massaging your face regularly also helps with reducing wrinkles. It helps in relaxing your facial muscles and when regularly done can have great results. 

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6. Cucumber 

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The age old home remedy of applying cucumber to your eyes exists to relax the puffiness under your eyes. If done regularly as a part of your daily nightcare routine, it can also help with reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines around your eyes. Just cut some slices of cold cucumber and keep them on your eyes. Additionally you could also squeeze out some cucumber juice and apply it around your eyes. Just be careful that nothing goes in your eyes. 

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7. DIY Face Packs

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You can try out some of the DIY face packs that we have mentioned earlier. These work really on some skin types and in the long run also help in preventing wrinkles. DIY masks would usually not help in reversing the effects but they can help in calming the formation of the same. Using bananas, honey and yogurt in your masks make them anti-aging friendly and work on wrinkles. 

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8. Vitamin E and Almond Oil 

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You can get the Vitamin E capsules very easily at the chemist. Cut the capsule and mix it well with some almond oil. The mixture has been very popular in India in many households and can be applied as an undereye cream or even as a moisturiser on the face overall. It helps to ensure your skin ages well, thereby reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

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9. Flax Seed Gel 

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This is one of the most viral trends on Instagram. Flax seeds have many anti-inflammatory and hydrating properties which allow the skin to tighten for a while. Yes, you can see temporary results but they do wash off and are not a permanent solution to wrinkle relaxers. They have been equated to giving a similar effect to what medical grade wrinkle relaxers do, though this is not true. Though it’s still worth a try if you have less lines. The effect is better on softer wrinkles and fine lines.  

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10. Rice Water 

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Another one tripling down from the Koreans is rice water. The Koreans who are known for their great skin love using rice water as a means to prevent their skin from fine lines and wrinkles. You can make a rice water mask mixed with aloe vera or just simply apply it as a toner and you will see the results for your self. 

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Popular alternatives that work 

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While preventing wrinkles may seem like an easy affair, people who really struggle with mature skin find it very difficult to treat signs of aging. They struggle a lot of sagging skin, fine lines, hyperpigmentation and wrinkles. 

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For genuine cases, who are tired of experimenting with DIY hacks to control wrinkles, they should really focus on getting in touch with a dermatologist to discuss the root causes of wrinkles on their skin. The treatment will vary from person to person and each skin type would need a different routine. The best and most effective solutions for wrinkle are: 

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1. Wear Sunscreen - Don’t skip sunscreen ever! It’s already done enough damage to your skin and you must protect your skin from any further damage. 
2. Retinols - If you are very new to skincare, you can start with an off the counter retinol. It has been one of the most trusted skincare ingredients for anti-aging. 
3. Wrinkle Relaxers - Wrinkle relaxers are one of the most effective treatments out there to genuinely get rid of wrinkles. Of course the effects fade away however, after taking some sessions of wrinkle relaxers, one genuinely can pause the effect of aging on their skin. 
4. Microneedling - Microneedling helps in creating certain micro punctures on the surface of the skin which helps in increasing collagen production of the sun and reversing the effects of sun damage. 
5. Anti-Aging Peel - Regularly getting anti-aging peels on the skin will help in preventing the wrinkles from forming. 

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To conclude, if you are in your mid 20s, you can experiment with some home remedies for wrinkles. However, if you really want to age gracefully and prevent any lines from forming, you must start following a preventive skincare routine along with some treatments from time to time. If you crossed your late 30’s, it’s probably best to start with an anti-aging routine with your dermatologist which may be a mix of the treatments mentioned in the popular alternatives above. 

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