Tricks of the Trade - How to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles

I am Hariyali, 25, working as a software engineer in a software company. Every day I am in front of the laptop for nine hours. Daily I take juice, three liters of water and some fruits. Even with all this I am seeing fine lines under my eyes. What should I do to get rid of the fine lines under my eyes?

I have to commend you for drinking plenty of water, juice and eating fruits, because these are not only very beneficial to your skin but also to your health in general. Water helps keep skin moisturized, while fruits and juice contain vitamins and antioxidants—these help fight damage caused by free radicals, and in turn make skin look younger and more radiant. No doubt, these are good skin habits to have; however you can do other things to minimize the appearance of fine lines and prevent wrinkles from forming. There are a few other things you can incorporate into your lifestyle that will help minimize fine lines. Try the following, and you’ll notice a gradual change in your skin—you’ll be saying bye to fine lines and wrinkles in no time.

Don’t squint. Your line of work actually makes you susceptible to fine lines. Being in front of a computer or, in your case, a laptop for nine hours a day can tire out your eyes and cause fine lines to form. One question: How big is your laptop? The reason I am asking this is because if your laptop is small, your tendency is to squint and focus on the small text or images. This causes you to repeat facial movement that overworks facial muscles, and in turn forms a groove beneath the skin’s surface, which can lead to fine lines or wrinkles.

Prevent squinting by wearing reading glasses, if you need it, or get a bigger monitor. This will help your eyes to relax as you won’t need to stick your face close to your laptop, or worse, squint. And when you’re out during the day, wear big, dark sunglasses—any means of avoiding squinting is good for your eye area.

Get enough shuteye. When we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies produce excess cortisol, a hormone that breaks down skin cells. Getting enough rest helps cells regenerate. Eight hours is still the recommended daily amount of sleep—it helps keep skin thick and elastic, and less prone to wrinkles.

Protect skin from the sun. Sun damage is one of the top causes of wrinkles, which is why it is so important to use sun protection or sunscreen daily. Going under the sun without proper sun protection can expose us to dangerous UV rays. UVA causes premature aging, wrinkles, dark pigmentation and sagging skin while UVB rays is the primary source of sunburns—too much exposure to these can lead to aging skin as well as skin cancer. Daily applying sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 will benefit you in the long run—this will help prevent fine lines and wrinkles from getting worse.

Use silk pillowcases. We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping, and during our sleep we do all sorts of things, like smush our faces on our pillows. Doing this causes sleep lines or sleep wrinkles to form, especially when our pillowcases are made of material that causes friction. The most efficient and inexpensive way to prevent this is to sleep on your back. But if you find yourself unable to do so, buy silk or satin pillowcases. These help prevent sleep lines as it lets your face slide across the pillow as opposed to stretching it out.

Don’t forget the eye cream. As you know, skin around our eyes is thinner and more sensitive than the skin on the rest of our face. It is missing a protective fatty layer that gives skin its elasticity. It also has fewer oil glands, which makes the area more prone to dryness. To make the long story short: You need to find the right eye cream. Constantly keeping the area nourished and moisturized has proven to be an effective way to prevent wrinkles from forming. To prevent and minimize the appearance of fine lines, you need an eye cream that contains retinol and alpha hydroxyl acid (AHA). These give skin a renewed appearance but, depending on its potency, some can make skin sensitive to the sun.

Another effective ingredient is vitamin C, which has been known to increase collagen production and protect against harmful UVA and UVB rays. Apply the eye cream twice daily to ensure the area is always moisturized. You can even stick it in the refrigerator and apply the product while it is cold so your eyes feel cool and relaxed, especially after a long day in front of the computer.

This article was published in the Lifestyle Section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer on March 14, 2014.