Fine lines and wrinkles are a natural part of the aging process, but that doesn’t make spotting the first ones in the mirror any easier. Whether you’re starting to notice signs of crow’s feet or fine lines forming on your forehead and around your mouth, you might be wondering if there’s anything you can do to help prevent them from becoming more noticeable. With the help of board-certified dermatologist, Mohs surgeon and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Joel Schlessinger, we’ll dig into topics such as:

• What causes fine lines on your face

• How to prevent fine lines on your face with in-office procedures

• How to prevent fine lines on your face at home

• How to prevent fine lines around eyes

• How to prevent fine lines around the mouth

What causes fine lines on your face

Before we talk about wrinkle prevention, let’s first address what causes fine lines and wrinkles on the face to begin with.

“Fine lines develop on the face over time as a result of repetitive movements—expressions we have daily, such as smiling, laughing and frowning,” Dr. Schlessinger says. “As we age, our bodies produce less collagen and elastin, which give skin its youthful firmness and elasticity. This can also contribute to fine lines and wrinkles. Lastly, the toll of sun exposure leads to thinner and more pigmented skin, along with blood vessels and white splotches.”

How to prevent fine lines on your face with in-office procedures

Wrinkle relaxers, such as BOTOX, Dysport, Jeuveau and Xeomin, are injectable treatments that reduce the movements of your facial muscles that contribute to the formation of fine lines. They do this by blocking the muscles in your face from contracting.

“You can’t prevent fine lines from forming entirely, but injectable wrinkle relaxers can help slow the process or prolong the amount of time before they start to form,” Dr. Joel Schlessinger says.

Dermal fillers, such as Juvederm, Restylane and RHA, can also help address fine lines as well as wrinkles and loss of volume. “We also use lasers, such as the Sciton MOXI, HALO and BBL to address the changes that happen with aging,” Dr. Joel Schlessinger says. “They address the top of the skin, while fillers and neuromodulators like Botox address the ‘inside’ areas.”

“Whether you’re interested in wrinkle relaxers or dermal fillers, I recommend having these treatments done by a board-certified dermatologist,” Dr. Schlessinger says. “So much can go wrong in the hands of inexperienced practitioners, and if you’re investing in these types of injections, you’ll want to make sure they’re done safely and effectively.”

How to prevent fine lines on your face at home

In-office procedures aren’t the only way to address fine lines on your face. Topical skin care treatments with active ingredients such as peptides, antioxidants, plumping hydrators, growth factors and exfoliants can help improve the appearance of fine lines with continued use over time.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that can serve a variety of roles in topical skin care. “Some types of peptides can block the impulses that nerve cells send to muscle cells in your face, causing them to relax and therefore be less likely to form fine lines,” Dr. Schlessinger says.

The formulas for some of our favorite wrinkle-relaxing treatments contain these types of peptides, including Obagi ELASTIderm Advanced Filler Concentrate. This concentrated treatment features acetyl hexapeptide, which helps prevent fine lines from forming by relaxing facial muscles.

SkinCeuticals P-TIOX Wrinkle Modulating Peptide Serum contains an Advanced Peptide Complex with hexapeptides and dipeptides to help improve the appearance of nine contraction lines on the face, including forehead wrinkles, crow’s feet, under-eye wrinkles and glabellar wrinkles (also called elevens).

LovelySkin LUXE Vita-CE with Ferulic Acid features an octapeptide called SNAP-8 that helps reduce muscle contractions, and it also contains another type of ingredient that plays an important role in preventing fine lines: antioxidants.

Antioxidants help protect your skin from free radicals, which can damage your skin by causing discoloration and fine lines. The antioxidants in this powerful face serum include vitamins C and E as well as ferulic acid, which all work together to support healthy, young-looking skin. In a clinical study, wrinkles were reduced in depth by 63% after 28 days of use.

Some topical wrinkle relaxers pair peptides with hyaluronic acid (HA), a powerful hydrator that immediately plumps the skin to make fine lines look less noticeable.

One option is Revision Skincare Revox Line Relaxer, a targeted treatment for expression lines that features Line Relax Technology (a blend of peptides) along with sodium hyaluronate, the salt form of hyaluronic acid, to boost your skin’s moisture content.

Another formula featuring the dynamic duo of peptides and HA is StriVectin High-Potency Wrinkle Filler, which was created to help fade deep wrinkles around the lips and eyes as well as on the forehead.

Growth factors are another active ingredient that can help prevent as well as improve the appearance of fine lines by causing skin cells to behave younger. SkinMedica TNS Advanced+ Serum features 450 growth factors as well as Renessense Advanced, a blend of peptides, botanicals and marine extracts to help support skin repair and stimulate collagen production. In a clinical study, users said they felt like they looked up to six years younger after twelve weeks of using this serum.

Chemical exfoliants, such as alpha hydroxy acids, can also help diminish fine lines by stimulating the production of collagen, which helps your skin look firmer and smoother. LovelySkin LUXE Exfoliating Gel Mild 11% is a gentle yet effective exfoliating gel that helps improve the appearance of fine lines. It works by boosting collagen production and cellular turnover with afaLUXE(™), a blend of amino-based filaggrin antioxidants, vitamin C and Dead Sea minerals.

How to prevent fine lines around eyes

There are some easy lifestyle changes you can make to help prevent fine lines around and under eyes. Keeping in mind that fine lines form from repeated expressions over time, squinting your eyes can contribute to crow’s feet.

“Wearing sunglasses with 100% UV protection can help prevent the physical act of squinting when you’re outdoors in bright light and can also protect your eyes from damage and cataracts at the same time,” says Dr. Schlessinger. “Staying up to date on your eye exams and making sure you have the correct prescription of glasses or contacts if needed is a good way to make sure you’re not squinting unnecessarily while reading or just going about your daily life.”

How to prevent fine lines around the mouth

Vertical fine lines around the mouth are often called smoker’s lines because, yes, they can be caused by the repetitive puckering motion of smoking cigarettes. “There are many, many health-related reasons to avoid smoking, and premature skin aging is just one of them,” Dr. Schlessinger says. The repeated puckering motion of drinking through a straw or playing certain instruments (think the flute or piccolo) can also contribute to accentuated fine lines around the mouth.

More tips on how to prevent fine lines

“Injectable and topical wrinkle relaxers, especially when combined with laser and light treatments, are good options for improving the appearance of fine lines, but let’s not forget one of the most impactful ways to prevent fine lines on your face and body: good sun safety practices,” Dr. Schlessinger says. Research has shown that sun damage may be responsible for up to 80% of visible signs of aging, including wrinkles, and cancer risk also correlates with this exposure.

You can protect your skin by avoiding the sun during peak hours (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and seeking shade as much as possible. Covering up with UPF clothing and a wide-brimmed hat is also a good protective measure, as is wearing a high-quality broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF rating of 30 or more.

Applying enough sunscreen—at least one and a half ounces for the body and a half dollar-sized amount for the face—and reapplying it every forty to ninety minutes—is key to make sure you’re adequately protected. “If you’re sweating or swimming in the water, I would recommend reapplying your sunscreen even sooner,” Dr. Schlessinger says. You can learn more about SPF ratings and check out some of Dr. Schlessinger’s favorite broad-spectrum sunscreens.

Another way to support your sun safety efforts is with Heliocare Antioxidant Supplements, which work from the inside out to protect your skin from photoaging. You can learn more about how these beneficial supplements work on the LovelySkin Blog.