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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:27 Causes of smile lines
0:43 Treatment for smile lines



A wrinkle, also known as a rhytid, is a fold, ridge or crease in an otherwise smooth surface, such as on skin or fabric. Skin wrinkles typically appear as a result of ageing processes such as glycation,[1] habitual sleeping positions,[2] loss of body mass, sun damage,[3] or temporarily, as the result of prolonged immersion in water. Age wrinkling in the skin is promoted by habitual facial expressions, aging, sun damage, smoking, poor hydration, and various other factors.[4] In humans, it can also be prevented to some degree by avoiding excessive solar exposure and through diet (in particular through consumption of carotenoids, tocopherols and flavonoids, vitamins (A, C, D and E), essential omega-3-fatty acids, certain proteins and lactobacilli).[5]Development of facial wrinkles is a kind of fibrosis of the skin. Misrepair-accumulation aging theory suggests that wrinkles develop from incorrect repairs of injured elastic fibers and collagen fibers.[6][7][8] Repeated extensions and compressions of the skin cause repeated injuries of extracellular fibers in derma. During the repairing process, some of the broken elastic fibers and collagen fibers are not regenerated and restored but replaced by altered fibers. When an elastic fiber is broken in an extended state, it may be replaced by a "long" collagen fiber. Accumulation of "long" collagen fibers makes part of the skin looser and stiffer, and as a consequence, a big fold of skin appears. When a "long" collagen is broken in a compressed state, it may be replaced by a "short" collagen fiber. The "shorter" collagen fibers will restrict the extension of "longer" fibers, and make the “long" fibers in a folding state permanently. A small fold, namely a permanent wrinkle, then appears.