Most people’s skin wrinkles with age, but there are many things that can be done to lessen your chances of wrinkles at an earlier age. Well-cared for skin tends to wrinkle far less than skin that has been abused throughout life. Though some wrinkles, especially around the eyes and mouth, are likely to develop in all people, severe signs of skin aging can be avoided. Proper skin care, healthy diet, and healthy habits are a few of the best ways to lessen your chances of wrinkles.

Proper skin care includes not only cleansing and moisturizing skin with products designed for your skin type, but also protecting skin from the damaging rays of the sun. Moisturizers help keep the skin pliable and healthy, which will help lessen your chances of wrinkles later in life. By using a moisturizer with sun protection every day, you will further lessen your chances of wrinkles. Exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays is the leading cause of skin damage, including skin cancer. Though not all people who are heavily exposed to the sun will develop skin cancer, repeated exposure does cause facial wrinkles to develop earlier.

Developing healthy habits is another single way to lessen your chances of wrinkles. Smoking is a habit that is not only harmful to the body’s insides, but also affects the outside. Signs of aging, including wrinkles, develop sooner in smokers than in non-smokers. Similarly, excessive alcohol consumption also increases the chance of developing wrinkles. You can lessen your chances of wrinkles by avoiding both habits.

To lessen your chances of wrinkles around the eyes, apply moisturizer carefully to upper and lower eyelids. Contact lens wearers should pay special attention to eye moisturizing as the repeated stretching of the eyelids to insert and remove lenses stretches the skin and increases the chance of developing eye wrinkles. Daily moisturizing will help the skin around the eyes retain its shape and pliability for longer. Wearing sunglasses with UV protection will also help protect the skin around the eyes.

While signs of aging and wrinkles can not be avoided altogether, a conscious effort to develop good habits when caring for your skin will lessen your chances of wrinkles developing at an earlier age and can reduce the number and severity of wrinkles that will eventually develop.