Mythical Monday - The Wrinkle Report

Welcome to the newest feature of the Scribbling Through Time blog...Mythical Monday! If you have an idea for a myth you'd like me to ramble on about - feel free to contact me and let me know!

Today's myth: Preventing Wrinkles

I'm getting to that age when the wrinkles I'm most worried about are NOT the ones that can be taken care of by dragging out the iron. At least when it comes to my clothes I have options like:
(1) drag out the iron and heat the wrinkles in my shirt into submission, last I checked ironing my face wasn't recommended by the manufacturer. (2) put that shirt back in the closet and wear something else, which is my usual answer to things I don't want to do...hide them.
Or my newest favorite option (3) don't buy anything that isn't wrinkle-free!

It just seems that when I look in the mirror these days, I see more lines than I used to, and I guess it's not fair to blame them entirely on my three kids...but it's also not fair that my options are a lot less limited than my wrinkled clothes! I can't simply choose not to buy skin that doesn't wrinkle. Wouldn't that be fabulous!

In the wrinkle fighting game, I've learned a few things and learned a few things that just aren't true (aka a myth!):

(1) Sleeping on your back helps prevent wrinkles

TRUE

As we age, our skin thins. Sleeping with your face mushed against a pillow for 6-8 hours a night can contribute to an increase in facial lines. If you wake up with "sheet marks" on your face, it might be time to spend a little more time on your back and let gravity help you out while your getting your beauty sleep!

(2) Ignoring the need for glasses can cause wrinkles.

TRUE

If you spending much of day squinting to read, you've got no one to blame but yourself when those under-eye wrinkles become even more pronounced. Go ahead, look in the mirror and then squint...not pretty is it? Remember your mother telling you to "stop making those faces or your face will freeze like that?" Well, she was on to something! Again, as we age our skin thins making it less resilient...meaning it doesn't bounce back from squinting like it did when we were younger. So hop on down to the drugstore and invest in those reading glasses!

(3) Drinking 8 glasses of water prevent wrinkles.

TRUE AND FALSE

Drinking water is important for your whole body, it keeps all your organs going and hydration is important for everything to run right. Staying hydrated should be an important part of our beauty regime, healthy skin is hydrated skin, it helps keep skin plump and fresh looking. But at best, keeping your body and skin well hydrated by drinking all that water isn't going to prevent wrinkles, but it can help minimize the appearance of them. (Drinking water is a win/win)

(4) Doing facial exercises will prevent future wrinkles.

FALSE

All those facial movements contribute to wrinkles as we age, but we can't stop moving our faces - can we? So we just have to live with the fact that as we age...most of us are going to get some wrinkles. Some of us more than others, some of it's just the luck of the draw. Get over it!

Ultimately, wrinkles are a natural part of aging and we all age differently. So, I say smile more and frown less, so at least the lines of your face will be the result of a happy life!

Go make some happy lines this week!