Dry skin’s enduring association with wrinkles is as inseparable in the mind of the consumer as love and marriage. Nonetheless, the simple truth is dry skin and wrinkles are not related in the least. I know that statement may be hard to accept because we’re so conditioned by advertising and product claims to think otherwise, but believing the myth can hurt your skin by inducing you to concentrate on treating your dry skin or loading up on moisturizers hoping it will get rid of wrinkles. It just doesn’t work that way.
Abundant research has made it perfectly clear that wrinkles and dry skin are not related in terms of cause and effect. Extensive studies and analysis have shown dry skin is frequently a by-product or result of other assaults on skin that are really the cause of wrinkles. In other words, dry skin is primarily a symptom of other factors causing wrinkles.
If dry skin doesn’t cause wrinkles, what does? Wrinkles are permanent lines etched into skin from environmental causes (sun damage and pollution) and internal causes (genetic changes, muscle movement, estrogen loss, and fat depletion). Nowhere, outside of ads and product claims, is dry skin ever mentioned as a cause of wrinkles. (Sources: Current Molecular Medicine, March 2005, pages 171-177; Fertility Sterility, August 2005, pages 289-290; Cutis, February 2005, Supplemental, pages 5-8; Rejuvenation Research, Fall 2004, pages 175-185; Journal of Dermatology, August 2004, pages 603-609; and Contact Dermatitis, September 2002, pages 139-146.)
The dilemma is that, in fact, dry skin does look more wrinkled and—here’s the crux of the confusion—wrinkled skin looks better with a good moisturizer on it. That’s how we get sucked into this myth about wrinkles and dry skin. A woman with oily skin has her own built-in moisturizer (that’s basically what moisturizers are: oils or oil-like ingredients and water), which helps her skin look smoother without the aid of a moisturizer. That’s also why women with oily skin can look less wrinkled. A woman with dry skin will notice it makes her wrinkles look more prominent, and this effect is softened and improved after a moisturizer is applied. The skin’s own oil doesn’t forestall or in any way change wrinkles, but keeping them lubricated (the same principle as applying a moisturizer) makes wrinkles look better temporarily.
Sun damage is by far the most notable cause of wrinkling, a fact easily proven by something I refer to as the backside test of aging. In other words, compare the areas of your skin that rarely, if ever, see the sun with the parts of your body exposed to the sun on a daily basis. Those areas of skin with minimal sun exposure (such as your backside) are rarely if ever dry, and they also have minimal to no signs of wrinkles or aging. Instead they will have far more of the firmness, elasticity, and color of “younger” skin because they have not been subjected to years of cumulative exposure to sunlight. Most people who have never, or rarely, exposed their bare backside to the sun will find a radical difference between it and those parts of the body that have been exposed to the sun. What you will notice is crepey skin on the face and hands, some loss of elasticity, lines, furrows, some skin discoloration (usually darkening, redness, or ashiness), and signs of new freckling. However, the skin on your bottom will be smooth, evenly toned (no freckling or discoloration), and (unless there has been a fluctuation in weight, in which case the backside may be out of shape and saggy), it will be elastic and without lines, crow’s feet, crepiness, or any sign of wrinkles. These differences become more prominent the older you are and the more sun exposure you’ve experienced.
As discouraging as this information may be, the good news is that today many state-of-the-art ingredients can go further than just making wrinkles and dry skin look better temporarily.
The truth is, moisturizing the skin does not have any long-term effect on wrinkles. That doesn’t mean moisturizers can’t make wrinkles less apparent, because they absolutely do, but the notion that these soothing creams, lotions, gels, and serums can do anything to erase wrinkles or stop aging in its tracks is wishful thinking fostered by constant reinforcement from the cosmetics industry—the same reinforcement that plays on a woman’s (and, increasingly, a man’s) insecurities about looking older because of their wrinkles.
Another important distinction between dry skin and wrinkles is that when the outer layer of skin becomes dry or irritated the surface can literally crack, and something referred to as “fine lines” can appear. These “fine lines” are not the same as permanent lines caused by intrinsic (genetic aging) or extrinsic (sun damage) factors. This type of dry-skin damage can “look” wrinkled, which is why the elusive term “fine lines” is used. That also explains why the cosmetics industry uses the term fine lines, because those are just what moisturizers can easily correct. Fine lines (better described as nonpermanent lines) nicely disappear with almost all moisturizers; on the other hand, permanent lines don’t go away no matter how much moisturizer you put on them. Extremely dry skin can also crack and chafe if it isn’t moisturized, causing a parched appearance and a tight, irritated feeling, which is why dry skin feels so uncomfortable.
Keep in mind that part of what makes the skin feel parched and dry is that the skin’s intercellular matrix is deteriorating due to sun damage and age. The intercellular matrix is the cement within the skin that keeps skin cells together, helps prevent individual skin cells from losing water, and fights off environmental stresses that damage skin. It is actually the intercellular matrix that gives skin a good deal of its surface texture and feel. Using products that restore the skin’s matrix is what great skin-care is all about. Water (as in moisture) doesn’t help that part of the skin’s health at all; what will help are antioxidants, skin-identical ingredients, and cell-communicating ingredients, along with anything we can do to protect skin from the sun.