• Question: Why do we go wrinkly when we got older? and how could we stop getting them?

    Asked by KIBBLEWIBBLE to Carolyn, Peter, Richard, Sara, Siana on 17 Nov 2015. This question was also asked by lee, WILSON, delldellxx1544.
    • Photo: Richard Unwin

      Richard Unwin answered on 17 Nov 2015:

      Our skin sits on a layer of small strings called elastic fibres. These act like elastic bands and they help our skin to stretch when we move, and then spring back into place. However, as we get older – just like real elastic bands – these fibres get damaged and don’t spring back as well. You can do a quick experiment to show this – if you pinch your skin it will spring back immediately. If you do it (with permission) to a grandparent, say, it will take their skin longer to go back because it has lost it’s elasticity. Over time, the skin becomes less stretched and starts to wrinkle.
      Some cosmetic creams and things seem to slow wrinkles by trying to repair and replace these bits of elastic, or trying to slow the rate of damage, but I think we’ll always get them eventually!

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