Wrinkles are creases or folds in the skin. In aging skin, they appear because of the loss of elasticity and generalized loss of dermal thickness that accompanies aging.

Even though the skin wrinkles as a sign of aging, we can't blame time for every new wrinkle that appears on our skin. Some wrinkles are produced by repeated natural movements. If that's hard to believe then just take a second to think about how often you laugh, frown or squint in a day. These reiterated movements create hairline depressions that appear around the corners of the eyes, mouth, and forehead. The new wrinkle formation can be linked to the skin's loss of elasticity.

Other marks that appear on a "lived-in face" are a result of overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays, both UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays cause tanning, wrinkling, and melanoma while UV rays may damage skin by elevating the synthesis of proteolytic enzymes that degrade collagen, the connective tissues located beneath the skin.

There are three types of wrinkles:

Crinkles are the very fine lines that happen in aging skin and appear everywhere, not just in places that have been exposed to solar rays. Elastic fibers in your skin start to deteriorate around the age of 30, but you may not notice it until sometime later. This kind of wrinkling happens even without sun exposure, but is probably exacerbated by UV rays.

Glyphic wrinkles are lines that we all naturally have, but which have become exacerbated with aging. If you have taken to wearing turtlenecks or scarves to hide lines that have appeared on your neck, you know what a glyphic wrinkle is. These wrinkles tend to become more pronounced with muscle movement or with facial expressions.

Furrows are deep wrinkles that start to appear on the faces of aging people. These wrinkles are mostly straight lines that appear on the forehead, corners of the mouth and eyes. They are so common that they've been christened crow's feet or laugh lines. Repeated movement and sun exposure accentuates their development. It is hard to eliminate these types of wrinkles when they appear between muscle groups. Furrows that surface around mouth and eyes keep visibly noticeable even when you are not smiling or squinting. They may not be eliminated, but may be reduced in appearance.

If we were to create a special type of wrinkle filler or view aging as an illness, then wrinkles could be viewed as small, improperly cured wounds. Doubtlessly wrinkles are characterized by flawed buildup of collagen and imperfect skin cell layering, which is also seen in healed wounds, although on a much larger scale. If so, could the agentsthat modify the process of injury healing (by reducing scar formation and improving skin remodeling) have a potential to avoid or even minimize wrinkles? Well, possibly. A good example of a wound-healing element that seems to also have anti-wrinkle potential is the class of compounds called copper peptides, small proteins that minimize scar formation.